BAR-Ranch Steak Company — Restaurant in Plano

Chef Chris Foster…where do I even begin…every bite a revelation…every moment a gift…don’t go here to simply eat…go here to experience transcendence via food.

I’ve personally worked in food for 12 years, a decade of that being upscale. Should this work experience mean anything to you, dear reader, allow it to add the utmost weight to my assessment…

If you decide, passively or otherwise, to not eat here whilst Chef Foster graces the open kitchen, then the only person you are hurting is yourself.

I ordered a coke, like a fool, and from the first bite I entirely banished the sugary drink from the ensemble before me as I could not allow something so common, so regular, so…underwhelming to affect the enormity of the world of flavor at my table.

Each bite was quite literally a difficult task as I simply wanted the flavor of the previous bite to last an eternity.

I suppose I could tell you that the chili was borne of an angelic host, or that the Katsu sandwich could revive the dead, or that the chimichurri was so good you could eat it by itself (which I may have, calm down), or that the broccoli appetizer would charm any meat eater who swears ‘they won’t touch something green’, or that the house salad was so delicious it could be a meal unto itself, or even that the fries shined brighter than the sun with an attraction that rivals a supermassive black hole…but instead of telling you all that I will simply say this:

If it was possible to give 6/5 stars, this would be the place to get it, and it is because of Chef Christopher Foster.

If you don’t have time to go for dinner, go for lunch, if you don’t have time to go for lunch, then make time, because one day soon you’ll be seeing this man on some master chef program of some sort and think “darn, I absolutely had the opportunity to eat his food but I [insert terrible excuse]”

There are no praises high enough. There are no words strong enough. There is naught but a litany of affirmations to bestow upon this budding superstar of the culinary world.

If you did what you do half as well as Chef Foster does his food…you’d be the stuff of myth.

You know what? That is the word I want you to take away from this…”mythical”.

The restaurant only has about 5 tables. Very intimate setting. Personal whiskey/bottle lockers are available. In-house dry-aging provides all the eye candy a meat-lover could ask for. Even the bathroom is exquisite.

The waitstaff is attentive and clearly pleased to be working with and for a man with a vision so illustriously realized.

I swear to all that holds merit…Chef Chris Foster is a gift. Experience his cuisine while you have the chance, because I can guarantee you one thing…access to him is only going to get more difficult.

Would come as zero surprise if the Stephan Pyles restaurant that recently shut down near the Opera house downtown Dallas reopens as a Chef Foster concept.

P.S. - For context, I’ve enjoyed many meals at Nick & Sam’s (love bison tenderloin and foie gras), Trulucks, Morton’s, Ruth Chris, Fearing’s, Capital Grille, Al Biernat’s, Dragonfly, Abicus, Hibiscus, Victor Tango’s, and more…I would put Chef Foster at BAR Ranch Steak Company above all of them. Straight up. Period. No contest.

There is so much more to say, and so many more reasons as to why you should go as soon as possible, but I’m sure these reasons will be self evident as you go and take in the opportunity to meet the master himself.

I’m not certain of the etiquette or legality of divulging clientele…but suffice to say, billionaires who want for nothing are impressed to the tune of bringing their closest friends and family as their guests to “Chateau Foster”

Geez are you still reading?

Just

Go

Have

Your

Life

Changed

I brought a lady there for my first time and frankly…I don’t think there was a better place in all of DFW to take her.

I’m telling you, I am directly telling you…eat his food while you have a chance.

Have you ever heard the phrase “All killer, no filler”?...

My wife and I booked a Valentine's night out at Bar Ranch with an eye on something a little different and a fantastic meal for the evening. I booked the advertised Valentine's special which was filet and lobster with our choice of salad, sides and dessert.

First off, the good. The people were extremely nice and friendly and we enjoyed talking with them. They explained the menu thoroughly and made sure we were never without a drink - water or otherwise. The atmosphere was intimate and the venue is a cool little place in downtown Plano. If it were just the people and venue, I would easily give this a 5 star review.

However, when you pay the kind of money that Bar Ranch charges, you expect something special. When we arrived for our reservation, we were seated immediately but the server clearly had no clue we had already pre-paid the Valentine's special as he went through the entire menu with us. When I told him we had the special, he took the menus and went to let the kitchen know. However, we hadn't even had a chance to look at the menus and decide on salad, sides and dessert.

Another server came by to take our order for salad, sides and dessert and I told him we had no clue since the menus had been taken away. He apologized and brought them back but then stood over us as we looked at it, not really giving us much time to choose. We ordered and he left.

About 20 minutes later, I mentioned to my wife that it was curious they hadn't asked us how we wanted our steaks cooked. I called the server over and he said they are cooking them medium rare. My wife likes her steak medium, I like mine rare plus so medium rare was not really ideal for either of us. He said he would go tell the kitchen and see if they could yank mine off.

About 5 minutes later, the food came. The presentation of everything was fantastic and I will say that the brussel sprouts were amazing. I never thought I would use that word in reference to brussel spouts, but they were absolutely stellar. The lobster was also extremely tasty. However, the steaks were overdone. They were not medium rare or medium or anything resembling either of those. Extremely disappointing. Also, EVERYTHING was very salty. My wife loves salt and seasoning and even she said that there was too much salt.

We got the turtle cheesecake for dessert, which was mediocre. One of the servers came by while we were eating dessert and asked about it. We said it was fine and he proceeds to tell us how he doesn't really like the cheesecake and the chocolate cake is much better. Keep in mind that this is the same guy who took our dessert order to begin with. Would have been useful information at the time of the order....

When the evening wrapped up, we asked for them to wrap up the leftover steak and brussel sprouts, which they said they would. They brought the check (even though I pre-paid, it was brought so I could tip) and we paid and left. We realized about 15 minutes later that they had never brought our doggie bag. At that point, it wasn't worth going back.

All in all, I feel Bar Ranch is extremely overrated. Maybe it was an off night or maybe my expectations were too high. But I paid more for that meal than I have ever paid for a meal, so I feel lofty expectations were justified. It was a decent experience ( mainly due to the people who work there and their friendly personalities), but it's not worth the money and I...

must say, this was my first experience at this location.

Reservations were made two days ahead. We arrived on time. We were instantly seated. Our table had a dozen cut "forever yours" long stem red roses laying on the table. What a delightful suprise! The owner spread a table napkin on our laps and asked if I wanted him to put the rises by the front door. I did. I made the reservations in my husbands name and did comment it was our anniversary, so we were looking for a seat off alone if possible. Although it wasn't possible where we were seated was away from the group of other patrons. It wasn't too noisy. We were unable to hear anyone elses conversation, and I am sure they did not hear ours.

The wait staff was very friendly. My friends. You really do need to work more on responsibilities. I think what has happened is that everyone is trying too hard to make sure things are done, but communication is lost. The service was stellar, but we had too many different people coming to our table to remove plates, then give us new plates to have them removed and returned. Better communication will resolve this. Typically, one waitstaff per table resolves this. If that person needs help, they ask the boss. We were greeted initially by the owner. The chef was next to come to our table. This was a very nice experience as most restaurants, especially in fine dining, do not have the chef initially come to the table. I liked that. It makes patrons feel special. The chef took our order. He did ask if we needed an explanation of the steaks. We did not. If it was our first experience with fine dining, then maybe we would have needed that. I would think that people new to the experience would benefit. However, we did not require it.

We both had decided on the Wagyu Tomahawk for two, which was part of the 3 course meal choices. (The other choice for two was the wagyu NY strip). The chef BROUGHT THE UNCOOKED STEAK TO US to ensure that it was indeed what we wanted and if that cut was satisfactory. A really good cut of steak has marbling and fat. A lean piece of steak will not cook up to be tender. Be mindful of that. The steaks were cooked on a charcol brick grill. As the name would suggest...Bar-ranch. There will be charing or burnt parts of the steak. Usually, the fat. The seasoning for the meat was perfect. Nothing took away from the flavor of the meat. The seasoning was very light for this reason. The meat had been ages but prepped adequately. The meat tray has sweet grilled baby tomatos on the vine with broccoli and stuffed peppers. It came with a side of grilled brussel sprouts and a side of garlic mashed potatoes.

The quantity was perfect! We also had a glass of wine each that the owner recommended. After our meal was complete, we were offered desert. We inquired about recommendations and settled on the Cream Brule. This did not disappoint! Served with a strawberry on the side and an orchid bloom allowed a beautiful presentation. The Brule was creamy, and the top crust was not too thick. It was delicate and delicious.

There was not a single negative experience. There was the plate mix up after dinner and before the desert, but nothing that involved an issue that was negative. We absolutely loved our experience there and will recommend them to anyone. Thank you all for your concern in making sure we had the ultimate dining experience. I think you...