Mystic Steakhouse — Restaurant in Prior Lake

This is going to be a somewhat unique review. I had the opportunity to eat here once a week for five weeks in a row for a significantly discounted price. I would otherwise not have visited this restaurant.

First, I want to say that the staff are the best part about this restaurant. Everyone is friendly, polite, helpful, etc. I have no complaints whatsoever about the staff.

After 5 visits, I determined that the dishes here are very overpriced, and more importantly, they're inconsistent.

The first night here I ordered the veal chop. The veal chop itself was fantastic. Amazing, even. For some reason the chef has decided to put giant pea pods on top of the dish. They make no sense, in a culinary sense, and were not even cooked well. There was a sauce that was mild and inoffensive, completely unnecessary. The creamed spinach, as a side, was probably the best I have ever had. Great experience overall.

The second night I split the "Dry-aged Bone-in Ribeye with my fiancé. It was edible, but nothing more than that. It was $114 on the menu and it was not good. I know for a fact I would get a better steak at Applebee's. It was tough and had no marbling. Truly a waste of money. If I had been paying full price I would never set foot in this place again and I might even complain to the manager.

The third night I had the "Dry-aged Duroc pork chop." It was cooked perfectly and it was one of the best things I ate here. I've never heard of dry aged pork before, but this was a great pork chop. Fortunately, the waitress asked if I wanted my beer-mustard sauce on the side. I began to notice a pattern with the sauce.

Night four, I ordered the "Domestic double-bone lamb chops." This dish was almost offensive. There was no seasoning on the lamb chops. No salt at all. There was a sauce everywhere on the plate, and it was unidentifiable. Two streaks of tomato paste mixed with Moroccan-type seasonings were spread across the plate. This type of seasoning is not typically served with grilled lamb ordered medium-rare, as it isn't a good combination. These seasonings work well with Moroccan Tajin, but they don't work well with medium-rare grilled lamb. I am a particular fan of lamb, and I found this dish to be horrible. It's on the menu for $82.

The fifth and final night I decided to order the veal chop again, because it was so good the first time. It arrived slightly overcooked, and, more importantly, it was unevenly cooked with the distinct taste of burned black pepper. This was what knocked the rating down to a 3 from a 4.

I can't recommend that anyone eat here. It's a restaurant that wishes it was much better than it really is, and the prices don't reflect the quality you're likely to be given. If you must eat here, I recommend the creamed spinach, sautéed mushrooms, and the pork chop. Don't waste lots of money paying for what you think is going to be luxury. I can tell you it's...

It's all a facade.

Very nice ambiance, feels and looks like it would be a quality steakhouse. You can quickly see the cracks in the veneer.

Friendly, but frazzled young lady checking people in. Waitress with at least 3 other, full tables. This was a true 'team effort'. The assistant to the waiter (?), nice kid-meant well, even when he spilled water everywhere.

Food came out from kitchen after lengthy wait, all to wrong people. No worries, we can swap it around. First thing you notice is the rib-eye steaks. I swear, I thought I was at the Golden Corral for a minute. These were NOT quality cuts of beef, that is for certain. I was genuinely unimpressed. Lots of butter though. Vegetables overcooked, mac and cheese with the $8 add-on for lobster was unbelievable for the sheer scam of it all. Tasted like it was out of a box, and the little shreds of what I imagine were lobster was just sad.

Manager came to the table after the meal for the standard 'how was everything, folks'. I told him it was really not all that great, and gave some specific examples. He immediately got defensive, telling me how he was sorry that it was not good enough service for me. Very condescending. I thanked him for listening, and he left. The waitress then came over, announcing that she was just 'shocked' to learn of my experience. She offered free desserts for everyone because the manager really wanted to 'take care of us', even though we had dessert coming with the meal already. I thanked her, and declined other than our dessert that came with our meal. She did bring my son an extra dessert who was celebrating his 18th birthday that night. I picked the steakhouse in the casino thinking it would be the best place for a special celebration. I was wrong.

I understand it was a busy night, I get that you can't please them all, but this was just a very disappointing experience. It took quite a while to even get our food, and any feedback asked for was very obviously not wanted. I will say, the waitress made a big deal of showing me that the manager had taken off the $8 up-charge for the 'lobster' in the mac and cheese, so I did not pay for that add on in the end. I would certainly not describe this place as anything other than an empty suit. Would...

We wanted so much to love this place, and I expect we could on another visit... but not this time (our first visit). Our waiter, Taylor, was friendly and explained the menu well. When we ordered drinks, my hubby and our friend both wanted old fashions - and Taylor recommended one on the menu that he said was outstanding - so they both agreed to it even though it was $27 each (a pricey old fashion). We ordered one appetizer, the shrimp cocktail, and our meals. The shrimp cocktail was presented well, but was just okay (I expected better shrimp at a place of this caliber). When our meals came, only 4 of the 5 of us were served. The 4 of us waited for the 5th meal to be delivered (so as not to be rude). We waited and waited. He finally encouraged us to eat our meals so they wouldn't get cold... so we did. We were looking around for Taylor, but didn't see him. We were about half way done eating when Taylor came to ask how our meals were. We pointed to the guest with no food in front of him and Taylor's eyes got big. He immediately rushed to the kitchen. Less than 10 minutes later he returned with the last plate of food - but by then, the rest of us were almost done eating. There was no explanation given and there was no apology. I assumed that at the very least, when the bill came, the "forgotten" meal would be comped. Nope. And when I looked over the bill, I saw that the old fashions were $54 a piece! It said they were served "doubles." Yikes! With the tip (we left 20% in spite of the gross error) they were $65 each. We all had prime rib that was very good and the potato side dishes were delicious as well. For what it's worth, the guys said the old fashions were the best they have ever had - but at a steep price for sure. In retrospect, I wish I had spoken to a manager before we left, but it was a holiday weekend and having worked in restaurants (many years ago) myself, I understand the importance of turning over tables... so I...