Sullivan's Steakhouse — Restaurant in Raleigh

STAY AWAY. WORST BDAY DINNER EXPERIENCE EVER. And apparently it’s on going all day because what I’m about to complain about - someone else has just put in a bad review 12 hours ago for the same thing at lunch time.

To start, I’ve been to here a few times. Though up until last night, it had been a couple years. Prior I don’t remember the restaurant having so many small two people tables stacked on top of each other. It ruins any little bit of intimacy dinner that a fine dining restaurant should offer. Our serve was not very attentive- we would wait 20-30 minutes for each drink. Water service was far and in between - you’d have to fill your own glass if you didn’t want to wait forever.

Our issues begun when we were served our entire. my boyfriend had the Wagyu steak (the same thing someone else just left a terrible review for) & deviled eggs. His Wagyu came out VERY unevenly cooked. Some portions were completely burnt and well done, some parts more on the rare side and some on medium. I’m not even sure how they were able to do it but it was TERRIBLE. His deviled eggs never came.

I had order the Brick Chicken, which the serve had ASKED ME the peppers on it make it a bit spicy would I like them to make it without. Which thankfully she did because you would never get that idea from the menu description- but anyways I said yes. My chicken in fact comes out with peppers all over which was very much cooked with the sauce / chicken as everything on the plate was spicy.

When we finally flagged down our server to let her know, she wouldn’t acknowledge my boyfriend about how his steak was prepared to medium-rare like he had asked and uneven. She took the chicken off the plate and back to the kitchen and brought the SAME chicken back 45 seconds later that the the kitchen picked the peppers off with their hands (you can see the kitchen) which 1) disgusting and 2) most disrespectful behavior I have ever witnessed in a restaurant. I am grown woman who had very politely let the server know my food was made wrong and she brought me back the same chicken to “try” as if I hadn’t already done that and a 3 year old child who can’t pick the peppers off my self. The issue was everything was cooked with the peppers making everything spicy. We almost had to argue with the server to get them to remake to way SHE OFFERED ME AT THE VERY BEGINNING.

At this point it had be 20-30 minutes since our food had originally came out and still NO deviled eggs. I was feed up at this point and the service was ruining my birthday. When I requested a manger at this point because the service was getting pathetic, our server basically refused to come back after we sent the food back. We had to wait an additional 10+ minutes because the man REFUSED (again you can see the kitchen and the staff CLEARLY) to come to our table until the kitchen was done remaking the chicken so I ask where is the rest of food STILL and this steak needs sent back as it terribly prepared and not even up to Longhorn steakhouse quality standards the manager was very clearly annoyed trying to rush through convo, basically said we’re sorry and RUSHED walking away. My Brick Chicken plate was brought completely deconstructed & not put together beautifully as the first plate with peppers had been. It looked like a grilled chicken meal on MewMaws back porch.

After all this, they still tried to SELL us on dessert. Not give us one for free or anything, as most restaurants would do for birthdays anyways and especially if there’s this many issues with the kitchen & getting our correct orders, NO SELL US DESSERT.

This place is TRASH now. I do not recommend any one to go here unless you want to spend fine dining money on a McDonald’s quality service and food.

Overall, I left feeling entirely devastated and disappointed. The last time I had been here a couple years ago, I just remember our server & service being over the top and fantastic. It felt like Vegas fine dining in downtown Raleigh. But it’s completely...

I arrived with my date around 8:55pm on a Friday evening. We had 8:45 reservation. We were a little late as I forgot my wallet in my car and had to use a Lyft. A couple hours before arriving, I called to ask if they had a private lot for parking because I didn’t want to struggle to find a parking spot. I was told no, which was fine. However, when I got there, they had valet services… I was very confused as to why didn’t that say that when I called about the parking lot… I would’ve utilized that service as I wanted to make a few stops after dinner.

Check in was a little hectic. The host(s) seemed busy and someone disorganized and uncoordinated. After a few minutes of waiting, we were sat and our waitress was Shelly. She was friendly and came over promptly.

At 9:07pm, we ordered drinks and apps. We got the calamari and the pork belly. I ordered a cocktail and my date got a glass of wine. I really wanted the angry shrimp as I had viewed the menu prior to coming. I was told by Shelly that they no longer serve that item due to complaints. I was told they only served it for a week when it was put on the menu.

We placed food order at 9:17pm after complimentary bread was brought to the table. I got the Sure Thing w/ 16oz ribeye and mashed potatoes. I chose the bananas foster bread pudding for the dessert. My date ordered the cowboy cut ribeye with asparagus.

The drinks came at 9:24pm, which was 15 minutes after ordering. We both enjoyed them.

The pork belly came at 9:26pm. Our waitress said calamari look overcooked and sent it back. We received it a few minutes later at 9:29pm. In my personal opinion, there was a lot going on with the calamari. There were seeds, peppers, jalapeños, etc. We had to dig through that to get to the calamari. While I did enjoyed the peppers, it was a bit overwhelming. The pork belly was great. No complaints.

Entrees arrived at 10:17pm, a whole hour after ordering. The food wasn’t hot either; it was warm. That was unexpected considering how long it took. Also, the my steak seemed more like a medium rare/rare than a medium. My date’s steak was definitely medium rare/rare in places when it should’ve been medium throughout. With how long it took to get the meal, we just kept it and ate it as we were waiting for the entrees. Personally, my steak wasn’t seasoned enough for my liking. My date said that the garlic butter he got on the side really made his steak enjoyable. Without it, it may have been a different story.

Waitress, Shelly, was attentive at first but it attentiveness diminished throughout the visit. I didn’t like how we didn’t get an update for majority of the time we were waiting for our entree to come after we received the appetizers. We also waited a while for her to return after we were done eating.

At 10:40pm, my date ordered NY cheesecake to go. I got the bananas foster pudding as my dessert course. I received my desert around 5-7 minutes later. I the main portion of it was soft and delicious. I want a fan of the caramel sauce on top as it was hardened. It would’ve been better if it was actually a sauce. My date at the cheesecake later on and they enjoyed it.

For this to be an upscale steakhouse, the experience was not up to par. The tables were SO close to together that we could clearly hear conversations of people around us. I repeatedly saw staff standing by the private room doors on their phones and conversing. The only other upscale steakhouse I’ve been to in the area was Perry’s and it was more superior than here. I would recommend Perry’s over Sullivan’s any day! My experience at Perry’s was PERFECT! There, I received the best steak I’ve ever tasted.

Sullivan’s website says “A steakhouse experience should be unforgettable. That’s why Sullivan’s is rooted in the rich tradition of classic steakhouses, but with a lively twist that turns every meal into a night to remember.” This experience was unforgettable, but not in a...

My wife and I decided to dine at Sullivan's Steakhouse on Aug. 2 for dinner during Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week (July 24-Aug. 3) which was advertised on the Internet. Sullivan's was one of the participating restaurants. We were seated and given the regular restaurant menu so we asked about the Restaurant Week specials and the gentleman who seated us said that this was a separate menu and that he would be back with that menu. In the meantime, our waiter greeted us and began to rattle off some of the items that they have on the regular menu. My wife asked about the restaurant week menu and waiter bought back a smaller menu, which was NOT the restaurant week menu. Shortly after that, the gentleman who seated us came back with the ACTUAL restaurant week menu which advertised $55 per plate for select menu items (salad, entree, dessert) and additional items for patrons who would like to enhance their meal, which I certainly took advantage of by ordering the wellington pastry appetizer, crab-stuffed shrimp and an upgraded Ribeye 16oz. steak all for an additional charge. We placed our order from that menu and the waiter took all 3 of my menus away. When the waiter realized that we had yet a third menu with the "real" restaurant week specials listed, she apologized and said that she "thought restaurant week was over!"

When she bought our food back, the Caesar salad was dry (very little shaved Parmesan and Caesar dressing) and most of my Ribeye steak was raw instead of medium-well so neither were very tasty. The crab-stuffed shrimp was really good. When the waiter bought our food she did ask me to check the steak to make sure it was prepared appropriately. When I first checked, it appeared to be medium well as I had asked, but as I continued to cut and eat further, I noticed the rawness. My wife's Prime NY Strip steak was well done as she requested, but the waiter did not bring the bourbon peppercorn steak sauce that was advertised with the steak. She had to ask for it. My wife had the banana bread pudding for dessert, but the waiter did not bring the ice cream that goes along with it. My wife had to ask for it and then she took a long time to bring the dressing back to us because she forgot. I had to ask for it again.

This was a very disappointing experience for such a high-end restaurant. Why did I have to ask for the Restuarant Week menu when the restaurant participates in restaurant week and listed on the advertisement. This menu should have already been provided with the regular menu when we were seated. Why did I have to ask for items that are supposed to automatically come with meal (as advertised)? It was clear to us that the waiter did not know the menu and what goes with each meal item.

Once we finished our meal, the waiter brings us a bill that was incorrect. It turns out that she charged us for everything as if it was a la carte instead of the $55 per plate special (plus the additional items we ordered). No where on the bill did it state $55. My wife asked the waiter to re-check the bill and the waiter tried to explain it away by saying that the charge was for the extra items and upgraded steak, but even with those upgrades she gave us a bill for $242. She went back to the register and came back with a bill for about $195, however, she never gave us the new detailed receipt showing the correct pricing and the list of items that we ordered. She only bought back the credit card charge slip showing the total price. She was over-charging us by at least $47. The customer service was poor and the quality of the food was just okay and not worth the unfortunate experience that we had...