Delmonico Grill — Restaurant in Rapid City

My girlfriend and I were in town on vacation and most of the reviews were positive, so we decided to give it a shot. I was a little worried showing up at 6 o'clock on the Saturday of July 4th weekend without a reservation, but came to find the restaurant mostly empty. The host, only being mildly condescending after we told him we didn't have a reservation, said he could maybe squeeze us in to the empty establishment, and even sat us in a booth. All is good at this point. We showed up to an "upscale" dining experience without reservations, you're allowed to pretend to be exclusive or busy. But then the charming red-headed, balding, bearded waiter as mentioned in the review below showed up. He goes by Paul. Also, as stated below, he wasn't enthused to be serving my girlfriend and I and he made it apparently evident. Granted we weren't in our Sunday best after a 10 hour drive from WI, but how that factors into the quality service we were paying for I do not know. Nonetheless, things started okay with Paul. He pointed out the beer and wine list, made a couple suggestions, and we ordered. Neither of us got carded, so we were able to get a bottle of wine no questions asked which was pretty cool for 20 yr olds. However, upon receiving our soup and salad, I was a little confused seeing my steak and vegetable soup come out looking astonishingly like the mushroom and curry. I took a couple bites to be safe, having never eaten at the restaurant, but it was indeed the mush & curry. I pushed my bowl away in hopes Paul would see my dissatisfaction and come to investigate. After he walked by twice I stopped him on the third pass to ask him if he had accidentally given me the wrong soup, he said he hadn't. I asked him if he was sure and he said "yeah but I'll go check". A few minutes later he came back with the the correct soup, asked if i wanted crushed pepper, and left. Not a "Sorry, there must've been a mistake in the kitchen", or "I apologize, I grabbed the wrong bowl of soup on my way out", or even "Sorry bro, I'm an idiot who doesn't know the difference between a curry and f*ing beef stew". Just left. We finished our soup/salad, because it was delicious, and Paul took our plates. Still never having asked how our food was, even after he messed up. We got our entrées, ate, and right as we were finishing Paul finally asked how the food was tasting and if we wanted dessert. We politely said no because I was trying to get as far away from him as I could. I wish I could say this was just a bad experience with this one server, but I can't. We literally heard a few of the other servers working at the time, along with our buddy Paul, talking crap about the customers in attendance right on the floor, two tables away. The food was incredible. I'd pay $40 for their King Cut Prime Rib to be served in an old McDonald's bag out the back of a food truck, but I wouldn't spend a penny on it if I had to sit through another time with Paul or had to listen to more condescending and snickering at the customers expense. I work in the service industry. You can't get away with that disrespectful bs anywhere, much less in a place trying to display fine dining in SD of all places. The only way I'd go back is if I needed to buy and underage drink or if he was working so I could take back the $14 I...

I don't even know where to begin. They didn't have the wine we wanted, not a big deal, but when me and my partner decided on a white instead we couldn't even order it before the server was trying to sell us some Cali red. All of the food was astringent or salty. It's hard to say how bad my mouth feels for not eating even half of it.

The bruschetta was mediocre at best. The bread of it was about grocery store quality while the cheese was dry and crumbly. Passable but better value exists else where.

The sour dough tasted like a less sugary Hawaiian role with the butter and wasn't worth eating without the butter. Hardly a fine dining experience.

The salad may have been okay for a Caesar but we aren't fans so tough to judge that fairly.

The Steak was one of the worst I've tried eating. The amount of pepper cannot be expressed with words. It literally hurt. Overly salted and peppery. I don't know how they managed. For a $50+ dollar steak, simply awful. I'd recommend literally anywhere else in town for steak. Rendering was non-existent. We didn't eat even half of that ribeye.

The truffle fries were one of the best parts of the meal but it's truffle fries and I've had plenty better. The server misunderstood while we were ordering the side and tried bringing us garlic mash. After correcting him, the steak came with it anyways. Which went untouched aside from tasting. Again, nothing to write home about.

Before we could order the dessert the server said his manager insisted on comping it. We tried declining several time but the server wouldn't take no for an answer. Sadly consent is also not important to them I guess. What difference a free dessert makes when paying $150+ for dinner I don't understand, especially when we tried several times to refuse. In trying to placate us it was one of the worst parts of the service. Including the interruption and dismissal of our wine choice along with the side we didn't want.

It's tough to judge the butterscotch dessert. It was the only thing not abundantly acidic or salty. Smooth and along with the fries a better part of the meal. That could have been because of how ruined my mouth was at that point.

The atmosphere is cute enough. The only negative was how quiet it was and there was a lack of music several times.

Overall, an hour and a half+ for a dinner we largely didn't eat. The only thing close to being finished was the dessert. More than likely just because of how dry are mouths felt. Personally, if you are in the area try somewhere else. We probably won't...

Great location with plenty of on street parking. Setting a reservation was simple. Table was waiting for us upon arrival, we were seated early.

So excited to come here as it came highly recommended. I usually try to temper expectations with fine dining.

Starters: scallops, crab cake, and Sonoma salad.

Entree: The Good Steer

Dessert: Butterscotch crème brûlée pudding

Scallops: overcooked and chewy, but the sauce and crostini are super tasty, I finished the sauce with a spoon.

Crab Cake: delicious, however would have been great with some hot clarified butter.

Our salad was served with dinner; I had specifically requested it to start. The salad was a complete miss. Lacked all of the elements in the description. Had to search for the cheese, which I did locate a single chunk of goat cheese and 2 strawberries. Very unimpressed with the salad, plus I wanted to eat my burger while hot. There was also an odd costing on the greens that I could not identify and was somewhat unpalatable.

This dish definitely screamed that it was prepared well in advance of service. Wishing I would have ordered the Caesar.

The Good Steer: Yes, I ordered a burger at a steakhouse. ordered medium rare. Received medium well/well done. Was still very juicy and perfectly seasoned. The bun held together well. Bacon was expertly cooked, although served cold. Same with the Caramelized onions and bun. For sure scrimped on the tomato and onion.

Although the lone slice of tomato was small it was excellent, perfect firmness and sweet as was the tiny piece of onion. Butter lettuce was crisp and nicely portioned.

Overall the burger is a big bite and will satisfy. Just wish the whole thing was served hot; prepared to order.

The dessert was packaged to go. Small portions, but I for sure could’ve eaten 3 servings! Wonder if it would’ve had the top part Brulé properly had we eaten in the restaurant.

The service is really great. Just the small mistake of not getting the salad out with the starters. Had to mark down for that.

Atmosphere is old town feeling, not quite upscale, but clean and welcoming.

I am sure that others have had better experiences. I’ll go back to try the steak. Just hope y’all take the feedback. That burger was seasoned perfectly, just not cooked as requested (still so juicy!)

Thank you all for the...