Black Bull Steakhouse & Seafood — Restaurant in Riverdale

Not accommodating/ does not care about the guest experience. We booked a private event for this Sunday, June 20th. We called over a month ago to book the event and spoke with Leo and he said to review the menus and that they can accommodate any changes if we are not happy with it. He said to call back once we pick the menu. We did and spoke to another gentleman after calling many times he said Leo was busy, the gentleman helped us out instead. We agreed on the date and time and said we had a few questions about the menu, we explained that we would like the $40 menu with an up charge if anyone decided they wanted steak. We do not have too many steak eaters in our party, not to mention, three of our guests are vegan. He said we can finalize the menu a week before the event. We called a little over a week in advance and could not get ahold of Leo because he was out of town. Instead, we spoke with his wife Violeta, she said we can come on Monday and we asked what time, she said “anytime”. Anytime to me literally means anytime. I arrived Monday around 2 pm and am told she is not there and will not be back for another 35 min and was asked if I could wait. I explained that I could not since I used my lunch break from work to come here and I could not come back later because I have a newborn at home. The bartender Bart said that he could review the menu with me and take my deposit. I explained to him that we would like the $40 with the possible up charge of $10 if a guest wanted filet mignon. I also reminded him that their $50 menu has filet mignon as an option and so I did not see a problem with the up charge. He also agreed with me. He said he would confirm and call me back that night to let me know. They said no news is good news, but this was not the case. I received no call from Bart stating otherwise. Instead, I received a call from Violeta two days later (4 days from my event). She asked me what menu I decided on and I explained that I spoke to Bart and she said he was supposed to call me and that he was not authorized to agree on a price. She said if a guest wanted filet, we would be charged an extra $48. I asked why they couldn’t accommodate this request and she said she can’t do that to the kitchen. This would make more sense if they were not an active restaurant. She also told me that’s not how packages work and that it’s either one or the other. On all menus on their website, it states at the bottom of you would like to makes some changes, speak to the booking manager. I was given the run around and not taken care of at all. We ended up canceling our event since they could not or should I say would not accommodate or try to meet us in the middle. This is very upsetting. They stated they do not usually give back deposits but they would in this case. We told them as they were not doing us any favors, to just keep the deposit. So upsetting to have to now scramble to find another place. I will never set foot in this establishment again. I should have listened to the negative reviews about their general attitude towards the guest. I will say that Bart (the bartender) was really nice and I know it’s...

TLDR: AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

I'm a big steakhouse lover and had wanted to try this local spot for awhile now. We had reservations for 7:15 for a [small] party of 3. We got there at about 7, checked in, and sat at the bar. 7:15 came and went. At 7:25 we asked the host when we'd be seated and she said "a few minutes, we're just getting your table ready." Ok no big deal, right? It's 10 minutes later and now walk-ins are getting seated before us and we're all getting hungry. We ask again and are told "5 more minutes. We're sorry. We'll comp you." We finally get seated at 7:50 (so a 45 minute wait). We start off with apps and drinks because I'm starving right now. I ordered "the bacon steak" [as an app], which the server boasted as being "a thick cut of bacon the size of a steak". Sounds amazing and for 9 bucks it's a steal. I also ordered the 12oz filet mignon, cooked medium, [as an entree] with a side of onion rings. The apps took about 10-15 mins. "The bacon steak" was not as described/hyped. It certainly was not a thick cut of bacon, but rather the outer rim of a ham steak about 1/2" thick x 2" wide x 9" long. Had I not been so hungry, I would have refused it. About 25mins later, the entrees arrived. The plates were extremely hot (I burned my finger trying to move one) and the server just crammed the plates onto our table (the table was too small btw). On top of that, our "comp" promised by the host, was a small side of mixed vegetables! My 12oz filet was not a solid piece as one would expect for that price, but rather two 6oz tail ends. I cut into it and it was cooked well done and was overseasoned with salt. My dad's lamb was also overcooked and very salty. His creamed spinach (looked like it came from the frozen aisle) was cold and un-seasoned. I was beyond disappointed at my meal so far, so when I looked over to my onion rings I thought it couldn't get much worse. The outside looked well crafted but when I bit into it, the onion itself was not only cold, but there was only a single thin strand of onion in them. I would've ordered dessert but they were out of everything and only had gelato left (big surprise 🙄). I asked for the check and the server just stood there hovering over me. I find it very hard to believe that this was an NY steakhouse. I will NEVER come back here. I recommend Mortons, Roots, Capital Grille or I mean hell, just go, to the store and buy Steak-Ums. This is absolutely the worst experience I've had in the...

Private birthday party dinner for family and freinds. Leading up to the event everything looked promising but the last meeting with the manager responsible for our party left us uneasy. When discussing details of the party, his response was to repeatedly reply; We are Black Bull, we know how to do this. I believe he intended to inspire confidence but it actually came across as arrogance and made us concerned he wasn't listening. The party was schedule from 7- 10 and appetizers were served soon after the party started. A little before 9, the children attending started getting very hungry and we asked the head waiter when dinner was coming out. He said it was almost ready and would be out any minute. Fifteen minutes later we had kids crying out of hunger and we asked that at least their meals come out immediately. Again, another fifteen minute before dinner started being served but the kids weren't being served first. We literally had to take plates off of service trays and take food to the children because we couldn't get the food runners to do it. By the time dinner was served to everyone, some guest had finished their meals and they began saying goodbyes. But we had not sang happy birthday since some guest were still finishing dinner. Again, we found ourselves racing to at least sing happy birthday before anyone left. By the time any cake was served, nearly half the guests had left. The night ended talking to the manager and expressing our disappointment in how long it took for the meal to be served. The only thing he could muster to say is "Well, these things happen. But everyone had a good time.". Reminding him of crying hungry children did not make him happy. In the end, only the head waiter and bartender acknowledge what happened and offered apology. The managers, owner and other waiters only offered dismissive rude comments and behavior. Read the rest of the reviews, you will find a common theme from guests who were not happy with their experience, arrogance from leadership. It is the guest at fault, never Black Bull missing the mark and a compete inability of a Black Bull leader...