Dean's Steak & Seafood — Restaurant in San Antonio

Our dinning experience was a complete disaster! I had made a reservation to have our 40th anniversary dinner here by a recommendation of two friends. I thought well we normally do a high end steak dinner at Perry's or if it is a real big celebration, we go to JPrime, what the heck let's try a new place, I went on line made our reservation for May 25th 2025 (A Sunday) to celebrate our 40th anniversary. When we arrived, we were greeted by the host who after I told him we had made on line reservations, he looked at me like I had asked him to jump into the river. He took awhile to find it, then said to us, "It will be a moment while we get your table ready" So after waiting about 15mins, we walked into the dinning area only to see what seemed like a slow Sunday evening for 7:30pm dinner reservations. I wondered why they would not have our table ready upon arrival since it seemed like a slow evening, plus totally dismissing that I put in the reservation that it was our 40th anniversary! Big deal! Then we meet our waiter can't remember his name because he wasn't memorable. He was nice but there was no WOW factor to him. He didn't make any suggestions on what to try since this was our first dinning experience here I expect that from the waiter's. We opted for the Crudo appetizer which was good. When it came to our entree, my husband ordered the Classic and I had the Dean's style. My steak was over done and had to be sent back. Meanwhile my husband is not eating his food because he is waiting for the cook to remake my steak which took 20mins, By the time my steak came back, my husband's food was cold. At this point, I am very disappointed thus far with the whole Dean's Steakhouse experience. It started bad upon arriving and it continued that way through our dinner experience. So, the waiter ask if we would like one of the signature inhouse made desserts. I am thinking, okay maybe at this point they will redeem themselves for bringing me an overcooked high price steak with a great dessert on the house that has a nice happy 40th anniversary inscription on the plate to make my anniversary dinner feel nice. I am a huge chocolate cake fanatic and our waiter raved about how great the chocolate cake tasted. Here comes the cake on a plate without any type of sweet thoughtful inscription pointing out our 40th anniversary. Okay I thought, they do not know how to cater to the guest at all but let's taste this supposed amazing chocolate cake. It was an average cake for this type of high end restaurant. The cake was very dense, lacked richness and it was dry. We took two bites and left the rest. But to add insult to injury, I was still charged for the redo of my steak after waiting 20 mins for it to come back to the table, and I was charged for the bad dessert!!! I believe the cake should at the very least been on the house and we should have been offered two glasses of champagne to make our 40th wedding anniversary dinner a memorable one. Needless to say, I will never go back to that restaurant again or refer my friends there, especially if they are celebrating an important life event like a 40th wedding anniversary. I will suggest that they go to Perry's for an over the top dinning experience. I know that they would have put rose petals on the table and offered two free glasses of champagne on the house. Hospitality is so important to me and details matter especially in a high end restaurant. I recommend that your GM, Manager and waiter's read the book called Unreasonable Hospitality! It's definitely eye opening especially when you are in the service industry. This dinning experience was for me cold and unfriendly. Additionally, we waited to be seated at least 15mins even though we had made a reservation two...

So I originally planned to write a narrative thoroughly describing every disappointment of the evening in detail as if I was a reporter for the NY times. Actually, I wrote that narrative and planned to email the corporate office of the Kimpton, but I have calmed down as there is no need for grandstanding. So I will just provide a summary.

I am sensitive to dining experiences as I have worked in the hospitality industry for fine dining, high volume, private events and more for about 10 years now. I am currently bartending at one of the busiest fine dining restaurants in the city. I was trying to enjoy the evening and not be critical, then I realized that almost everyone else at the table was discontent.

Reservations for 9:30 Party of 12 ( grew to 16 ) Occasion - Early birthday party / housewarming party

Note - for 14 of us this was our first (& now last) time as guests of this establishment.

End result - What started with the excitement of visiting the restaurant, the speakeasy and the rooftop bar.  Ended with 14 of us walking out in unison, 3 hours later outraged, without paying and not wanting anymore to do with the Kimpton in its entirety.

The drinks took some time to arrive - and not all of us got the drinks we ordered - I watched our server bring a bottle of wine to the guest sitting immediately across from me, open it and pour a taste for him and his wife, at least 20 mins after I ordered drinks for myself and my date.I waited about another 10 mins before asking about our drinks, had I not asked I am sure I would have gotten them. I am confident in saying that because, our guest of honor never got his drink and literally cancelled it about 45 mins into the process.

One of the guests in our party ordered a crab cake, when they brought out the food for the table, they first placed the wrong food in front of him....after that he never got his food. We literally had to remind the staff that he had not gotten his crab cake, this was after everyone else at the table was ultimately done eating...they eventually sent one out...we were told that the chef did not see the crab cake on the order....I actually only ordered the crab cake and the macaroni....the chef saw my crab cake, but missed another...? I think that is a bit far fetched.

What else happened.... My lobster mac was lukewarm, the asparagus on my dates salmon was cold, the couple across from me ordered a side of broccoli that they never received. We thought that the staff forgot about the broccoli only to find that the serving team placed the broccoli at the opposite end of the table in front of the wrong people.

I could go on about a few more things, but I think that is enough. I also have video evidence from at least 5 people at the table, not to mention my own footage.

Ultimately there was a breakdown in customer service and communication between the serving team and the guest, plain and simple.

It was so much so that a manager should have at least visited the table to show sincerity about their commitment to providing an enjoyable dining experience.

It was an absolute fail. So much so that almost all 16 people who all walked in with the intention of having an amazing experience decided to walk away without paying.... When does that happen? How often does that happen...? Just how terrible did 16 of your guests feel walk out on your dining experience...

If your looking for the absolute best restaurant in all of San Antonio- this is the spot I’m talking northside to downtown if your wanting a fine dining experience in the most gorgeous setting you have got to get a reservation at Dean’s inside the Kimpton hotel. (located off of South Alamo/Downtown) from the moment you step into this place you’ve begun a luxury moment you won’t want to end! All staff from the concierge at the front, the friendly bar staff (Carolina makes the best slightly dirty martini as well as a mean French 75) that smile and greet you as you enter, the eagerly helpful hostess’ (Gigi left a wonderful impression)at the restaurant to the management who are constantly circulating to ensure all guests needing anything are attended to immediately. We were ushered into the restaurant 10 minutes after our semi late arrival due to the abhorrent construction situation on South Alamo. We grabbed a seat at the center bar area to wait for the table. The stone that was used at this gorgeous bar is absolutely stunning, In my humble opinion, so stunning it’s actually identical to the one we put in our own home. They spent some $$$ designing this place. Every area including the fresh oyster/shellfish bar to the speakeasy called The Study across from the beautifully manicured outdoor courtyard to Dean’s fine dining restaurant oozes NYC/LA/MIAMI vibes and this is going to be absolutely the IT place to be for people wanting to see and be seen in San Antonio. Don’t even get me started on the rooftop bar and it’s beyond gorgeous bar and seating area with comfy couches and plenty of room to stretch out, enjoy the views, grab a cocktail and a kiss after an amazing meal downstairs. Every single member of the team offered a pleasant salutation and exuded genuine interest in all guests needs. Back to dinner! Nathaniel/Manager & Edward attended to us at dinner were the stars of the evening and exceeded every expectation!Lobster, halibut, bread/butter, wedge...