EPIC Steak — Restaurant in San Francisco

Edit: we emailed the owner of the restaurant and he immediately started an investigation. After merely a day, he apologized to the couple for the mistake in serving the drinks. He offered to refund them anything that’s not in the drink list originally, the tax and service fee, plus $200. We are happy about the way he resolved the issue and appreciate his time and efforts. Finally someone knows how to run a restaurant properly.

THIS IS ABOUT A WEDDING RECEPTION THAT I HELPED PLAN. THE ONLY PARTY THAT CAUSED UNNECESSARY FRUSTRATION WAS THE EVENT MANAGER. WE LOVED THE FOOD, DRINK AND THE GROUND STAFF.

My best friend got married last week and I helped plan her reception. The couple picked this place because they were impressed by the food and drink, and it's perfect for a small wedding (about 30 guests). They reached out to the event manager 2 months in advance knowing that it could be a short notice. So they were extra responsive trying to help the event manager confirm everything as early as possible. However, after the deposit was paid, the event manager suddenly became very hard to reach and only responded to the emails once every two weeks, sometimes after several follow ups. I do not want to speculate but isn't that odd that after you paid them you stopped hearing from them? A very detailed event sheet was sent to the event manager including details on the amount of attendees, orders of food, types and amount of drinks to provide. They specifically stated that they did not want an open bar. One of our friends spent many hours studying their drink menu and helped curate the wine for the reception. All the detailed were given to the event manager via emails but guess what? When we arrived at the venue 1.5 hours before the reception (they did not grant us earlier access to the venue), having a million things to set up, only to find that they got the number of the tables and chairs wrong. I mean, as I mentioned, we had about 30 guests, just 4 tables, how could anybody get it wrong...The ground staff was diligently helping us remove the tables and chairs that weren't needed. From their faces, I also saw confusion and frustration. You would think that's how bad things can go, but no you are wrong. When we got the check, we were SHOCKED. It was $2,000 more than what the event manager quoted after she was provided all the details/information, more than she needed. SHE DID NOT SPECIFY THAT WE DIDNT NEED AN OPEN BAR. So the guests got unlimited order option and ordered many drinks that were not on the drink list (which was sent to the event manager) without knowing it. It costed about $10K for a 30-people reception, that is almost $300/person (and we had 5 children who didn't drink at all). My friend was sooooo upset and it made me think that no one deserve having their big day ruined for some mistakes that they didn't make. She paid and emailed the GM of the restaurant the next day. The GM, Brian, responded in a way that was implying my friend was being unreasonable and ridiculous. He said the restaurant has been holding events for 15 years and the event manager Amber, has been with them for 10 years. He knows her as a kind and professional person. Just because you think highly of yourself and Amber, doesn’t mean you can deny all the complaints even with proof presented to you? He just felt "unfortunate" for my friend after her big day was ruined due to his employee's mistakes, and said the open bar was a "industry standard". I personally have attended hundreds of events and organized a few. Open bar was never a mandate, it's always an option.

I'm saying this simply because I do not want any other girl, who's about to step into the next chapter of her life, risks having her bid day ruined by the event manager here. I'm not saying that she has a terrible track of record. But we, unfortunately, had to pay for her mistakes. Now my friend would never have the wedding reception she'd hope for and that is unfair.

Brides and grooms to be,...

Let's start off with the most important aspect of a steakhouse - the meat was delicious and cooked perfectly. The evening wasn't without its hitches though - upon our initial arrival, we were greeted near the door, then pointed to their bar area in the back to wait until our table was ready. We greeted the remainder of our party of eight (8) who were already there and drinking and then sat down at an empty table to wait. One member of the staff promptly came to us to let us know that it was not okay to sit down at the table, at which point we asked what we should do. He seemed annoyed and told us we could sit at the bar (where there were obviously not enough open seats) or go check with the hostess back in front. We informed him that she was the one who sent us there to wait for our seating, and after a couple harumphs, he said he would go speak with her and then left without any further instruction. Since he was so upset and adamant that the table we were at was inappropriate for us to be at, we got up and waited by our friends seated at the other table. What I thought would be a quick check-in, turned out to take a few minutes. Another staff person, possibly a manager, but I cant be sure since he didn't introduce himself, returned and scolded us for standing by the table. When he was done with his little fit, we asked what he'd like us to do. By then, a few people at the bar had left, so we went there. It seems odd that their team couldn't handle a fairly simple and no-doubt common issue of what to do with people waiting for a table. And I was fairly irked that it wasn't handled more professionally. I suppose I look young despite being in my forties, plus I was underdressed for reasons beyond my control, but I would think that would be a fairly common occurrence in this area, and those aren't good excuses for poor service anyways. All they had to do was tell us (more courteously) that the table was not available and that they would appreciate us waiting on the side until a space opened up at the bar. Anyhow, we had a drink at the bar and were eventually informed that our table was ready. Thankfully, the staff we interacted with inside were impeccable - friendly, informative, and personable. My rib eye was delicious, and my friend's porterhouse was even more impressive. The sides were great too, with my faves being the Brussels sprouts and the potato gratin. We finished the evening and made our way outside where there was a beautiful view of the bridge with a full moon just starting to rise. I have to say that the steak was truly Epic, as billed, and our staff at dinner was the same. Unfortunately, that initial greeting marred my mood a bit, so I didnt enjoy the experience as much as I would have - deeply disappointing since this was my final night in town before flying back...

This falls under the category of desperate times, despair meals.

Truthfully, you come here for the view. You come here to be seen. You don't come here for the food.

Let me say before I start focusing on all the problems that our server was attentive. She was trying really hard. She earned her tip. She deserved a good tip. But I think even she realized she can't make up for a poor kitchen.

It is actually sad to say that as a steakhouse, they really don't know how to cook a steak.

My friend and I were there tonight, she ordered a steak rare, I ordered steak medium rare.

Mine came out well done. Hers came out medium plus. We showed our server, plates were taken away, steaks were replaced by the manager. This time, we received we got rare and black and blue.

Again, they're a steakhouse. They should know the proper temperatures to fire a steak to. We're not playing around with unusual sizes or anything... They just didn't know how to cook their own cuts

While waiting for the replacement mains, our sides just sat on the table and got cold. There was no offer to keep them warm or to replace them.

What added to the disappointment was the fact that nothing was flavored. The steak had no seasoning. The horseradish cream you pay extra for it, didn't have any kick to it. It didn't even have any salt.

Dessert was just disappointing. The apple crisp was just bad. Whatever they put on top wasn't crispy but tasted more like a topping of burnt oatmeal.

Cold mains. Cold sides. Cold "warm," dessert. Just... no.

Bad food wasn't the worst of it. The restrooms were disgusting. You would think for the prices they charge, they would at least Afford to install an auto spray air freshener in the restroom; just smelled of urine that covered most of the floor.

Was so disappointing, I deleted the reservation from my email and on my calendar. Deleted any pictures I had of the food. Even burn the credit card receipt (should have paid cash so there would never be a written record of my visit).

Finally, (and this is coming from someone who is local to San Francisco), this restaurant needs to be dropped from every list. It's an embarrassment to us residents. Just an example of bad food being served in a nice location - The nice decor bad food situation is analogous to a...