Morton's The Steakhouse — Restaurant in San Francisco

July 2024:

Despite my feedback in 2023, the steakhouse continues to disappoint its customers. This time, I had to visit twice in a row due to a policy requiring us to book a private room with no cancellations allowed within seven weeks. The minimum spending requirement of $3,000 is excessive, as it’s impossible to consume that much food or drink unless opting for very expensive wine.

On July 9, we visited and ordered steak, crab legs, and appetizers like bacon-wrapped scallops and crab cakes. The scallops were the highlight, but we found a cracked shell piece in the Washington oysters, posing a risk of breaking a tooth. The crab legs were too large and simply steamed with butter sauce, making $125 for two legs seem unreasonable. My colleague ordered a sirloin steak medium rare+, but it arrived medium rare with some areas overcooked and others undercooked. It seemed the chef cooked the meat in bulk and placed it unevenly on the grill, which is unacceptable for a steakhouse. When we complained about the steak, the waitress did nothing to offer a replacement. Due to the spending requirement, we had to take away two bottles of wine to meet the limit, resulting in a disappointing night.

On July 10, we arrived early to have cocktails at the bar to contribute to our room’s minimum spending. However, we were told the bar and private dining room bills couldn't be combined, which seemed illogical and frustrating. Additionally, our vegetarian guests were served non-vegetarian food despite our specific requests. The steak we ordered medium rare arrived medium, with the same uneven cooking issue as the previous night. The lamb rack was well prepared but rather huge for one to consume. The lobster tail and seafood platter were well-prepared, and we enjoyed the crab cake and bacon-wrapped scallops. It seems this steakhouse excels more at seafood than steaks.

July 2023: Discover the renowned steakhouse in the United States and savor their exquisite selection of beef and meats. I decided to try the lamb racks, but unfortunately, they didn't meet my expectations. Despite ordering them medium rare, the meat was incredibly chewy and clung stubbornly to the bone, making it difficult to even cut through. Moving on to the seafood platter, it included oysters, shrimp, tuna salad, crab meat, and lobster. However, the lobster seemed to be overcooked and gave off the impression of using frozen lobster for preparation. The meat turned out chewy and had a tendency to stick to the lobster shell. The oysters were briny and had a strong mineral flavor. The shrimp, on the other hand, didn't possess the desired freshness and fell short in taste. Unfortunately, nobody informed us about the accompanying sauce that could have enhanced the flavor of the shrimp. On a positive note, the grilled lobster tail was enjoyable, although I personally would have preferred it slightly undercooked for a more desirable tenderness. Despite the disappointment with the meat, the wine provided a delightful accompaniment to the meal. Interestingly, my companions also expressed dissatisfaction with the beef, resulting in many of them leaving portions of their...

The Worst Restaurant Experience – A Place That Should Be Avoided at All Costs

This restaurant provided the worst service I have ever experienced. It was not just a matter of being unfriendly—it was outright disregard for customers, coupled with an unprofessional and discriminatory attitude. The food quality was secondary to the sheer lack of basic service, making my visit a complete regret.

A Total Lack of Basic Service

From the moment I arrived, the staff showed no interest in assisting me. Despite plenty of available seats, I was completely ignored, with no guidance or menu provided. After waiting for a while, I had to move to the bar myself and request a menu from an employee who was busy making drinks.

Even something as simple as water was not offered. I had to ask for it when I saw another guest being served, and even then, the staff delayed bringing it to me, displaying an unprofessional and dismissive attitude.

Indifference Even After Ordering Steak

Later, I ordered a steak, expecting at least a minimal level of service. However, nothing changed. The staff remained cold and inattentive, making it clear that they had no interest in providing even the most basic level of customer care.

An Uncomfortable and Suspicious Payment Process

Instead of processing my payment at a normal register, I was taken to a secluded room to pay. There was no valid reason for this, making the entire process feel unnecessary and suspicious. It added yet another layer of discomfort to an already unpleasant experience.

Passive-Aggressive Behavior Over Tipping

Despite their appalling service, the staff made it obvious that they expected a tip. When I didn’t leave one, I was met with disapproving looks and passive-aggressive behavior. The entitlement to a tip, despite offering absolutely no service, was beyond frustrating.

Food Quality Below Expectations

The food itself was far from impressive. The steak I ordered was mediocre at best—no better than what you’d find at a budget family restaurant. Considering the price, the meal was absolutely not worth it. It felt like I had wasted both my money and my time.

A Disturbing Sense of Discrimination

The most shocking aspect of my experience was the clear sense of discrimination. From the moment I arrived, I felt ignored and treated differently compared to other guests, particularly white customers. It wasn’t just poor service—it was blatant and intentional neglect.

Final Verdict – Avoid This Place at All Costs

This restaurant is not just bad—it is a place that openly disregards its customers while expecting to be rewarded for it. The combination of poor service, subpar food, and an unwelcoming atmosphere makes it one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had.

This visit left me with an extremely negative impression of San Francisco, and I would strongly advise anyone to avoid this restaurant entirely. If you’re looking for a pleasant dining experience, do yourself a favor and...

We have visited various Morton‘s in cities across the US. The quality is always consistently high, and this Morton‘s is no exception. The interior is very nice and calm, and the lighting very low, making it an intimate and pleasant dining experience. The bar at the front of the restaurant is a nice lounge-style bar, where one can enjoy a drink before eating, or simply enjoy a drink when passing by. The dress code in the restaurant is business… well it‘s California business, so probably smart casual would be the most common description of the dress code. When we visited it seemed the restaurant didn‘t enforce the dress code as people wore all sorts of outfits, some borderline to us. Yet this is also symptomatic of the SF downtown area - restaurants can‘t afford to say no to patrons anymore. The whole downtown area is in decay, and Morton‘s feel like a last outpost of civilization, at least in terms of a dining experience. Fortunately, Morton‘s is a few blocks from the worst instances of post-apocalyptic scenery which now have become so common in San Francisco.

The staff was courteous, and our waiter was very nice and professional, and did his best to make us feel at home at Morton‘s. And we did feel at home.

The menu is the standard Morton‘s menu, or at least we couldn‘t find many differences to Morton‘s in LV, Chicago, or Florida. We tried oysters from Washington, crab cake (yes, it‘s one), shrimp cocktail, lobster bisque, and French onion soup for appetizers. All tasted just fine but none of them gave us goose bumps. For main courses we had the seven ounce Wagyu, the rib-eye, and the eight-ounce filets. All were cooked exactly to our liking. As sides we had garlic mashed potatoes, matchstick truffle fries, and creamed spinach. We pared this with a Cakebread cabernet sauvignon which was spectacular. All in all, the dinner was very nice and everything met our expectations. However, nothing really exceeded our expectations either. It simply isn‘t going to be one of those dining experiences that we will talk about as a highlight. (Which we used to do about dinners at Farallon, a restaurant which now is closed, and used to be a neighbor to Morton‘s).

Nowadays, having a meal like this is has become quite expensive. The rib-eye alone was $75. All in all, the bill ended at $900 for four persons (including tip). It was a great meal, but we also didn‘t find it spectacular. In fact, for the prices Morton‘s is charging, you can find better steak options elsewhere in San Francisco. But if you want a no-frills, great steak dinner, Morton‘s is a good option to consider.

Ambience: 5/5 Staff: 4/5 Food: 4/5 Wine menu: 5/5 Price/quality: 2/5 (very pricey but...