Saltgrass Steak House — Restaurant in San Marcos

This restaurant has been getting worse over the past couple of years. We once were able to get a good meal at a reasonable price and great customer service. All of those categories have declined recently. I stopped going a few months ago but decided to give them a chance this evening. That was my first mistake. I started the conversation with our server informing her that I had a birthday reward on the account bit was not sure of its status. She responded by saying it's no problem even if it's not on the account, we will take care of it. We ordered a few minutes later expecting that to be the case. After we placed our order a man approached our table, we assumed he was the manager by his attire and that he appeared to have notes. He informed me that the birthday reward had expired. There was no indication on the app or website that that was the case so I showed him and informed him I deferred it on the website the month it was issued. He informed me it only deferred 45 days. I would have accepted this response but then in a very condescending manner he informed me that I had a lot of points and asked if I wanted to cash in my points. I said no and tried to make the best out of this already poor experience. The food came and both steaks were prepared incorrectly. Mine, that was supposed to be medium, bleed out when I cut into it, but not before its super rare slab tried to run away. My wife's, that was ordered medium well came out pretty much burnt to a crisp. Picture jack links but a little bit thinker cut. The only thing that was salvageable for the entire meal was the potato soup. The waitress did not acknowledge or attempt to apologize for the misunderstanding before the meal. Instead she spent the rest of the meal avoiding our table and the limited interactions she made at the table seemed cold and minimal. I was feeling bad about the low tip I was considering leaving but after no attempt was made to correct the issue and a lack of service the rest of the visit, I feel like 12 percent was more than fair. Especially since the bill was $25 more than we were expecting to pay when we...

Bad vibe at this location. Too many things did not add up. A very delayed greeting by the hostess even after my wife greeted her first as we arrived. Then we got a canned insincere “welcome to Saltgrass” after a delayed awkward pause, but only after that hostess was good and ready. The place was not yet busy and a said “5 minute wait” approached 20 minutes while they started skipping us and seated people arriving after us without reservation. While waiting, a guy from the bar face planted into the ground in the main entry. Totally unrelated to our visit, I was just curious if the bar was overserving customers to a point where they were falling flat on their faces or maybe too many drunks? Anyhow, the primary dining area had a lot of seating available, and when they finally decided to seat us, they tried to put us at the bar in the back of the restaurant to which I immediately refused. Why are you seating a family with kids in the bar area when there are plenty of tables in the primary dining area? We decided we were no longer wanting to eat here and started walking out. I asked the scare crow looking host, who claimed he was the manager, why they were seating people arriving after us? His reply was “I’m sorry about that.” I asked for any excuse, any reason, but this beta just kept intensely apologizing like some repeating crack head buffoon. I immediately knew he was lying about being the manager and made him get me the real manager. The real manager came up and listened to the situation, but the damage had already been done. I just couldn't trust any food being served becasue a slight confrontation can spell retaliation from the kitchen. In hindsight, I question if this was a racial thing by Saltgrass Staff. Is it a company policy to try to hide away certain demographics in the back of the restaurant? Listen folks, there are a lot of restaurants that actually want your business nearby. We were treated wonderfully by another restaurant and salvaged our night. Don’t be afraid to walk out if Saltgrass is not passing...

My husband and I stopped in for an early dinner yesterday 5/27/21. We were greeted with a friendly hello and welcome and promptly seated. Alejandro was our waiter. Very friendly and informative. He took our order and repeated it back to confirm. Our appetizer were brought out in about 8 mins after we ordered. We had the Cheese Fries. They were so good! Cheesy, hot and not over cooked. Our main course was a steak for me and the chicken friend steak for my hubby. When his plate arrived he looked like a kid on Christmas day lol...The CFS was huge and it wasn't all batter and a little meat (like most places). He even had some left over! But let's get to the meat of it all...My steak (Pat's Ribeye) ...I love steak and haven't had a good steak in a while. You know the kind that is perfectly cooked medium rare with that cool pink center. That you spread the butter on and let it rest to absorb the full flavor...Charred slightly around the edges and tender to the touch. When you cut into it, the juices slowly run onto the plate and on the first bite, flavors burst on your tongue. You can taste the char, the seasonings and the slight saltiness of it all and you just close your eyes and enjoy. Like I said, I hadn't had that in a long time, but the steak artisan who plated that yesterday should be treasured! Y'all that was hands down the best steak I have had in a long time. I hope if you go based on my review that you have the same experience. I savored every bite. I also ordered a to go order for my mom. We live an hour away and it arrived cool. I purposely ordered med rare knowing that when we reheat it for her, it would be the perfect med well that she likes. She started to eat it cold and said it was okay. I asked her to let me heat it for her. I did and she took that first bite and her eyes opened wide and she said "that made a big difference!" She could taste what I was trying to describe to her. So double thank you for such an...