The Hydra Steakhouse — Restaurant in Sandpoint

This was the most disappointing, overhyped restaurant experience we have had in Sandpoint thus far. We moved here a few months ago to enjoy the Idaho winter; I am a chef of 20 years and resort owner and manager of 5 years. I have traveled the country and the world experiencing all sorts of cuisines. America is known for their amazing steakhouses, and boy this is not even in the top 50 I have visited. In fact, I would rather go to an Outback Steakhouse to get a steak cooked properly rather than Hydra.

There were a few positives: Great location in town, easy to find, ample parking When you walk in you're pleasantly surprised by a super cute ambiance. Lots of stained glass everywhere. Random, romantic nooks to dine in. The lighting was just right, not too bright and not to dark. Great cocktails. This place should ditch their claim to being a steakhouse and claim fame to amazing cocktails. (really the only reason I'm giving 2 stars instead of 1 star).

Now the negatives: Super unorganized and chaotic feeling with the staff when I walked in. Random guests waiting to be helped and they were scattered about the lobby with no rhyme or reason (possibly not the fault of the venue, the guests didn't seem all too bright). But still there was no host/hostess in sight and it appeared that these confused guests may have been waiting a while... the restaurant was not full. I was meeting two friends whom had arrived about 15-20 minutes before me, so they did get seated, but with a fairly open restaurant I was surprised to find that they'd been seated in an easily forgettable spot out of visible sight of pretty much any staff, and there was another 4 top table sat fairly close to us (no I am not a covid worrier, but I do like space when there a tons of empty tables not much further away). No hostess ever greeted me to take me to their table despite them telling her I was coming and she assured them she would keep an eye out for me. I just wandered aimlessly until I found my group. Fun fact: literally every employee avoided eye contact with me whilst I wandered, presumably to avoid having to answer any mind boggling questions I might have had. The lady who appeared to be the hostess ended up being our waitress as well, I applaud her multitasking, but it sure made for slow and inattentive service. Or when we were being waited on it was a "hurry up and order" vibe. The second I sat down, I hadn't even taken my coat off she came to the table and asked what everybody wanted to order. Um, hi, can I look at the menu? Then it felt like I was inconveniencing her to ask for a few minutes. We were punished with way more than a few minutes, she didn't return to use for at least 10-15 minutes. The appetizers actually were tasty, so this should be in the positive comments, but the presentation was super careless and blah. Like, perhaps the untrained dishwasher was asked to work pantry for the night? Is this place super understaffed? I wasn't in the mood for steak (must have been a sign from the powers that be) so I ordered the seafood fettuccini which was so-so. Can't say it was bad, but I can't say it was good either. The friends I was with, they did happen to make the mistake of ordering steaks (it's a steakhouse right?!) and as a side they got baked potatoes. One of the steaks was ok, allegedly not great, but WAY better than the other one. So the terrible one was their "Signature Prime Rib" and she ordered it rare. The entrees took well over an hour to come to us I'd guess. That super specialty prime rib that was supposed to be rare was and it was the thinnest cut of prime rib I've ever seen and so overly well done that it took two of us to even try to shred through it with their steak knives. Both baked potatoes were dry and crusty, as if they were either reheated from the leftovers the night before or they were baked off way too early in the day and had been sitting in a warmer for many hours. ... due to character length allowance I have to submit the rest of the nightmare on...

We had an absolutely wonderful meal and experience! The service was patient and upbeat, convenient location with nearby free city parking, and cozy atmosphere. There are abundant private nooks as well as large group seating, a seperate lounge, a patio, and inside waiting area. I did see stairs going up but did not inquire.

We were very excited when we saw online they had a salad bar but super let down when the waitress informed us it may not ever be coming back. Also, due to Litehouse being shut down yet, they were out of the cheese curds. SO coming back for those! There is a selection of food that should please just about anyone. Everything is made from scratch and tasted absolutely divine! My steak was med-well but still juicy, his prawns were timed perfectly as they were not at all chewy, and the drinks a perfect balance. To top it off, we caved and shared homemade cheesecake with strawberry puree and whipped cream...we hardly ever do desert but because the meal was so flavorful our curiosity and temptation got the best of us. SO good, we forgot to even take a picture. We did think it was odd that a bread was not served with or before the meal, especially to clean up the oh-so-yummy lemon sauce the prawns were smothered in. We did request some and it was delivered. :)

It was a little chilly in there so I can imagine on really hot Summer days it will be a most welcome reprieve, but if you get cold easy, bring a light jacket or sweater. They have very nice artwork to admire and it's not overly decorated with a lot of dust catching items. Although, if they found themselves willing to invest a little, the place could use some updating overall (carpet, booths/tables/getting rid of track lighting, upgrade bathroom and wall coverings). It still had an upscale feel from the past. Pricing was fair for a meal in its category and quality.

UPDATE: OK...so 2nd visit with visiting family joining. Wonderful! Keep in mind for the "average" dining this can get quite expensive, especially with adding any drinks. You CAN keep it reasonable with skipping beverages and sticking with water and foregoing appetizers and dessert. As frugal as I am, I will admit that you won't get near the pleasant experience and that this establishment is certainly worth it! We treat our visits here as special occasions annd date nights, but those of you whom are more affluent might find this the perfect go-to spot. The staff is always friendly and pleasant. A side note: this is the first restaurant I've been to where they asked me what I wanted my steak...

This was the first and will be my last time at this establishment. It was literally the worst dining experience of my life (including cockroaches in food in Egypt). First off the restaurant got our birthday celebration reservation wrong and we were placed at separate tables. The service was unbelievably bad and our server couldn’t be found half the time. It didn’t appear that he was busy serving others, so who knows, but something was up with him. The server didn’t know how to put in food orders. He took the order for appetizers and then didn’t take a dinner order until well after appetizers and drinks were finished. We had to order/re-order our second round of drinks multiple times as well as had to go directly to the bar for service. Our dinner took over 2 hours and we nearly missed part of our concert. On top of that, several of our meals came out 1/2hr or longer after the rest of our party. They had finished their meals by the time we got ours, and when we did get our food it was cold. I ordered the seafood fettuccine, which was runny/soupy and 3/4 of the seafood was undercooked to raw. The bread that came w/it was the oddest toasted bread I have ever seen and only on one side-it tasted like chemicals and was inedible. The waiter was rude to me when I asked how much longer the food that was delayed was going to take but others in my party seemed to have a good experience with him, besides the overall ineptitude. The one thing I’ll give our server is that he discounted my meal to the price on the website as I had ordered off the menu on the website, which is significantly different in price, and I was unaware. I didn’t expect a discount-just told him for awareness. I shouldn’t have even paid for the meal given the food safety concerns, but the experience sucked me of all energy to even try to get his attention to deal with it, and we were already late for our show. Having been a server for a lot of years, it pained me to make a note on the receipt, but I thought it important for the kitchen to be aware. Really hoping I don’t get sick! Total nightmare dining...