Stark’s Steak & Seafood — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

My first visit even tho I'm a local. I've heard great things about this place and really like the other restaurants under same ownership, so I wanted to love it. Maybe I caught Stark's during a bad time in first week of indoor dining after covid lockdown... St. Patrick's Day, 2021

PROS: *Friendly, courteous staff *Easy to find *Cool old building *Free parking nearby (street & lot) *Comfortable chairs, well designed interior *Suitable for couples or family/friend larger parties *Full bar, drinks/wine were good *Espresso coffee drinks, well made *Delicious steak & burger, both cooked perfectly to order *Sticky rice is amazing! *Incredible flakey, garlic-y, buttery table bread (had to order, not complimentary, but BY FAR the best I've ever had)

CONS: *Classic rock music choice felt awkward for a fine dining restaurant on a holiday evening. Changed the ambiance of our romantic dinner *Place seemed oblivious to the fact that it was St. Patrick's Day... no green, no holiday greeting, no celtic music, no menu specials/drink specials, our server "forgot it was St. Patrick's Day". Ouch! ☘ *No complimentary olives, bread, or anything to nibble on at the table *Bottom bun of burger was so soaked with grease it was inedible *No ranch dressing...? At a steak house!?? Just seems stubbornly bougie for a steak house that plays Fleetwood Mac as ambiance music on a festive holiday evening in the 21st century *Dessert menu extremely narrow. No sorbet/ice cream, or pie/pastry basics like you'd expect at a steak house *Server got extremely busy (understaffed?). We asked a back server to relay our dessert order but he failed so we were stuck for about 30 mins until it finally arrived. By then we had finished our coffees *This last issue is likely temporary... may be due to bldg being closed during covid...? I have a good nose and distinctly smelled urine in the area of our table upon joining my party inside. It was shocking due to the raving rep this place has locally! Not sure how this smell was so permeating, but needless to say, was less than appetizing

Solid ⭐⭐⭐ If asked today, would recommend ANY of their other restaurants...

We went here for our 10th anniversary dinner since we were staying at Safari West nearby. It was last minute, but they got us in. Very nice place, beautiful and cozy. It's definitely dress up or down. There was no dress code, but we did feel a tad underdressed.

This place is definitely on the higher priced side. You buy every meal a la carte! I had scallops, by themselves.. you had to add on a crock/sides of you wanted anything. Honestly, the steak my hubby had was incredible. Everything else was good, but I think it was very overpriced and over fancied up for the sake of being a fancy and expensive restaurant. My scallops were good, but the browned butter it was in was just like water, so the sauce didn't stick or really have a purpose and didn't really taste great. They were good, but nothing to be overly excited over. They had a weird flavor that I still couldn't figure out what it was. The pancetta just tasted like burnt bacon. But it was so hard and felt like sand and grit when eating. I would order something different for sure next time. The sides were good, but nothing special, although slight for 2 peopleto share. The potato skin fondue appetizer was good but basic and wasn't skins. It was huge chunks of x crispy, burned potatoes. It was good but just not what I expected. I also had the add-on cup of cauliflower and truffle oil soup. Tiny cup and expensive just to have legit truffle oil poured on top. It was ok also. Basically.. It's a dish for the sake of being fancy.

Our bill with 1 beer and the tip was close to $200! And it was just ok. They were very nice and on top of everything, though. Great atmosphere,...

This is a hard review. My husband made reservations for our 43rd anniversary, but that fact was obviously not registered as it should have been. An expensive place like Stark's should at least have the staff wish people good wishes on special occasions. We were not pleased with our table - when we arrived all the older people were seated at tiny tables all around the walls, while younger couples were seated at larger 4-tops around the fireplace.

Our waiter, I hate to say, sucked. He constantly interrupted us, did not check on us for 30 whole minutes, after someone else delivered our mains. He forgot to put in a side order and was not the slightest bit sorry about it. We canceled the side, but it still appeared on the bill.

BUT, if you don't care about the crappiest service we have ever had in the North Bay, we can highly recommend the food. Steaks cooked to perfection, the starters and sides were as perfect. Not an off-note to the food at all. This is classic steakhouse food, with some interesting twists. The food approached sublime...

I was the only drinker that night, and I was disappointed in the my cocktails - they were tiny and expensive. The bar at Willie Bird's is way better than the much-touted Stark's bar.

Our bill was nearly $400. for two, including a 17% tip to that very bad waiter (hey, he's a working stiff, too).

I am not the only person who has experienced the terrible service. When Stark's enters restaurant convos, most people mention the crappy service, so it seems it is sort of a trademark at the place for some reason. It is odd. I wonder why it is allowed to go on....