Santee Steak & Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Santee

My husband and I are Santee locals and decided to try this place out for our 13 year anniversary, we never have a sitter so this was a big night. First, It is no where near as nice as the pictures make it seem atleast not for what we paid . The floors were covered with tape, our table legs were stabilized with napkins and coasters or paper of some sort, and was still wobbling all over. People yelling, very loud and just seemed like an overpriced bar at this point. ( the pictures are very disceiving

We finally decided on the ribeye for myself, and new York strip with lobster and shrimp for my husband. All together costing nearly $100 for two meals so we definetley had high hopes. Had to ask the server for our rolls.... It took nearly an hour to get our food, our server was sweet and assured us it was coming but that a big table had also ordered steak which hardly seemed a reason to have ours run so far behind but we're pretty patient people so hey, no worries.

Once the food came out the portions seemed very small for what we paid as well. A small bowl of Mac and cheese that was hard as a rock. We had to pull the black cheese ends off and pick around it and put the pieces in a napkin. Even then it was maybe 1 scoop of edible Mac and cheese, the ribeye was dry and tasted bland. I had to drown it in sour cream and steak sauce to chew it. It seemed ours were either rushed or forgotten on the grill, My husband's strip was overcooked (suppsoed to be medium) was not at all and again very dry. He liked his shrimp tho. All and all we frequent California dreaming and would have paid less for better. We were going to do dessert but after all that decided we had better save our money.

We had such high hopes for a new local gem just 5 mins away but would not recommend with the way it is currently.

Also got surprise charged $3 after paying with a card which was crazy as well

Long story even longer if you're like us and are thinking the bad reviews are just picky people... It is not. We are very considerate and patient and so easy to please but that food was just so dry and overcooked for $100.

I will say the young man clearing dishes was very sweet and very quick. We never had a dirty plate sit longer than a few seconds. He really deserves more recognition as most the time he's the one we saw working the hardest

Really hope they get it together as it has alot of potential, Santee deserves nice places.

Updating to add that after getting home and looking at the pictures we were definitely gripped on the portions. Every single plate I've seen in pictures has a large portion of sides. Mt guess is they were low on Mac and cheese because of the big table and gave us scraps our Mac and cheese came in tiny bowls not on the plate to try to cover up the fact that they gave us basically no Mac and cheese. I really can't put into words how...

I have been here 3 times in the past two weeks and my experience has been nothing short of amazing every time. Jada is one of the best hostesses I have ever encountered and Edgar is one of the best servers I have ever been served by. The service is only outdone by the quality of the food here. I live in Fayetteville NC and have never had as good a steak in all of NC. I got the NY strip all three times I ate here and could not cook it better myself. They cook over pecan wood and it is absolutely amazing. The sides are every bit as good as the steak as well. The red rice and Mac and cheese are my favorites. Do yourself a favor and pay no attention to the low reviews on this restaurant. We ate at several of the restaurants in Santee with much higher reviews and none came close to this restaurant. This place should be a 4.8 to 4.9 minimum Google rating and a 5 in my opinion. The prices are amazing as well. The NY strip was 25 dollars. That's with two sides. I pay 16 for the ones I buy uncooked at my local butcher. The Prime rib is 27 or 28 dollars. There was no wait at all. Even the owner was at the bar the second night we went and he was very personable as well. I made a point to tell him how impressed I was with his restaurant and employees and how I could not fathom how he did it at the low prices he charged. The only reason we did not eat here 5 times instead of three was that they were not open on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Edit: almost 3 years it has taken me to get back here and it was even better than I remember. 10/29/2024 was my next visit and the New York Strip is every bit as good as I remember and somehow only 23 bucks. 2 bucks cheaper than 3 years ago. Jada was my bartender and was as awesome a server as she was a hostess 3 years ago. This place is a jewel in the southeast. Truly a bucket list steakhouse among the entire...

Small portions for the money. This place is pricey. We had dinner at Captain’s Quarters a couple weeks ago and it was pricey but better portions. Loads of staff, very few customers. Staff spent most of their time on cell phones and standing around. Our server did a good job with our table, but stood around on her cell between coming to check on us. I saw no cleaning going on. Don’t know why they have so many staff on a Sunday afternoon. We were two of 5 customers in the restaurant. The tremendous dessert display had a couple slices of cheesecake and one whole one. More people were at the bar having drinks.

I asked a couple on the way in about their experience. They said their food was cold but the ribs were good. Asked another couple who were seated and preparing to leave. They said it was their first and last trip there. Said their pasta was over cooked. We have it a chance. Striking this one off our list.

The food was good and came out hot. The cocktail sauce seemed homemade and was very good. The complimentary dinner rolls were good. We ordered a shrimp basket and an oyster basket. For $50 for lunch we expected better portions.

Floors look kinda rough. Unlevel tables with folded papers under legs to mock leveled.

Very dated from the front the entrance to the bathrooms. Everything needs a fresh coat of paint and the...