Metropolitan Grill — Restaurant in Seattle

I have lived in Seattle for 25 years and dine at MG about 3-4 times a year, usually for special occasions. I work definitely NOT be considered a “regular”. Irrespective of that, I would expect customer service to be the same for everyone. Clearly this is not the case and I will share with you a rather shocking story. As a party of 5, we recently visited for my son’s birthday. When I ordered by steak, I requested a “non-serated knife”. I was told “we don’t have non-serrated knives”. I had to correct the server because the last time we were there, I requested a “non-serrated knife” and was given one. I requested to speak with the Manager, who came over and I made the request to him. I also pointed out that I had been given a “non-serrated knife” the last time I visited. The manager then acknowledged that the do (in fact) have non-serrated knives, but they save those for their “Brand Ambassadors”. I asked if any “Brand Ambassadors” were currently using the knife I was requesting and he informed me that they were not! What? You have the knife a customer is requesting, but you won’t allow them to enjoy their meal (that is quite expensive as we know) in the manner they request because ONLY “Brand Ambassadors” are entitled to a “non-serrated knife”? Now, this may seem like a minor thing to anyone reading this. I get it. However, I am a surgeon, and knives matter to me. No one would ever want me performing surgery on them with a serrated knife because serrated knife “rip” but don’t cut. Non-serrated knife’s cut and don’t rip. Big difference. I eat steak 7 days a week. I buy my meat online from all around the country and it is the highest quality beef you can buy (actually probably better than MG sells). Not a “USDA Prime” is the same, not even close, so, I am quite particular about what steak I eat and HOW I eat it. I want nicely sliced steak and not “ripped” steak. If you NEED a serrated knife then you should question the quality of the beef. I persisted with my request and the manager continued to refuse. I then asked, “if I order a portion of your Japanese A5 Wagyu, what knife would you give me to eat it. I was again told their standard serrated steak knife! Every Chef in Japan who cooks A5 probably just died with that statement. Anyway, I gave up. But just imagine how trivial they are being in not fulfilling my simple request, when they had unused knives, and their gesture would have significantly improved my experience? Such poor and snooty customer service. Fast forward to last night. My own birthday. Instead of going to MG we went to John Howie Steak in Bellevue. Again, party of 5. When I ordered my steak, I requested a “non-serrated knife”. Well guess what, I was told “we ONLY have non-serrated knife’s, Chef Howie would NEVER want someone cutting their steak with a serrated knife because the quality of our beef is so good”! WOW!! What a difference. Then, our server said “I actually can offer you a choice of a different non-serrated knife if you prefer.” He then brings me over a beautiful Japanese steak knife. So, I am not crazy because the Chef/Owner/Proprietor of another very high end steak house in the city doesn’t even use serrated knives and went as far as offering me a choice. MG should be ashamed because they obviously have two levels of service for people paying the exact same price for their food. Maybe they feel that strongly because the quality of their USDA Prime really isn’t too shelf. Makes you wonder if they are holding back their best cuts of meat as well. Either way, something as simple as this says a lot about who they are and how they view their customer base. Something to consider next time you make a reservation for...

We visited the Metropolitan Grill for dinner on our first day in Seattle visiting out of town and left with a lot of displeasure. After reading several reviews and hearing how wonderful Metropolitan Grill was, we did not have the same experience.

Our dining experience started off wonderful but was ruined midway through our dinner. We made reservations at 8 PM but arrived a little early at 7:45 and the hostess was able to accommodate us only having to wait about 5 minutes. Once seated, we were greeted by our server requesting our drink orders and provided fresh warm bread to start with. He went over all of the meat selections along with the specials on the menu for the night. Since this was our annual guys trip that we budget for, we wanted to try the best selections from the menu.

For Six People we ordered:

Drinks: Ordered some specialty cocktails (Met mango margarita, Mezcal mule and another drink)

Appetizer: King Crab Cakes, Almond Crusted Scallops, French Onion Soup, Lobster Bisque and Tenderloin Tartar

Main Entrees: Boneless Ribeye, Olive Steak Oscar Style, Cap Top Steak, Hokkaido Filet, Ohmi Filet, 2 Australian Lobster Tails

Sides: Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Dessert: Banana Foster and Hot Apple Pie

Before our order was placed we received our cocktail drinks and they were all good except for one. We then started receiving our appetizers which were also very tasteful and presented nicely.

Once our appetizer finished, it took quite some time for our steaks to arrive which we did not mind as the restaurant seemed pretty busy. However once our steak arrived, for a high end steak restaurant we would expect our server to ask us to cut into our steaks making sure it was cooked to our desired temperature but this did not happen and our waiter left the table. The result of this was that one of our friends that ordered the cap steak med-rare came out to med to med-well and both of our lobster tails seemed very tough or overcooked.

In addition to the cap steak, the presentation was not expected as this meat was sliced into pieces instead of one whole piece like the others (causing the steak to cook even more to a well done since the plate was hot and the juices were flowing out). After most of us started digging into our meal, it took almost 10 minutes until our waiter came back to check on us realizing that the cap steak was overcooked. He immediately took the plate and stated it would be 10-15 min to have another replaced and provided a small crab cocktail for the guest to enjoy while waiting. After 25-30 minutes EVERYONE was finished with their food and the waiters assistant removed everyone's plate leaving the sides. We pushed all of our sides along with the lobster to our one friend that still did not have his steak to eat while he was waiting. Finally after about 35 minutes he received his steak and it was cooked to the desired temperature. We all watched him rush on eating his steak leaving an uncomfortable experience since everyone was done.

After our main entrees, we ordered the hot apple pie and banana foster for two. The presentation and dessert were both very wonderful but I would mention that each of the desserts could be for four people at least. Around 10:20 we received our tab and it was well over one-thousand dollars after tip. This was not a normal dinner and like most people it is a privilege to dine out nice every once in awhile.

Overall for a high end restaurant, we did not enjoy our meals due to the experience and presentation of the entrees we had. We would not really suggest it to our friends or family back home. For a restaurant with a rich history and high reviews we really...

Considered one of if not the best steak house in Seattle, the Metropolitan Grill (MG) will not disappoint.

We got in early because we wanted to be there for the famous Happy hour which is 3:30pm – 5:30pm. We were the first to get in the restaurant and we made our way into the bar area where there's 10 or so booths. It fills up quickly so it pays to be by right when they open. We ordered drinks from the Happy Hour menu—Smoky Martini and Pear Lemon Drop. Made from fresh ingredients they were absolutely delicious! Strong and flavorful. For starters we ordered the Spicy Fried Shrimp and Prime Tenderloin bites. The bites we cooked to perfection! Tender as described, savory with the chili bite and edgy pineapple sweetness makes it just so craveable, perhaps their best item on the menu. The spicy shrimp was just as good, also in a chili sauce, peppers and sesame leaving us wanting to order another round.

For our main course a Caesar salad (dinner menu), “Works Burger” (happy hour item) and French Onion soup (dinner menu). Now, it’s important to note the main menu isn’t available until 4:30pm as the chef’s are still prepping for the evening dinner menu so you do have to wait but, it’s worth the wait! The burger was cooked perfectly with all the standard fresh ingredients and the French onion soup was absolutely delicious.

Some niggly things that in my mind keeps MG from being 5 stars---

1. The Spicy shrimp was a bit soggy. Perhaps MG should fry the shrimp a bit longer so as to keep that crispness.

2. The Works Burger was an excellent burger but I’ve had better burgers in my time. I believe the meat is ground chuck but it doesn’t say on the menu. Ground Chuck has a very different flavor from regular ground beef. Some may think that makes the burger better but not in my book (see my profile and other reviews on burger places). Could use more salt & pepper on the burger itself and suggest MG state the type of meat on the menu so as to know what to expect around the flavor profile.

3. Caesar salad was small, more like a side salad. If MG is going to charge the full menu price should have been a large plate of salad (see pic).

4. • Warning! * Watch for the added service charge. Your waiter is suppose to tell you that this non-descript, cryptic charge is actually the tip but ours conveniently forgot to mention it. Not cool MG. The “Tip” line still appears on your bill so you're left wondering, "Do I pay a tip or not?". Of course this is clarified in a subsection of their website but who knows that going in? So point-of-fact: MG servers are EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD and by MG standards always are. The wait staff make nearly $80/hr. so do NOT add any more money for a tip on top of this sneaky, already built-in tip (aka service charge).

All in all a fantastic dinner I HIGHLY recommend for everyone to come to Seattle and enjoy the MG. Just stick to the Happy Hour to get the best deals and...