Steve’s Landing Waterfront Grill — Restaurant in Soddy-Daisy

My husband and I went to Steve’s Landing last night. I have been craving their Ragin Cajun pasta, it is so damn delicious. My husband would never take me because he was an electrician and said that he had done some electric work in their kitchen and it was not clean. Yesterday, the hunger outweighed hygiene (don’t judge). We arrived about 8:20 Sat night. We were greeted by an attractive young hostess. “Would you like to sit outside, or inside”? And we reply “We would love to sit outside”. Then things got weird. “I am sorry we are having problems with our hood in our kitchen, so we will not be able to serve you. It will be like 45 minutes”. To which we reply “Totally fine, we will just sit on the patio and drink a beer or two” and she says “let me go ask Steve if you can do that” My head tilts to the side, these are foreign words. You don’t want me to spend money here??? She promptly returns with the verdict that “No, we can’t sell you beer and you can’t wait”. HOLD UP, I spot a table looking over menus, so I ask “have you told them that you have hood problems and they won’t be able to order?” and she says “oh, they have already ordered” UH WHAT! Maybe they are studying for the after dinner menu test. So quietly, I say “You do see that there are some discrepancies with what you are saying?” and she says “Do you want to come see the smoke in the kitchen?” WTH Quick glance in the window, dinners look fine in there. I turn to my right, waitress is now taking an order from the study group. So now the hostess says “would you like me to get the owner, he’s around back?” OMG YES, the owner will clear up this up right now and someone’s going to get fired. Oh no wait, husband heads around back, returns after a few minutes and explains that Steve told him to go f himself and don’t ever come back. Pretty sure my husband said something about his mother. Now, if you have been there, you know to exit you have to drive around the back of the building to leave. We drove around back with the convertible down and rolled past about seven employees smoking drinking and loudly explaining their dislike for us. They were probably out there for some fresh air, with all the hood smoke and stuff. On the flip side it was not the normal date night, and we have a great story to tell. If anyone has a recipe for that pasta, let me...

I've eaten at Steve's on and off for the last 15 years or so. The main draw for me has always been convenience when I am at the lake. The food is usually good but nothing special. Most of it (including the ribs) comes frozen off the delivery trucks so I have to smile at some of the over the top reviews. Come on folks..."the best you've ever had"...really? So, the reason for my low rating isn't the food or even the wait staff...it is rather a combination of inconsistent policies, cramped and noisy interior space, and a general "who cares" attitude from management.

If you come early in the day or in the winter when it's not crowded you will likely have a pleasant experience. In the summer however, waits of 45 minutes to well over an hour are the norm. Customers are herded in and out like cattle. That's not my idea of a "relaxing" dinner on the waterfront.

Want to call in for "take out"? That's fine on some days...not so much on others. I think it has something to do with how busy they are and whether or not they know you.

Want to call to make a reservation? You will be told "we don't take reservations". However, I recently learned they have "call ahead seating". I'm not sure how you are supposed to know about it or how it is different from a reservation but it certainly gives the host/hostess an excuse to use when you question why people that signed in after you are seated well ahead of you.

After dinner, if you are leaving by car, you might want to say hi to the cooks and wait staff taking their "break" in the road behind the restaurant just before you get to the fragrant dumpster and grease pit that sits about 20 feet from the kitchen entrance.

So if you happen to be at the lake and don't mind waiting a long time for ordinary food Steve's may well be "the best you have ever eaten". As for me, I find myself going more and more often to Ari's at Harbor Lights Marina. Better food, better menu, better view...and they have a full...

This is not the Steve’s Landing from our first visit 5 years ago. We went last night at 8:00 PM on Saturday night April 30, 2022. They were not real busy but I would estimate they were at 50% capacity of customers. Our 1st visit 5 years ago we were told back then to get the blackened ribs and we did and they were so good… back in 2017. We ordered the same this time, blackened ribs with a side of broccoli and we also ordered garlic parmesan pasta. The wait for food took about 10-15 minutes to come out and we were excited to dig in, that’s when we found the ribs were barely warm at all the the broccoli was cool as well and even had good size chuck of unmelted butter in the middle of them. The waitress came and asked us how our food was and I told her about the cool food and she took it back and shortly after returned with the ribs that were steaming hot this time and the broccoli hot as well and they even topped off the bowl but over salted (over seasoned) it a bit too much. The waitress explained the cooks had been working since 8 am that same day and they just got into trouble for rushing orders out. We paid our bill and left a tip however I do not see a return to this restaurant anytime soon especially now that there are other nearby options available. We realize this establishment like others are short staffed as they even have a sign at the door advertising open positions however we did not feel like we were appreciated for supporting the business with the folks on hand. We look forward to a return trip when we hear improvements and staffing...