Red Tracton's Steakhouse — Restaurant in Solana Beach

Red Tracton’s Steakhouse at Solana Beach, San Diego has been my family and friends’ favorite for prime rib and lobster bisque for years. My friend and I were looking forward to another positive experience when we arrived for our reservation at noon on Friday, September 04, 2015. After waiting longer than usual, the hostess showed us to our table. Seeing two other couples sitting at two tables for four, I asked the hostess if my friend and I could also seat at one of the tables for 4 available next to the small one she placed us at. She insisted that the bigger table were for parties of 4 ONLY. Within a couple minutes, she brought in two diners and sat them at the table supposedly for 4 next to us that I had requested in vain. After she took away the additional two table settings, she looked squarely in my face as if challenging and daring me to complain. Throughout the lunch, she would come in and chat with guests at every table, except at ours. When our waitress asked her to hand us the bill, she plopped the folder on the table right under my friend’s nose and walked away without a word.

We were shocked by the rudeness never encountered before in any other restaurant. We wondered about the reason for the treatment as we were quietly enjoying our food. The only possible cause we could come up with for her behavior was because we were the only non-white there. It is sad to witness racial prejudice in this modern era, especially at a reputable restaurant like Red Trenton’s. Belittling others only shows how restricted one's mind is. I have much compassion for people like her. They sure miss out the true joy from exercising more...

I used to LOVE this place, what happened? The food was absolutely sub par and over priced. First, we went for a special occasion in anticipation of their amazing large lobster tails. They didn’t have them… not a single one. Ok, it happens. So I opted for their highly recommended prime rib (10oz @65.00j and Alaska King Crab. The plate was 145.00. So, I’m expecting a very large crab leg. What showed up was something about the size of a large snow crab leg… which made it about $85. When it was dropped off, I actually was in shock and said this is $145 worth of crab? The waitress politely said oh, it’s 145 for the plate. I said ok…. So this is an $85 crab leg? She was very sweet and apologized and brought me two more little ones. They were ok but not great. I also ordered the salad exceptional served table side. It used to be called the green goddess. When it’s served table side they usually put it together at the table so you can watch them build it. Nope. Cart came out salad was in a metal bowl and she plated it. I guess that’s kind of table side, but I don’t get it… the bread was also hard and stale. My bill for a single person celebrating alone was just just about $300. My $39.00 glass of wine was yummy but declined on a second because I felt ripped off. This used to be our go to place for a celebration dinner. It was so disappointing. Their menus is changed and much smaller. They also no longer have their “to die for” scalloped potatoes…I think they are focusing more on their happy hours and comedy nights and ditching their food. I guess it’s their restaurant to do what they want but I’ll go to Steak 48 next time. ...

Restaurant definitely has a nice homey elegant charm when you first walk in, but after that it is all downhill from there. The restaurant needs a little more upkeep and maintenance the way you would a nice vintage car. You can definitely see the wear and tear when you walk through the bathroom corridors and all the handles and chairs are a little sticky.

Service and wait were one of the worst I have had. We had a waitress that seemed like she was in training. She was nice and proceeded to take our order but .... more than halfway through the order the trainer proceeds to come by and yell "you have to pick up the dish in the window RIGHT NOW!!" 10 mins later the trainer comes back and has to redo our whole order (no explanation why she couldn't get it from the trainee). Our appetizers come out, lobster bisque is overly salted IMO and shrimp cocktail overpriced. The entrees took what ended like an eternity to which the trainer came by twice to let us know food was coming soon and told us it would just be another minute. Another minute became another 30 minutes. Entrees took over an hour to come out after the appetizers just for 3 prime ribs and one grilled salmon. The grilled salmon came out prepared wrong and we were given another person's salmon and had to be taken back to get the right dish. Nothing special about any of the dishes, just okay.

My family and I will not be returning. Didnt even want to try their desserts since it was so late and we were scared it'd take another hour. Had to flag down a random guy for our bill and boxes since the trainer and trainee kept...