Spencer's for Steaks & Chops — Restaurant in Spokane

After arrival at the Hilton Double Tree Riverfront property about 30 minutes before the official check in time knowing that my Mrs. was more than slightly disappointed - and with her wanting a bath, to eat, and get some rest. I checked out Spencer's in the lobby, and after checking rates for room service, I decided that it would be a great way to take a day of disappointment and turn it into a date night, so I prepared our order and ran it past the Mrs. to see if she had any changes before I placed the takeaway order for 17:00. Initially, I planned to order her the petite filet mignon, and we'd share a full wedge salad and stuffed hash browns, and as I could not find a porterhouse and have little preference for ribeye, whether from a bison or a more common bovine I'd decided on the Double Bone Pork Chops. As I reviewed our order while she ran her bath water, she asked me why I'd chosen pork and hadn't ordered a porterhouse for myself as per our usual, and I explained that they had filet mignon in 2 weights, the petite filet at 8oz, a standard at 12oz, a New York strip, the Double Bone Chops, and 3 interpretations of ribeye. She asked me to change her filet to the Pork Chops with a look of "What's good for the gander is good for the goose." (Come on, you all know the look). I went downstairs to arrive 5 minutes early so I could settle up with the front of the house. Without name tags I'm guessing roles here, but it appeared to be the hostess and the maître d' at the entrance. (Please correct me if I didn't get your roles right), so I did what anyone else doing takeaway does - settle my bill and add to the tip pool. I trust the front of house was able to find my rather small and disappointing tips to be adequate. We engage in small talk waiting on the meal, and while I always order beef Blue Rare (walk it through a warm room, delicious) and the Mrs. takes her beef medium rare, we're not really huge on doing pork in the style of steak, so requested that the chef use his skill to find the ideal balance of flavor while ensuring food safety protocols with pork were observed. I was in no hurry, I'm fairly certain that I mentioned that I was in no hurry, but at approximately 17:25 the hostess informs me that the Pork is nearly ready, and that she can deliver it to my room for convenience. This was genuinely fantastic for me as I was beginning to overheat in all my layers in August during an excessive heat warning from the weather agency. I go upstairs, thinking that maybe it's more difficult to see someone in 2 layers of UPF 50+ clothing head to toe, including a mask to prevent respiratory nasties and 2 balaclavas tucked into my neckline. I had barely begun to check the rooms' lighting to see if I could remove some layers and easy in the light or if I'd have to go into a dark place to expose my face. I discovered that the lighting in-room consisted of a number of LED lamps which if not doped for UV will not produce it, and there's were standard warm white LED lamps. We hear the knock, the food is ready, and she threw in some fresh Huckleberry Ice cream they must have hand made yesterday (thank you Oregon for trading Huckleberries with your neighbors to the North!), along with 2 place settings with flatware and napkins, and a small saucer so that I could treat my Service Dog for all of her hard work and dedication to focus for the day with a few small bits of pork chop with fat and let her eat her Farmer's Dog food the same way she eats at home, on a plate. We unpack the dinner, begin plating everything up, and cut some treats out for my Dog. The smell was incredible . The Mrs. Separates the chops by cutting between the Frenched bones. The char, the glaze, the juices, the first bite was incredible. I had no idea you could take some Frenched pork chops and turn them into a solid competitor of a beef steak. Now, with full gratitude to the chef who ensured many perfect bites. The sides were what you'd expect, reasonably price. The ice cream was a highly considerate touch. Many restaurants ask you to be their guest,...

My wife, my friend, and I enjoy trying new finer restaurants in Spokane every few weekends and Spencer's was on the list this time around. There was unfortunately no parking in the garage so hoofed it back from a parking spot by the mall - no biggie. Upon opening the cocktail menu, I looked over the mocktails, and I was slightly annoyed at how close the prices were between the mocktails and cocktails (would logic dictate a near-shot price difference?). I went with coke rather than pay $14 for a mocktail.

My wife and I enjoy grabbing an appetizer before the main course, and we typically love calamari so chose that over the oysters. When the calamari came out, I was a bit disappointed that it's probably 40% calamari and 60% olives/feta/strong red onions. Way too cutesy. A nice classic calamari with some lemon and a sauce would have been perfect...

On to the main course. Spencer's, in contrast to many other steakhouses I've been to, makes everything a la carte. They'd like $70-ish for a steak and $14 for a baked tuber. Bummer, but I hope it's amazing! (In contrast, many steakhouses include the baked potato with the steak, and it's still a similar price or less - just saying).

My friend ordered a filet mignon, I ordered the bison cut, and my wife ordered the New York Strip. The steaks come out, and they at first appear tantalizing in the moody lit atmosphere. I take my first bite, but all I taste is straight char / burned meat... not like the nice sear / char you get on a quality steak. This was just burnt. I was hungry, and I'm typically that type of Millennial that doesn't raise a fuss but just never goes back so I proceed to eat the steak. The middle was somewhat burn-free, but an entire end (probably 20%) of the steak was just inedible. So incredibly unfortunate. If I'm paying $74 for a steak, I want a QUALITY steak. Worse yet, my friend's filet was also toast.

If Gordon Ramsay had been in my place, he probably would have gone to the kitchen and accused the chefs of lacking passion for their craft. Some retraining on how to not murder a combined $150 of meat would probably be a good place to start.

The server comes back, and my friend makes a comment about the level of burn. The server sees the issue and issues an apology and checks with the chef, informing them that, indeed, their passion is lacking. The server returns and offers a dessert, which is nice but doesn't really offset such a bummer experience given the premium price. Dessert was fine - nothing to write home about. My friend refused the dessert, but was offered nothing else. Meanwhile, my wife had her mocktail comped. I ding the service for the snub to my friend - she had items that could have been comped.

Overall, a very disappointing experience. The value is not there. Spencer's should seriously reevaluate its pricing and a la carte strategy. And, at the very least, if they're going to charge what they're charging, it better blow your socks off. Just cannot recommend anyone spending their money here when you can get all you can eat meat across the street at the Brazilian spot (not high class, but it's pretty darn good) or even stopping in at...

Edit 06/23/25 It has now been over 4 months since I contacted the restaurant following a serious case of food poisoning that resulted in a hospital visit the very next day. Despite being told a higher-level manager would contact me, I never received a follow-up. I was also informed that the Department of Health would reach out—this never happened either, which leads me to believe no effort was made to follow through.

When I spoke to a manager in February, I expressed how concerned I was and requested a refund given the circumstances. Her response was dismissive. She stated that “nobody else got sick,” and implied that my illness must have come from something I ate at home. I explained clearly that my husband and I fast daily and had no food prior to our dinner there. Regardless of whether other guests reported illness, it's entirely possible that my dish was mishandled or contaminated—foodborne illness doesn’t always affect large groups, especially when it comes to improper handling or isolated contamination.

This was an expensive meal, and the consequences of it left me not only in pain and discomfort, but also with a costly hospital bill. I’m extremely disappointed by the lack of accountability and the absence of any real customer service follow-up. At the very least, I would appreciate a full refund for our bill. I was understanding and patient, but this kind of issue should not be brushed aside.

I want to start by saying that the service and food were both excellent during our visit on Friday night to celebrate Valentine's Day. However, I started feeling sick just a few hours after going to bed, and I ended up in the hospital the next day with severe food poisoning. We noticed that the ice on the tray holding the ingredients for the loaded potato had completely melted, which may have contributed to the issue. But could have been the calamari as well. My husband only had a bit from each and experienced diarrhea, but thankfully, he didn't get as sick as I did since I ate the majority of those two.

Considering the bill was several hundred dollars, I expected much higher food safety standards from such an expensive restaurant. This was the sickest I’ve ever been after dining out, and I’m deeply disappointed. I hope the restaurant takes this feedback seriously to ensure the safety of future diners.

-Azul...