Rockwell's — Restaurant in Toledo

First of all this place is $$$$. Went as a party of ten and spent over $800. The food and service were both disappointing for the price. Several of us paid over $60 for aged steak and they were all average, not particularly savory or tender or well seasoned or anything special whatsoever, it was the equivalent to a $30 steak in Houston, where I live. My friend from LA kept saying this is all you can expect from Toledo, but I feel that if you're going to charge that much for steak you should've been to New York, Chicago, etc. and know how to select, age, and cook a $60 steak. We tried several potato and vegetable sides and all agreed they were bland. Particularly the caramelized onions, which were sloppy half cooked huge onion chunks floating in onion juice and oil. Also the curried cauliflower, which was literally plain cauliflower with a scant amount of curry powder dusted on top...? The duck fat aioli which came with the fries tasted like unsalted butter and became liquid once it warmed up. The brie appetizer was totally over powered by too much honey and nuts on top, couldn't taste the cheese at all. We did enjoy our salads, the bacon onion vinaigrette was delicious. We only got one serving of bread for the table, would've asked for more because it was actually good but we never saw our server again until the entrees came out. Their website says impeccable service and honestly service can save a bad meal, but our service was abysmal. The place was practically empty and she was inattentive, we felt ignored and forgotten. She never asked us once how our food was otherwise I'd have shared the concern. I had to get up to ask to have our plates cleared and for coffee cause she thought since we were done eating we'd just leave. They started clearing dirty plates from other empty tables first and ignored us. When she came back and asked what we needed I started to ask for the table cleared and she interrupted me and asked what else do you want. This is way way off par for a $$$$ restaurant in any other city I've been, every other nice restaurant, and even the bad ones, clears your plates before you get your check. The food and service indeed deserves $$ as listed on Google, but unfortunately costs $$$$. This was the first time I'd been so was unsure how much it would cost, but afterwards I felt guilty wasting everyone's money by asking my friends and relatives to join me at Rockwells for what was supposed to be a special holiday occasion. I will NEVER be back and discourage all my acquaintances also, let alone the food, based on the rude and poor service. This was a $400 meal that cost $800. Don't get me wrong, the food was more than edible, just not anywhere near sophisticated enough for the price tag, more like something from a home cook or a chain restaurant. The ambiance was nice in the Oliver...

Do not go to rockwells! Terrible food, terrible drinks, awful service and even worse prices! Stay away!

Rockwells supposed "fine" dining, did not meet expectations or even come close to earning the title of "fine dinning". In no reality is their food worth 100$+ a plate. Took my wife out for dinner on her birthday and we've never been more disappointed! From service, wait times, price, to the drinks and food, everything was BAD. It was clear the bartender did not know how to mix drinks, they were weak, off balanced and gross. I've had better drinks at a dive bar. Terrible! My wife and I ordered steak, and a side, it took well over an hour to get our food and we had already waited about 40 minutes just to put in our order. Mind you, they were not busy at all at this time. After another hour, my wife's steak arrived undercooked and mine was well overcooked... They were served on "plates" that were very hot, yet my steak was ice cold except for the bottom that was touching the hot plate. Also, why they would serve your 70$+ steak on plate that looks scorched and filthy is beyond me, I wish I would have taken pictures so I could laugh at how ridiculous they were at least. I'm not exaggerating, it was that laughably bad. The potatoes were served in a metal boat/dish on the side, looked like something you would find at a Cracker Barrel or like a chain bbq restaurant... We had already waited nearly two hours to eat, i was very hungry and I did not want to wait even longer for a new steak to be cooked so I just choked it down. I took one bite of the potatoes and they were ice cold and disgusting.... also were 10$ by the way... Just two steaks, two sides, and 3 drinks, was 200$ plus tip, that's 240$+ for two people and everything except my wife's steak was disgusting. The ridiculousness of it is almost funny, maybe would have been if it wasn't my wife's birthday. Normally we would just chalk it as a "we won't be back", and move on, but the ridiculous price was too offensive! I've had better food that was a quarter of the price. When I mentioned the long wait to our server, I was told "well it is "fine dinning" that's how it goes"... fine dinning! Lol nooooo. They reluctantly took the potatoes of my bill and took 20 bucks off the 70$+ ice cold overcooked steak... our bill was still 200$ NEVER returning, do not go there!

Staff obviously hated their job, everyone looked glum, now I know why! I'd be embarrassed to work there too. Should have trusted my instinct to leave when we got our awful drinks. Only good thing about Rockwells is the cool building... everything else was an abomination. Just go...

I have been coming to Rockwell's since it opened, and while it used to be a very authentic steakhouse with excellent service and outstanding food, sadly this is no longer true. After visiting twice in the past three weeks, I have come to the conclusion that the owners are simply allowing the place to die a slow death rather than attempt to compete with the new offerings downtown. My most recent visit was as part of a party of six (three couples). We were seated promptly by a friendly hostess, and that is where good service began and ended. The waiter was exceptionally slow during all phases of the meal, he would take used forks from appetizer/salad dishes and place them back on the table, not once did he re-fill our wine or ask if we would like another bottle, incorrect dishes were brought, and the list goes on and on. At one point I went myself to find a bread plate. While I would not have even noticed if he had done a few things wrong, the constant stream of mistakes made his incompetence and apathy all to evident. Honestly I have had better service at casual dining places, let alone comparing to a steakhouse such as Ruth's Chris or even our local Manny's steakhouse. Topping everything off, the steaks were mediocre at best. Each and every steak was overcooked by at least two levels, and the cut and quality of the meat was sub-par. Unlike the thick and richly marbled cuts I am used to, we were presented with meat that looks like it came from Walmart and was cooked by a child until quite dry. I have no problem with lesser cuts of meat at inexpensive resturants, but if you're going to charge $68 for a steak I expect more. After many years of dining here for evenings out or special occasions, we will not be going back. Fortunately a Chop House will be opening soon in Toledo, and Final Cut in the Casino...