Alexander's of Door County — Restaurant in Town of Gibraltar

AVOID, AVOID, AVOID! For the life of my I cannot fathom how this place has as high of a rating as it does. This may have been one of the worst meals I've had the misfortune of having in a restaurant. We came with my husband and two friends on our most recent Door County trip. To start I called weeks ago for a reservation only for us to show up and be told they don't have us on the books. I get that mistakes happen, and we're a patient group in general, but there was zero apology. They were able to get us in, but we waited 38 minutes. Okay, fine, it's a busy Friday night. We ordered five appetizers: the scallops, seared tuna, baked brie, artichoke and gorgonzola dip and a steak tenderloin on special (we're a pretty big foodie group). The seared tuna and gorgonzola dip were decent, the scallops had no sear, the steak tenderloin was so so (the guacamole that came on the side outshone the meat) and the brie was so abysmal we didn't eat it. It was covered in so much fruit and was overall cold. Then we ordered entrees, which came with soup or salad. That night they offered beef barley and lobster bisque. The beef barley was alright, but the lobster bisque was so disgusting we couldn't eat it. It was watery, flavorless and grainy. I had the shrimp scampi and the rest of the group ordered steaks: the filet mignon, the cowboy ribeye and the gorgonzola filet. The filets were fine but nothing special, which is a little frustrating when you're paying higher prices. The cowboy ribeye was such a poor cut that it was more fat than steak. The shrimp was so so, but the pasta was incredibly overcooked. The green beans that came on the side of each of our dishes were so sad and squishy we didn't touch them after that first taste. The chocolate martinis were also disappointing - they were watery and lacked a full rich chocolate flavor leaving a lot of to be desired. Our server (I cannot remember his name) did a good job, which is the only reason why I'm not giving this a one-star review, but we could tell he was stressed and busy. When you're a steak house, the servers should be granted time to fully dedicate time to their tables, but we do not fault him at all. If you're looking for a genuine quality meal in Door County,...

I have been going to Alexander's for years. Why? Because of their food, service, and atmosphere. Be ready to make a reservation a few weeks in advance, that's just how popular this place is. The food is amazing. Take a pick of any of the appetizers just to moisten your palette. Followed that up with a steak or scallops and your taste buds will be singing. Then when you think you can't possible eat any more, Alexander's offers a modest selection of dessert. Me, I prefer the tiramisu. The service is the best service that I have ever experienced. I'm a foodie. While most people travel to sightsee, I perfer to sample the local delicacies. So I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. At Alexander's you can expect your drinks to never run empty and finished plates to be carried away as soon as you put your fork down. Service can make or break a place on where you decide to patronize. How many times have you gone to a place where the food was good but the service was slow or unexpectional? How many times did that incident sway you opinion on where you will eat? While Alexander's has always provide top notch service, tonight was the expectation. I worry to let one experience ruin a restaurant, but I will say I am nervous to go back without apprehension. My table was never asked for refills on drinks, we ended up going to the bar for another round. We did not receive our food in what I would consider a timely manner. We were sat at 5:47pm, ordered at 6:00pm and finally had our food at 7:00pm. No where in that time were we visited by our server. They only ever stopped back to ask how the food was, which is was great, but not if we needed drinks or anything. Then when we were all finished I was awaiting the dessert menu only to be shown our bill. At this point I was utterly disappointed. If it were not for the server being extremely polite I would not have left a 30 dollar tip on a $140 dollar bill. Which is about $150 less than what I normally spend there had the serving crew beem on there game. This review isn't to bash Alexander's or look to receive any compensation. I hope that management or the owners see this and can look to see what changes can be made so that incidents of this nature do not...

First time to this wonderful gem of a restaurant and it was a wonderful experience. We were looking for a romantic restaurant to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and this place nailed it.

First, we went on a Tuesday night at the end of October and did not have a reservation. I mistakenly thought it would be quiet as the tourist season is ending. We were quite mistaken! The hostess told us it would be an hour wait so we enjoyed their comfy seating area near the bar and she was darn close, we waited just over an hour and it was worth every minute of our wait. For appetizers we had the baked Brie and crab cakes which were amazing!! The Brie mixed with the lingonberries was the perfect blend. We both had steak for the main course, while nothing spectacular they were delicious and oh so tender. For dessert we had a creme brûlée and the chocolate peanut butter torte…the desserts were phenomenal!!! We could have easily made a meal of the appetizers and dessert.

Second, the different courses came out with timing that was just short of perfection. It left me with no doubt that our server had to be watching for us to finish with a course to tell the kitchen to prep our next dish. We finished our appetizers, the dishes were cleared and we had a couple of minutes and our soup and salad appeared. Once again we finished, the dishes were cleared and we had a few minutes to settle before our steaks appeared. Once we were finished with the main course we were offered a dessert menu and within a couple minutes of ordering, our desserts were delivered.

Finally, the service was beyond compare in this day and age. Our server was attentive and the assistant servers kept our water glasses full and the plates we were finished with were cleared away promptly. Staff checked in on us at the most perfect intervals without being overbearing. For as busy as they were I’m absolutely amazed!! I hope that these amazing people are recognized by the owners.

We will most certainly be returning the next time we want a fancy and romantic dinner!! However I will be sure to make a reservation regardless of the time of...