Makse Restaurant, Vacaville — Restaurant in Vacaville

I had the pleasure of joining a friend last Friday night for my first visit to Makse. Downtown Vacaville was ALIVE with activity with many of the restaurants and bars overflowing with residents enjoying date nights, family gatherings or get togethers with friends to celebrate their week.

Upon arriving at Makse, the doors were opened wide providing a welcoming first impression which led us into a stunning and well appointed setting. In front of us stood a bright and well organized hostess station, to the right is the bar with its impressive and commanding staff carefully crafting their concoctions for their guests. To the left a perfectly placed pianist proving that music can immediately transport us to a place and time while setting the tone for an acoustically appropriate experience. Straight ahead, an open kitchen. Without knowing us, the hostess seemed to dial into our needs and offered us a table near the kitchen with a nice view of the chef at work.

Within the first 5 minutes of being seated, we were welcomed by 3 different "hosts" who all introduced themselves and how they would play a part in our experience that evening. In some establishments, they would be known as waitstaff, however, their demeanor and level of proficiency set the expectation that they were a direct extension of the ownership and that we would be well taken care of.

The vibe would be best described as "classic". Something you would experience in one of San Francisco's, Chicago's or NYC's finest steakhouses and void of any pretense. Such an environment commands a classic cocktail, I ordered a vodka martini and sipped while reviewing the menu.

Rumor has it that the owner had done his research and had travelled far and wide studying the perfect selection and presentation of a steak. Knowing this and having had my share of "perfect steaks" around the world, I went with the classic NY Steak. My friend ordered the Flintstone Rib.

My steak arrived sizzling on a platter with cippolini onions and mushrooms. It was perfectly done to my medium rare request. Tender, flavorful and juicy! The quality of the beef with expert preparation and presentation was perfection! My friend's Flintstone Rib was massive with the amount of meat matching the size of the bone. Meat falling off the bone with a whisper and the cherry BBQ sauce was a magnificent addition without overwhelming the flavor and texture of the meat. Chef Wesley is a master!

My biggest regret was leaving my phone at home and not being able to capture everything in pictures. Hence, the wordy review. I will just need to go back soon and often. Thank you Makse and thank you to each and every one of you who engaged with us last...

I have visited twice, and both times I’ve had negative experiences.

The first time, I visited only for Dueling Pianos. Reservations were made in advance, and when we arrived, the bartender sat us at a table as we were a group of 10. Within the first 1/2hr of being there, the hostess came downstairs and told us we weren't supposed to be seated at this table, and that we needed to move. There were no other available tables to accommodate our party. She insisted that we move to make room for another party that just arrived. At this point, we already had our drinks and had settled in. We paid for the reservations, so we did not move. It was very evident that she was extremely upset with us, and the other party stepped in and said no worries and that they would figure something out. They walked away with the hostess.

This last time, we visited for a birthday dinner, and the waiter was friendly at first. I'm not sure if it was due to being short staff, but we were a table of eight, and I went through most of my meal without getting asked if I needed more water (as I was out) or how everything was. The worst part of it all is that I mentioned from the beginning that we needed the bill split, and then when it came to paying the bill, he lied and said that it couldn't be split. I spoke to the bartender about it, and she said it was no problem to split and walked away. Instead of the bartender, the waiter returned and complained that they typically don't do it - that it was just too difficult (so he actually could), but continued to say "I’m willing to work my butt off for anyone", so he finally assisted us by splitting the bill. I watched as he simply chose the items on the tablet, dragged them over to get paid, and that was that. He also felt the need to say that “it's a pain” and "that's what Venmo is for", insinuating that we should just figure out the bill on our end because he didn't want to be bothered with it. He is getting paid to serve and provide customer service; if he doesn't want to, he should find another job rather than be passive aggressive to paying customers. From basic chain restaurants to the 4-Stars I've gone to, no one has ever had an issue with splitting a bill. This is a new establishment; I have been here only twice, and both times, I have received bad customer service.

I have no desire to return to this restaurant, and I will not be recommending it to anyone. Many people are asking about my experience, and I am not skirting around the fact that I felt insulted in both instances. I’m sure there are glitches to smooth out as this establishment is new, but taking these issues out on customers is not fair nor does it make for a good...

Such a frustrating and highly disappointing experience all around at Makse. We were so excited to find this new place for a nice dinner and were pleased to be seated quickly and order taken. Everything went horribly wrong from there. They ran out of the drink and ribeye that I wanted- I ended up ordering a different drink and a filet mignon. Overall, we ordered 1 drink, 2 steaks and 2 sides. After an hour of waiting, I asked for the status of our food. Since we did not get a response, sometime later I asked for the check to pay for the drink and leave. Coincidentally, our food came out at that time and we hesitantly accepted the food hoping it would be good. We were highly disappointed as our sides were cold- I sent the first one back as we had not tried the second yet. The filet seemed to be missing the glaze, was a poor quality steak and hardly had onions and mushrooms. The beef wellington was nothing special although it cost $70 alone (sides not included). We asked for a refill of water, as it was one of our main beverages and it never came. We regretted accepting the food and not leaving earlier. I asked to speak to the manager to express our frustration with the service and quality of food and she apologized and acknowledged our experience. She offered to waive the fee for one of the steaks. She also offered dessert, but we declined as we just wanted to leave. I paid right then at the table and hadn't looked at the bill thinking it would be correct since I explained everything to the manager and she helped us pay. After I paid, I saw that I was still charged for the sides that we did not eat- one of which had been sent back and not even at the table. Additionally, multiple parties walked out while we were there- one left after waiting 45 minutes and never being asked for their order (they also complained); a large party walked out leaving many glasses of alcohol on the table untouched; a third party walked out after waiting for a long time and the couple next to us did not leave, but had been there for almost as long as we were and were still waiting for thier food when we left. Would never recommend this establishment to anyone...