The City Square Steakhouse — Restaurant in Wooster

I wanted to do something special for my boyfriends birthday, and figured this place would have the best steak in town. When I called to make reservations they didn't have much open. I asked about a time that showed available online, then all the sudden that time became available when it wasn't before. When we showed up we were seated promptly and greeted by a server shield after. My bf ordered the $44 bone in steak and I got the ravioli with cashew saffron sauce and a side of potatoes. The truffle fries we got for an appetizer were decent, but our entrees became cold within minutes of being served as we were seated right below an AC vent. I didn't like my ravioli at all and my boyfriend wasn't impressed with his steak. The ravioli was dry and hard as if it was frozen prior to being cooked on a skillet and contained such a small amount for costing $26. I ate one of ravioli and most of the potatoes before pushing my plate off to the side. I don't normally complain but when paying a premium like this you expect better quality food, so when the hostess came around to see how everything was I tried to politely let her know I didn't like my meal. Her reply was "yeah, you either like saffron or you don't. Would you like me to box it up for you?" I wasn't going to ask for it to be removed from the ticket so I hesitantly said I guess. Afterwards our server brought the boxed food back and apologized that I didn't like mine, then handed over a dessert menu to my bf and implied that it was on the house since it was his birthday. Before the server returned to get our dessert order a busboy brought out a small pumpkin roll with a candle and set it down in front of my boyfriend. We were both very confused about this as we thought he was getting his choice of dessert, and questioned the busboy about it. We felt very misled and would have been upset if we had ordered and been charged for dessert. The busboy must have said something because when the server came back out he apologized. We had such high hopes for this restaurant and left so disappointed. All in all it was a poor, bizzare experience with mediocre/bad food. The wait staff didn't have the appearance and tableside manner that one would expect when going to a nice steakhouse. The meal for two was over $100, and we didn't even order drinks. The only good part was the mashed potatoes, I threw out the leftover ravioli. We honestly would have been happier going to Longhorn for half the price and much better food, without being lied to by restaurant staff. Needless to say we were both pretty upset when we left and don't plan...

My fiance and I inquired about hosting a rehearsal dinner for the night before our wedding. The last week of June, I had called and spoken to Isaiah (who was extremely nice and helpful) and told him our plans, the amount of people, etc. He mentioned that the manager was not available, and would ensure that he would send over pricing in the next day or so for the 3 options of areas that would accommodate our party. I said we had planned to come down over the next few days and try out the restaurant for dinner, as we had never been there before. He said sounded great and the manager would talk to us then.

That following Saturday, my fiance and my future in-laws went down for dinner (mind you, this was a 1.5 hour drive). We had a great meal and were excited about having our rehearsal there. After dinner, the manager came over and spoke to us. We inquired about pricing, the areas available, and so on. He then grabbed a piece of paper, asked for my email, again, and said he would send over pricing in a few days. We were confused, as the restaurant wasn't very busy, as to why he couldn't really give us any additional information while we were there. We asked to see the other space next door that both him and Isaiah had mentioned, and he gave us some weird excuse as to why he couldn't show it to us and that it wasn't "put together". We said we didn't mind and would still like to see it since we drove all the way down there, he still refused to show us the additional room, and pretty much walked away after that.

However, we really wanted to host our rehearsal at this restaurant, so my fiance and I walked back up to the hostess stand where he was, and asked if we could at least put a deposit down to hold our date for next summer. He rolled his eyes and said "let me just send you over the pricing before any of that, because it's kind of expensive" - in the most condescending way possible, as if we "clearly" couldn't afford it. It was the most rude, unprofessional experience I have ever had with a restaurant.

It's funny, though, because it's now the end of July and I never received an email with pricing (as promised, twice), call, or any type of follow up.

I'm not really one to leave a bad review, but this is more of an educational review on how the manager handles running the restaurant. We planned to have 50+ people in attendance, so in my opinion I would think that's a pretty good business opportunity.

This whole experience was very disappointing and I cannot not recommend this restaurant. I will...

The atmosphere is nice and projected as upscale in quaint downtown Wooster. The service was excellent and all the restaurant staff were dressed professionally. At least this place looks like a place you'd bring professional clients to, but families are just as welcome. However, the food was not justified for the prices that you're paying, and while the atmosphere is nice, it's not one of those places where "paying for the atmosphere" justifies overpriced food. My wife ordered the filet mignon and while the two steaks were done how she ordered them and tasted excellent, they were very small. One could nearly buy a whole tenderloin at the local butcher (of which there are many around Wooster) and have better, and bigger steaks for a much lower price. Also, the meals only come with a small salad made from grocery store ingredients (the carrots, as well as the lettuce, looked bagged rather than freshly grated from grown carrots), and the meal did not come with a side unless you wanted to pay extra for one; it simply came with "potatoes." My steak was a NY strip steak with bone-in, and I ordered it medium. It was done to perfection on the outside, but was BARELY rare in the middle, and I, a non-complainer at restaurants, had to ask them to cook it more, and it just didn't taste the same when it came back. The waitress told me that it's hard to do with the bone-in. That got me a bit upset as a restaurant that projects itself as an upscale steakhouse ought to have a chef that knows how to cook right, the first time, all types of steaks, bone in or not. I wasn't dissapointed, and still at the steak, but I was dissatisfied that their chefs couldn't get something like this right in this environment. It felt like a line cook took care of my steak. The potatoes were pretty heavy on the garlic as well. We were with two other people and I'll refrain from commenting about their food. They seemed to enjoy it, but again, as the one's hosting us and paying the bill, they were also disappointed at what you received for the price you paid.

In sum: Great atmosphere and service, and a very welcoming environment, however, the portion sizes are small, overpriced, and perhaps in some cases, underprepared. Thus the 3 star rating - right in the middle - some will come and it will be great, and will love it. Some will have an experience like us and walk away saying, "Meh, it was so so. I may come back, but I'm not going to miss anything...