Rake's Place — Restaurant in Zanesville

Update 3/19/15

I stopped by Rake's Place on a special night when they were offering a limited menu for Maria Adornetto’s event. Since this wasn't their typical menu, I tried to evaluate the meal without letting the special items influence my judgment too much. Unfortunately, the experience didn’t live up to expectations, and I walked away feeling pretty disappointed.

I sampled one of each of the special items, including Spaghetti and Meatballs, Crab Cakes, Pan-Seared Walleye, and Scallopini.

Spaghetti and Meatballs: This dish was probably the biggest letdown. The pasta was overcooked and mushy, and the sauce was bland, lacking seasoning and flavor. To make matters worse, the dish was cold when it arrived at the table, which is never a good sign. I had been really looking forward to this dish, but it fell flat in every way. Crab Cakes: The crab cakes were fine, but nothing special. They were decent, but they didn’t stand out in any way. I was hoping for a bit more finesse or flavor. Pan-Seared Walleye: Another disappointment. I was expecting a more flavorful, fresh fish dish, but the walleye came across as mushy and had a slight fishy taste. It didn’t feel fresh and likely wasn’t, which is frustrating given that this is a steak and seafood restaurant. For the price, I expected better quality. Scallopini: The scallopini was also underwhelming. The meat was overcooked and more chewy than I’d like, and the side of pasta that came with it had no flavor. Again, this dish didn’t live up to the standards I was hoping for. In terms of overall experience, I was really excited to try this special menu, but I left feeling disappointed. Had this been part of their regular menu, I likely would never return, and I would have rated it lower. The food didn’t match the price point, especially considering the underwhelming quality of the spaghetti.

Finally, I have to mention the credit card fee on the bill. It was listed with a note explaining that the charge was less than the fees they incur, and it was just a bit off-putting. It was a 3% surcharge. The note felt cringy, as if it was trying to justify the charge. If the restaurant is really paying more than 3% in credit card processing fees, I'd be surprised.

All in all, Rake's Place has a reputation to uphold, but on this night, the special menu left much to be desired. I’m hoping it was just an off night for them, but based on this experience, I’m not in a rush to return.

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Original 4 star review

Stopped here for brunch on Sunday morning. It wasn’t too busy and the service was okay. I had the special which was a French toast sandwich. It had was French toast with eggs, sausage, ham and cheese. It was a...

I’ve been a customer at Rakes place for 3-4 years. I have recommended this restaurant to lots of friends and family. I used to tell everyone that it was the best steak in Zanesville. Not anymore!

It’s Valentines Day, my husband took me to rake’s place. It wasn’t that crowded, but host asked us to wait while they cleaned some tables. Said it will just takes a couple minutes, that turned into 30-40 minutes. While people were coming in and immediately were getting seated. At least 3 other couples came in after us, they were escorted to a table immediately. My husband went to the host asking how long. She said just another second. After another 15 minutes we finally got seated. We order our food, I ordered the 12 oz ribeye medium well,baked potato and a salad. And a white mascoto wine. The waitress brought my salad. And drinks, but not our rolls. She finally came back and asked if we wanted rolls. We said yes! She brought those (which was completely cold. Finally get my steak, it was medium rare, instead of medium well. I kindly asked the waiter to have them cook it some more and she said so, you want this more on the medium well side. I said yes. I kept my baked potato on the bread plate. It also was cold, I had My husband feel it , he agreed it was cold. It didn’t even melt the butter. I get my steak when it came back was still too rare! You couldn’t even tell it had been cooked more. It was to the point even my husband asked me if they had cooked it more. I replied they probably did but wasn’t going to eat there. The baked potato was also hard. I don’t like complaining about my food at a restaurant, ! I was afraid to send it back a second time. I was afraid the cook would spit in my food. The steak didn’t even have the flavor of a ribeye . The waitress never offered us refills or nothing. Guess I will have to find another place that serves ribeye. I’m not going back there...

Heard great things about this place. I eat out frequently and never have a complaint. I was passing through and wanted to try it. This was the worst food I have ever had. The scallops were tasteless and undercooked, one lobster tail was $40, and it was the smallest, worse lobster I have ever tasted. No taste at all. I did eat 2 scallops and some of the lobster. No salads available- said they were totally out of lettuce. The oysters tasted weird. Honestly everything smelled and tasted weird. The shrimp in the shell was the only thing edible, and it was just ok. I also ordered the black and blue burger- could not eat it. It was on some type of Hawaiian bun - VERY strange for this type of sandwich. It also smelled and tasted weird. I did box everything up - took it home. Ended up throwing it all away. About 1 hour after I got home, I had severe stomach pain and became sick. SO - I had the burger, add on one lobster tail and 5 scallops, shrimp and oyster appetizers and a baked potato. My bill was $111 plus tip. Here’s the tip- I WILL NEVER GO BACK!! I don’t care what it costs if the food is good- but this was a horrible experience. I should have told the waitress/manager but I did not do that. The waitress was nice...