02/16/09

Valentine's Day Nightmare

by Sharon35

My boyfriend and I had a reservation at Plaza 3 in Boston for Valentine's Evening. After having our first date there 4 years ago, I guess we felt sentimental and decided to go there again. While the restaurant was not packed, as other places on this night, we got sited 30 minutes after we arrived, despite having a reservation. The appetizer - beef tartar - was all right, though, instead of mustard we got pickles on a side. No French influence in this Kansas based steak house! After that I ordered clams and shrimps over linguini for a main dish, and my my boyfriend ordered a steak. When I tried the linguini, it smelled and tasted like vinegar, or a cream that went bad long before the Valentine's Day. We sent it back asking to replace the pasta. My boyfriend's steak smelled like a piece of meat that went from unfrozen to frozen and back a few times before it ended up on my boyfriend's plate. Though, may be I am wrong, and the cow just died from natural causes and was delivered to Plaza 3 a few days later by mistake because a drunk driver confused Plaza 3 with a crematorium for cows. After dining at Capital Grill, Abe and Louise and Mortons, we certainly didn't expect anything like this. The steak was sent back too and we basically asked for a check: decided not to take any more chances with their food. At the next table there was a party of maybe 20 people, mostly lawyers, as they said. When they heard us talking about the poor quality of food, they said that their experience was as bad as ours, and 7 people at their table ended up sending their dishes back to the kitchen. When we asked our waiter what was wrong that night, he said that we were the only ones unhappy. I am wondering, are they paid for misinforming the customers? Our romantic mood was ruined along with our appetites. Sorry, Plaza 3, we are not coming back. There are other restaurant in Boston that take much better care of their customers, especially in this economy and at these prices!

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Food, service, high chance of ending up in a hospital after eating what they bring you

11/04/07

Waste of time, $$$, & calories

by jetsmania

The restaurant is located right in Quincy Market, so it has the location going for it. We arrived at 8pm on a Saturday night, and we were the only party-- with the exception of one guy at the bar --that should have been an indication of what was to come. The waiter was arrogant and rude from the get-go-- didn't realize we came to enjoy the food and each other's company-- not to listen to the waiter glorify himself at every opportunity he had. Appetizers & sides were marginal at best-- the filet -- which was supposed to be medium, arrived rare, tasteless and cold. The 10 minute spiel on how these steaks were the best in Boston was for naught. Wine and dessert were pretty good. Overall, the food was extremely overpriced and underprepared. Wine and dessert were alright. If you want great steak for the price you're willing to pay here-- go to Ruth's Chris, Mortons, or Abe & Louies-- basically anywhere but here.

• Pros: Location, Ambience, dessert
• Cons: FOOD, price, service

10/16/07

New York Steakhouse Prices for Supermarket Quality Steak

by sohoresident

There are a variety of problems with this restaurant, but the principal one is this: the meat is poor quality. I love steak and I have gotten some great cuts of meat at great steakhouses and out-of-the-way diners alike. But this place takes the cake for pricing just as high as Peter Lugar and delivering average diner quality meat. And the worst part is: they know it. You can always tell a restaurant knows their meat is low-quality when, no matter how rare you order it, it comes out medium. It's like coffee companies over-roasting their coffee to hide the fact that the beans are cheap. The same thing that the previous commentator described happened to my group: every single steak overcooked and every single steak a disappointment. If you care about the quality of the meat, avoid this place. If you don't care, then go to a diner and get the same cuts of meat for 1/4 the price. And order it medium.

• Pros: Good location and agreeable ambiance.
• Cons: Low quality meat. What else matters at a steakhouse?

04/08/07

Bad attitude, bad steak, big bill!

by hunnypot7070

Wen there with 2 co workers and ordered the filet - it was overcooked to medium, not medium rare and the meat didn't even taste - the texture was off. A re-order was not an option; at these prices I don't want to eat 20 minutes after my dining companions have finished. You should get it right before it comes out. It's just steak folks, it's not hard to figure out that it's overcooked before you bring it out to the table. I knew when you put it in front of me that it was overcooked, but at that point I've waited so long for it that I'm not waiting even longer for ANOTHER one. We ate at the bar and service was AWFUL - completely inattentive, could never find him and the place was not busy. Plates were never cleaned away. Only decent thing was the scallops wrapped in bag. Final verdict? Paid over $250 for the evening, got a bad steak and a bad attitude. Next time we'll go to the Capital Grille where the steak and service are done right.

• Pros: Drinks are ok
• Cons: service, food, prices.

Financial District restaurant with expensive cuts and comfortable feel.

by Contributor

The Scene
You get USDA prime, aged 21 to 28 days, and the "Here's what a porterhouse looks like" sales pitch in a deafeningly loud, two-floor dining area dominated by a giant plastic steer on a pedestal. Remember Crickets? It's the same location and the same clientele: tourists and martini-drinking, Financial District cigar smokers.

The Food
The steaks are both good and expensive at this steakhouse, which boasts the prices and pompous presentations of its culinary cousins, but none of the pretention. The shrimp cocktail offers more lettuce than shellfish, and the garden salad (greens, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, bacon bits, ranch dressing) is busy. Basic entrees--steaks, chops and grilled fish--are good. Portions are large; diners should split side dishes, like the excellent creamed spinach and one-pound baked potato. FYI: The dessert souffle must be ordered in advance.

05/12/06

WOW!!!! This place was great!

by erika72582

This was a wonderful steak house! The filet was so tender and the service was great. Since it was springtime I was able to sit outside which made the night! Everything was perfect and delicious! Expect to pay atleast $150 for two meals and a bottle of wine. But evey bite was worth the price!

• Pros: Atmosphere, Filet, Wine Selection
• Cons: Not very personal

12/31/05

Worst waiter service ever!!

by tomand2

My husband and I enjoyed our meal however the service was terrible. Our waiter would disappear for a half hour at a time. People who came in after us were served first. Finally, we needed to ask another waitress to get our drinks and give us a bill since our waiter was nowhere to be found. The steaks were good but again expensive considering we practically had to beg to be served. I don't think we'll be back.

• Pros: good steaks, location
• Cons: service, expensive

05/31/05

A wonderful surprise

by guitarwizard

We arrived for an early lunch (11:30 a.m. on a Saturday) and we ordered the filet mignon w/ fries....additionally, I ordered the Seafood Bisque (excellent), and a glass of wine to go with the steak. We had made reservations prior, but were not needed since there was hardly anyone there at that time. Sitting outside was rather enjoyable, and we found the service to be very good. The steak was the best I've had in awhile, and the lunch prices are rather cheap I thought. The bill (2 steaks, soup, wine, soda, 2 desserts) including tip was only around $70. I am curious to see how their dinner menu stacks up, as lunch was quite good.

• Pros: Excellent food, Reasonable prices, Cozy atmosphere