chandlers steakhouse

by far the best restaurant in the city. the food is consistently good, and the menu is not overly trendy. i've been to a handful of private events here, and even when trying totimefood for a larger group, the chef has done a great job. on the downside, there is one waiter/ sommelier that is a bit pretentious, and that's irritating, and it's expensive, but not more than you would expect at a nice steakhouse. if we were comparing chandlers to restaurants in other cities, my rating wouldn't be as high, but for what we have here, it's fantastic. also the seafood is always very fresh which is wonderful for a city without a coast. i especially love the abalone and tuna preparations. finally, my steak is always prepared perfectly to my preferences. i've really come to appreciate this since at ruth's chris, they have every time, without fail, undercooked at least one person's steak at my table.

disappointed - no longer our "go to" special steakhouse.. we always chose chandler's for special occasions and when hosting somebody "special". after last saturday's dinner, we are re-thinking this. my steak was pricey, poorly cut, extremely small, poorly cooked. service mediocre - waitress talked down to us - treated us like we were teens out for the firsttimeat a "real" restaurant. at some point some man breezed by, asked how things were, and was gone almost before we answered. don't know who he was because he couldn't take a few seconds to introduce himself. really? what's happened to our chandler's'? bad experience!!!

an anniversary to forget. we tried chandler's for the firsttimeon our anniversary and were disappointed overall. the 10-minute martini was outstanding, and the service was very good, but everything else was mediocre at best. my steak was charred (well past a sear) and nearly medium well, when i'd ordered it medium rare. the bleu cheese potato gratin tasted not at all like bleu cheese, but bland potatoes. i could go on, but i'll just go to fork or brickyard instead.

terrible dining experience. i have never before felt compelled to write an unfavorable review about a restaurant or service, but i believe in this case it is completely warranted. i visited chandler’s last friday night for dinner with my daughters, following the death of my mother. my younger daughter and i arrived promptly for our 6 pm reservation, but the elder was unexpectedly detained (she is a nurse; these things do happen). my daughter and i ordered a bottle of wine, bottled water, and an appetizer to share while waiting.timepassed, and we ordered another appetizer. at 6:30, the sommelier approached our table and pointedly asked when our guest was expected, as they “needed the table.” i was nearly speechless. we had made the restaurant aware both when we made the reservation and later when we arrived that it was a dinner meant to mourn my mother’s death. we had ordered and consumed at thattimemore than ample “billable product” to justify our “table time” and would eventually end up spending well over $250 for the meal and drinks that evening. it was absolutely inexcusable for a staff member to conduct himself in this manner. if i had been made aware when placing the reservation that the table would be needed for another party and that we were to rush our meal to accommodate a later seating, i would have selected another restaurant. i explained our situation (again) to the sommelier and he eventually left us alone. my other daughter arrived within minutes. as if this weren’t enough, when we later decided to order dessert, we were asked again to be moved to a “booth” as the “table was needed.” i have been fortunate to have dined at some of the finest restaurants in this world and have never experienced such demeaning and inappropriate behavior. i will not return to this restaurant and believe that others should be made aware of this “time out” seating policy and disrespectful treatment by staff.

three words: ten minute martini. ask the older gentleman bartender there about the 10 minute martini and he has such a fantastic story to tell about how he invented this smoothest martini ever. (if he is not there, they have a printed out story they can hand you but nothing like hearing it from the old man himself.) i don't even like gin but this concoction was amazing. be aware that it takes 10 minutes to make, so order ahead oftime:) haven't tried much of the food there, but i definitely enjoy going there for a glass of wine or the martini! live entertainment too which is nice!

the total package. don't let the word "steakhouse" in the name of this establishment fool ya - this is no dark, stodgy, beef-centric restaurant. oh yeah... there's steaks on the menu - lots and lots of them, and i was moved by the filet unlike any filet before but that's just the beginning of their culinary talents. you might think boise, idaho, in all it's land lock-ness, would not be a mecca for fresh seafood, but chandler's is so fresh and tasty, i'd swear it was swimming in the sea the day before. lasttimei was there, i had the scallops and they were cooked to perfection. i've also had the halibut and the sea bass which were equally wonderful and they have a mixed cold seafood plate with oysters, lobster, and crab that's super tasty.

a favorite evening for my fiancé and i is to sit in the bar (or on the patio in the nicer weather) and order a selection of appetizers. two of our favorites are the tower of tuna and the escargot. chandler's has a great wine list but we usually opt for the 10 minute martini - hands down the smoothest martini i've ever had.

incase you save room for dessert, their chocolate souffle is their signature sweet. not being such a fan of chocolate (yeah, i know...) i love the butterscotch creme brulée!

there's more to a restaurant than just the food though and the amazingly talented jazz musicians that play there every night of the week and the professional (not to mention downright nice) waitstaff makes chandlers our go to restaurant whether it be a special occasion, a business dinner or just a great date night.

yummy chocolate souffle. we love chandlers and actually got engaged there. we've had mostly good experiences there. i love their scallops and the chocolate souffle will make you melt it's so amazing! my husband always loves his steak. the only complaint i've ever had about the food is that every once in a while i'll get a piece of sand in my scallop which isn't desirable. that being said, the lasttimewe were there we had a total snob for a waitress. we stopped by on a friday night for an impromptu date night and while were weren't in a our 'best dress' we looked more than acceptable. the waiter on the other hand acted like we were second rate. on the other hand, a second waiter in our area who took care of us half thetimebecause our waiter was 'too busy' with other people was perfectly sweet and met our every need. i left our waiter and extra healthy tip with a note that told him to stop treating customers as second rate and to get over himself. we'll definitely go back again but if he's our waiter i won't hesitate to ask for someone else. all in all, that's the only problem we've ever had there and it's a wonderful restaurant!