not even close/might consider alternatives. after several suggestions from friends, i booked a table atmastro'ssteakhouse in beverly hills. someone must have been missing the in the kitchen and certainly they were missing in the meat cutting room.
here is the lowdown:
nice atmosphere - very clubby, yet better designed that most morton's or ruth chris. however, needs a dress code - guests in ratty jeans, trainers and t-shirts. some wearing ballcaps. not acceptable. in addition, with the every nice lounge and other places for phone use - way too many phones and attendant light and noise in a dimly lit room. management should have a no phone policy and enforce it.
excellent welcome - wonderful host and front of the house crew. patient, kind and accommodating. however, the seating policy should be altered to allow seating when most of the party has arrived. we were two, i parked just a few spots up from the front door and was in the restaurant within minutes. my partner was not allowed to sit down at the table until i arrived 2 minutes later.
excellent and attentive service- good team of folks to serve each table. ran like clockwork, yet seemed personalized and friendly. paid attention while ordering, and made solid and smart suggestions without being overbearing. professional and hard working.
food: because it is a steahouse, all the steaks should be superstars. ordered the $58 (24 oz) porterhouse - the king of steaks. requested medium rare and no seasoning. came out with no seasoning and cooked a bit on the medium side of medium rare -- however, since the steak comes on a high temp heated plate -- the steak continues to cook (and not rest) and adds at least one level of tempeture in a matter of a few minutes. if you enjoy the steak without rushing, the medium rare quickly becomes medium plus. this issue needs attention right away - or suggestions from the wait staff to request cooler tempeturs while ordering to compensate. porterhouse was thin and dry. very, very disappointing. my partner enjoyed a veggie plate, excellent steamed greens and onion rings. good quality, good size portions and quality preparation.
ordered both mastro salad (iceberg lettuce, shrimp, tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, etc) and chop (iceberg, cabbage, tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts). mastro was excellent, very large (could be shared) good ingredients and generous amount of shrimp. the chop was a disappointment with only two kalamtas and one piece of artichoke. (the attentive staff asked to fix the problem, we declined because we were not going to eat more of the salad and he removed it from the bill - we did not request removal).
bread serving: good variety of pretzel roll, sourdough, cheese toast, french roll and a couple of others. very fresh and good quality. only salted butter -- seems that the kitchen would have unsalted.
soup: french onion was good but not great. broth was boring, cheese and onion components were good.
overall an average meal at very high prices.