steakhouse 85

bad steaks with an attitude. i travel a lot for business and am always looking for a great steakhouse. i had heard that there were a number of good reviews for steakhouse 85, so i went in with high expectations. accompanying me on the trip was a co-worker who has gone through culinary school and has a highly trained palate, and another friend who lives locally. we were excited about having some good steaks, but were in for a bad experience.

highlights of the evening: i ordered a bottle of cabernet, and was very clear in my order. the waiter came up and spent several minutes trying to talk me into a different, more expensively priced cabernet, and apparently was going to go through his spiel on the other wine regardless of which wine i picked. we asked him if he had even tried the bottle we ordered and he had not. so, strike one.

second, my co-worker got a dry aged delmonico and the waiter tried to talk her out of ordering it. he asked in a condescending way if she had ever had a dry aged steak. which of course she had, and explained this. i told her she should tell him of her culinary school experience, but i believe she thought that was a waste of time given the preceding wine episode. when the steak came out it had a rancid flavor, and when i tried it, i had to agree. we both have a lot of steak experience, and we both felt we got a bad cut of meat. strike two.

finally, another man came up to us (apparently amanageror some other higher function -- but he never identified himself or his title). guess we were supposed to be impressed by the fact that he had a nice white shirt on, or that he probably was only a few years past drinking age. he took an attitude right from the start and said that's how dry aged beef tastes at this time of year, or some other lame excuse. he then said "i'm not trying to get in an argument," which was the first time anyone had mentioned an argument. in fact, my co-worker was extremely polite (much more so than i would have been if it had been my steak). she told him she'd like a rib eye, and then he just kept talking right over her. he then asked if he could get a different steak, and named off several including a rib eye. bottom line: he was more interested in being pedantic and condescending and less interested in listening to the customer. strike three.

i should add that there should have been a comping of the whole steak. that's what good restaurants do. i've seen similar types of things happen at morton's, donovan's, ringside in portland, etc. and the attitude is that the customer is right. at steakhouse 85, it seemed like they were more interested in making money, and it would be easier if they could just figure out how to stop having to satisfy "the pesky customers."

i can safely say that i won't be going back, and i'd suggest the same for discerning diners. if you want to go to a place where they insult you, i'd suggest ed debevic's in chicago, since the insults are part of the fun and dining experience rather than just bad service.

first time. private party room 16 people. warm greeting and seated promptly...scallops w/ bacon, plump and moist, cowboy rib complemented with tangy sauce, all excellent finished with warm apple cobbler, vanilla ice cream..birthday cake just ordinary...service excellent, owner ormanagerstopped by to thank us for choosing steakhouse 85, and asked about food and service...

our experience was not great. our experience was not a great one. made reservations for 8:15 and got there a bit early and had drinks at the bar. we were not seated until 9:15 after repeated trips to the hostess and themanagerfor the evening. if your the type of person that likes talking to amanagerwho puts his hands in his pockets while speaking to you, i found your spot. the food was ok and overpriced. the waiter was nice. we received our dinner at 10:20 that evening. my second encounter with themanagerwas the same as the first. unhelpful, hands in pocket, and pretty arrogant.
in a nutshell, themanagerand staff are in no way old enough to work at a restaurant so expensive. when i say expensive i mean $16 drinks. the owner needs to clean house!

thatmanageris horrible

the password is pretentious. 11/12/12....i have frequented this restaurant since matty opened it some
time ago, and i am disappointed to have to report that its quickly losing its once deserved allure. note that the steaks are still very good here, not excellent, not nyc quality, but prime. on a scale of 1-5 stars, the beef here is a solid 4. problem at this establishment is the service, (or complete lack of),
and the pretense. on a semi crowded sunday night, with plenty of empty tables, our reserved table was not available. got the "5 or 10 miinutes" line, i suppose that's their way of getiing you to spend additional $$$ beforehand in the bar, at this already pricey "$200.00 per couple meal" establishment. upon sitting down, our waiter anthony was unattentive as it took over 10 minutes to get cocktails from the bar, which was just steps away. i was tempted to just walk over and do things myself, but finally anthony showed up. pretense?
don't order the "colossal" shrimp cocktail, they are jumbo but you
are given 3 shrimp for $18.00!!!! down the shore, even at those pricey
tourist traps, ( shipwreck/riverhouse/709), a "colossal" shrimp cocktail=
6 shrimp for the same $18.00. when i am forced to pay such ridiculous prices,
sorry, but i feel like my intelligence is being insulted.
matty, this is church street in new brunswick, nj, not sparks, the strip,lugars @ nyc no need for the pretense. you guys are good enough, why try and appear to be something you are not?
back to the service- our sides of onion rings/fries and some bernaise
sauce for our beef was presented along side our appetizers when they were served. of course i sent it all back, and when i asked themanagerif this is how they did business at this "$200.00" per couple establishment, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "it's a mistake", (at this $200.00 per couple
establishment). to his credit, the mgr did make the first round of 2 $11
vodka cocktails on the house, but that was not enough to quell my disappointment over the entire experience at this once surperb restaurant, which is now simply "very good". if you are really interested in a superior
steak dinner i suggest you stick with the establishments in nyc or lugars,
and while in nj, go to a good diner instead. on a scale or 1-5 stars,
overall this restaurant rates a "not so solid" 4. i won't be returning any time soon.