Disappointing service Steakhouse71

[mousey]

Visited Steakhouse71 for lunch last week to celebrate a family members birthday. Even though we were a party of 8, we were seated at a booth that is comfortable for a party of 6. Not going to let that ruin our lunch, as it was busy.
Our server appeared looking like this was the last place he wanted to be. He did not offer any suggestions or comments. Dining with 2 princesses who he didn't even acknowledge. Our appetizers came before our drinks. The runner who brought the appetizers was 100% more friendly than our server.
He never asked, but brought kids meals 20 min before our meals came?? Never asked us how the food was, if we wanted dessert and brought out a tiny cupcake for the birthday person with our check.
I observed him treating other tables the same way. Very unfriendly. Of course, his tip was added and very generous.
The food was great, but he really ruined it for us. The next day we went to The Boathouse. Great, excellent server girl. Wish she could retrain this dud!

 

[Robber Baron]

1st - We will never accept a table that's not appropriate for our party size.

2nd - We have gotten to the point where we never order appetizers until we have our drinks. We order our entree after our apps arrive. Order dessert after finishing entree.

Hard to do something about an unfriendly waitperson, but, I have no problem asking them if something is wrong.

 

[Jennasis]

Win some lose some. Lousy service tends to make our experience memorable as we will make it a running joke...but we ate warped like that.

 

[Micca]

Something strange has gone down at that location. When it was called "The Wave" everyone seemed to like it and the service was outstanding. Then it closed, I guess for a remodel? Or maybe it was the pandemic? But when it re-opened as SH 71, the mojo was MIA.

Maybe the crew at The Wave relocated during the closure and the new staff just can't deliver at the same level. Does restaurant management fall under the jurisdiction of the CR manager? Seems like this would concern the person in that role.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

My family travels as a part of 8 often.
Steakhouse 71 cannot accommodate a part of 8, according to them.
They also cannot guarantee that they can seat a party of 8 at the same time or near each other....
If you try booking two tables of 4 at or close to the same time, ADR systems cancel one of the reservations.

As such, we have never eaten there as a family; we prefer the Yatchsman.

Date night is at STK; NEVER TAKE KIDS TO STK.....

My two sons and mother ate there earlier in the month, and as a part of the three, they reported having really good service and a great meal.

However, they reported seeing several large parties squeezed into tables that were too small and suggested it was not the right place to go for all of us.

As a note: If service is that bad, I have gotten up mid-meal and asked to speak with the manager and ask to have the table reassigned, or I have demanded the tips be reduced.

No one ever wants to "make a scene," as my wife calls it, but we average $100 per person for dinner; I refuse to spend that much money on dinner, and get bad service.....

 

[Micca]

Date night is at STK; NEVER TAKE KIDS TO STK.....

Had some very good meals there, but are they still doing the DJ? That's so weird! Nightclub or restaurant, make up your mind!

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Had some very good meals there, but are they still doing the DJ? That's so weird! Nightclub or restaurant, make up your mind!

I'm not sure; we always go up to the second-floor bar. We have three bartenders serving us hand and foot.

 

[Micca]

We have three bartenders serving us hand and foot

How’s the foot there???

 

[Robbie Cottam]

How’s the foot there???

Small, pedicured, and running around to make sure I'm happy.... it is really very nice

 

[jimim]

I never thought about STK in downtown. It's a chain right? Menu looks fine. Food that good? Just was never on our radar. We might have to try it out. Steak prices look fine but the entree prices seem stupid expensive. 63 dollars for fried halibut. That's a waste of a really good fish to fry also. Maybe cause I have gone for them and I fish at home daily. If I'm catching "good fish" here like walleye say I'm not frying those bad boys. If we are filling live wells to fry fish its with perch and crappie which fry up awesome but I also don't feel like I'm wasting good fish on oil. Fried fish is fried fish once it's fried. At least they don't fry the sea bass. . .

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I never thought about STK in downtown. It's a chain right? Menu looks fine. Food that good? Just was never on our radar. We might have to try it out. Steak prices look fine but the entree prices seem stupid expensive. 63 dollars for fried halibut. That's a waste of a really good fish to fry also. Maybe cause I have gone for them and I fish at home daily. If I'm catching "good fish" here like walleye say I'm not frying those bad boys. If we are filling live wells to fry fish its with perch and crappie which fry up awesome but I also don't feel like I'm wasting good fish on oil. Fried fish is fried fish once it's fried. At least they don't fry the sea bass. . .

The whole place is stupid expensive…
The food has always been good.
Service has always been good….
So it is well worth it
Dinner is north of 300 bucks, but it’s vacation,
And we don’t get to enjoy anything like that at home …
If you are going to there, I would not get fish
It’s call STeaK for a reason
Actually think I had a cowboy style pork chop there once it was like three inches thick, that was amazing too

 

[SuzErwin]

My husband and I dined at Steakhouse 71 two weeks ago. The backstory: I'd sprained my left ankle a few days before; I had a brace and ibuprofen and didn't need a scooter/wheelchair but I wasn't 100%. The night before we were out late as we went to the opening of Jollywood Nights and had our worst time ever while on a Disney vacation (we are usually pretty go with the flow and can have fun anywhere, but that event really tried our patience). We got up early that morning for the Keys to the Kingdom tour - absolutely amazing - but that was five hours of walking and my ankle started to protest. We then went to Trader Sam's Terrace at the Poly - it was a three hour wait for the Grotto but we've been to Disneyland's Trader Sam's many times so we were fine with outdoors - but our server made it clear unless we kept the drink orders consistently coming we weren't very welcome. So we ordered multiple rounds but we also got the message and went back to the Contemporary, where we were staying, as soon we gulped everything down. By the time our stomachs told us it was time for dinner, we were feeling out of sorts and disgruntled with everything Disney. Our friend decided to grab dinner on his own at the Contempo Cafe, but my husband - until recently a vegetarian who added poultry and fish to his diet just before the trip and a picky eater - was craving something, anything green and nicely prepared to eat. Like the side dishes at Steakhouse 71.

There were no ADRs available, but we went downstairs anyway. I thought perhaps the lounge would be able to serve us off the restaurant menu, but that was a no go. However, the hostess at the check-in desk was incredibly wonderful and she found us a table, knowing he just wanted to order side dishes. As soon as our server learned we weren't drinking alcohol (sorry, Trader Sam's got our cocktail dollars) and we weren't ordering steaks - a smallish check, in other words - the service turned icy. Now I'm wondering if it's the same server! Acting as if he didn't want to be there absolutely describes him. Still, the food nailed what we were craving. We got the brioche bread, my husband had his broccolini and asparagus and I had the Vegetable Wellington which was delicious and filling. We tipped lavishly despite the ice and wrote a note on the check, thanking the restaurant for accomodating us, and left a cast compliment for the hostess on the app.

And that night turned our trip around. We had an absolute blast the rest of our vacation (we still had a week left) and that was the last time we grumbled on the trip, whether at Disney or at each other. So Steakhouse 71 has a fond place in my heart now.

 

[jimim]

The whole place is stupid expensive…
The food has always been good.
Service has always been good….
So it is well worth it
Dinner is north of 300 bucks, but it’s vacation,
And we don’t get to enjoy anything like that at home …
If you are going to there, I would not get fish
It’s call STeaK for a reason
Actually think I had a cowboy style pork chop there once it was like three inches thick, that was amazing too

I hear yah on price. Topalino, flying fish, and citricos have all been 300 dollar plus nights with our discount too. Prices have really really gone up past few years.

I hear yah on the steak. I was just looking at the menu and that halibut thing stood out. What other places have you had steak on property to compare? Narcoossee’s fillet is always great. The strip at flying fish I think is one of the best in property.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I hear yah on price. Topalino, flying fish, and citricos have all been 300 dollar plus nights with our discount too. Prices have really really gone up past few years.

I hear yah on the steak. I was just looking at the menu and that halibut thing stood out. What other places have you had steak on property to compare? Narcoossee’s fillet is always great. The strip at flying fish I think is one of the best in property.

Yep, prices have skyrocketed in the last 3 years in general...
Any time the price of diesel goes up the price of everything goes up

Narcoossee's fillet is great.
Someone told me Flying Fish has the best steak on the property, but I have never tried it
The yachtsman always has a great steak

We ate a lot of steak on our trip earlier this month.... everywhere was at least pretty good. As I said, the whole family enjoyed their meal at the Yachtsman.

 

[Micca]

Shula's is a legit steakhouse, I don't think there are any Disney discounts, but if you're looking for a genuine steakhouse experience, it should be considered.

 

[jimim]

Yep, prices have skyrocketed in the last 3 years in general...
Any time the price of diesel goes up the price of everything goes up

Narcoossee's fillet is great.
Someone told me Flying Fish has the best steak on the property, but I have never tried it
The yachtsman always has a great steak

We ate a lot of steak on our trip earlier this month.... everywhere was at least pretty good. As I said, the whole family enjoyed their meal at the Yachtsman.

We have been eating at the yachtsman for 15 plus years. Past 2 trips we skipped it cause the steaks were just ok for a few recent times. We put Citricos back in our rotation and are very glad we did.

Flying Fish food is just awesome. I would say for us in the past 1 over 3 trips this has been the best steak. Our meals for each trip Flying Fish has been our top meals. Followed by Citricos and Topalino.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We had an awful service experience at Yachtsman about 2 months ago - steak may have been good, but the only memory was how terrible the service was. Service can make or break an experience for us (esp at that price point!). We won't be back anytime soon.

We eat at SH71 often, but almost always breakfast. Service is very hit and miss, and they are often running extremely behind. Food is always fine, but you can often get a really terrible waiter there. It's a shame, as they are typically busy! Sorry you had a bad experience, too.

 

[focusondisney]

Visited Steakhouse71 for lunch last week to celebrate a family members birthday. Even though we were a party of 8, we were seated at a booth that is comfortable for a party of 6. Not going to let that ruin our lunch, as it was busy.
Our server appeared looking like this was the last place he wanted to be. He did not offer any suggestions or comments. Dining with 2 princesses who he didn't even acknowledge. Our appetizers came before our drinks. The runner who brought the appetizers was 100% more friendly than our server.
He never asked, but brought kids meals 20 min before our meals came?? Never asked us how the food was, if we wanted dessert and brought out a tiny cupcake for the birthday person with our check.
I observed him treating other tables the same way. Very unfriendly. Of course, his tip was added and very generous.
The food was great, but he really ruined it for us. The next day we went to The Boathouse. Great, excellent server girl. Wish she could retrain this dud!

Sorry about your Steakhouse 71 experience. We have been several times since it reopened, usually a party of 2. We’ve always had great service. It’s our favorite lunch on property. I‘m surprise you were able to make an ADR for 8 tho. There are usually comments that people can’t book for more than 7. I absolutely agree with you about the Boathouse, always amazing food & service.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

We have been eating at the yachtsman for 15 plus years. Past 2 trips we skipped it cause the steaks were just ok for a few recent times. We put Citricos back in our rotation and are very glad we did.

Flying Fish food is just awesome. I would say for us in the past 1 over 3 trips this has been the best steak. Our meals for each trip Flying Fish has been our top meals. Followed by Citricos and Topalino.

Citricos is really good just don’t think I have ever had a steak there …

Flying Fish is a favorite but only half my party can go there do to allergies

Topalino was really good when we are at the Riviera.

 

[Sweettears]

Yep, prices have skyrocketed in the last 3 years in general...
Any time the price of diesel goes up the price of everything goes up

Narcoossee's fillet is great.
Someone told me Flying Fish has the best steak on the property, but I have never tried it
The yachtsman always has a great steak

We ate a lot of steak on our trip earlier this month.... everywhere was at least pretty good. As I said, the whole family enjoyed their meal at the Yachtsman.

I’ve had great steak at all three that you mention. Some on this board always to try to push Shula’s but I’ll take the others any day. Im from Chicago and Shulas never registered on the list of the best steak houses. In fact now that I think about I’m not sure it still is open in Chicago