Baker House Hotel

We left before getting our meal, and the whole experience put a damper on Valentine’s Day. My girlfriend and I are from out of town and had booked ahead, hoping for a lovely evening. The website showed a Valentine’s Day menu, but prices weren’t clear until we arrived. We got to our 8:45 reservation five minutes early. Staff were arguing at the host stand, then quickly sent us to the bar to wait. We ordered cocktails. Mine took over 10 minutes and came out wrong, even though we’d paid $30 for the two drinks. After 20 minutes at the bar, we checked on the reservation and found it had clearly been forgotten. Once seated, we waited another 20 minutes before a server greeted us. We ordered soup, salad, and two entrees all at once. Another 20 minutes passed before a staff member asked about our meal. I said we’d ordered and were waiting. Bread finally arrived 45 minutes after we sat down. While we waited, we heard staff loudly saying they had “not having a clue what’s going on” about our table and the ones beside us. Nearly an hour after being seated, around 9:45, we asked the nearby tables how things were going. Their reservations had been for 7:30 and 7:45, and two hours later they still had no food. We decided to leave. The staff handled our departure frantically and unprofessionally. The manager apologized, but only blamed the kitchen for being too busy. It was a horrible experience, and I can imagine it dampened the night for a lot of others too.

The food itself was fine, but nothing special for what we paid. I made a reservation expecting a nicer steakhouse meal, and the whole experience didn’t justify the cost. The service was disorganized, communication was poor, and there wasn’t much effort to make things right. When asked how it was, I said I wasn’t satisfied. The only adjustment was $10 off for the missing asparagus. The website’s dinner menu didn’t match what was available. I’d planned my order around it, including Oscar style, then learned that wasn’t offered. My server never explained the specials either. I only heard about the New York strip special by overhearing another server at a nearby table, so I changed my order. When I asked what came with the steak, I was told garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I declined the potatoes and kept the asparagus, but after about 30 minutes the plate arrived without it. Instead there was a creamy corn and spinach side that hadn’t been discussed or offered, and the special’s price hadn’t been clearly explained. No complimentary bread or starter was offered. I asked for butter and got individually wrapped portions, which felt out of place for the price and the steakhouse I expected. In the end, the only thing I really ate was what looked like a 6-8 oz steak, since the promised side was missing and I didn’t want the substitute. The final bill was about $58 after the adjustment. It wasn’t that the food tasted bad, the experience just didn’t match the cost or expectations. I wouldn’t return or recommend it. There are likely cheaper restaurants nearby with a better overall dining experience.

The card fee was a mess too. They charged extra for using a debit card, then argued it applied to any card, which isn’t right. They did refund it before I left, at least. We’d booked months ahead for a bachelorette dinner and had been told they could handle our larger group. Instead, dinner took nearly two hours to arrive. They were out of several menu items, but only told us after we ordered, so about half the group had to choose a second or even third option. Service was painfully slow, and nobody explained or apologized or offered to make up for it. Near the end, a waiter asked how the food was. I mentioned the delay and the mediocre, very overpriced food. He just asked if he could clear our plates. No apology, no offer to tell a manager. It put a real damper on what was supposed to be a fun celebration. I won’t return, and I’ll actively recommend other places nearby.

The asparagus and potato were good, and the steakhouse decor was charming. That was about it. The risotto arrived cold and was basically a starchy blob. I ordered surf and turf with a medium rare steak and risotto. The first “fillet” was two pieces of meat, each about 3/8 inch thick, cooked so thoroughly the cow might as well have been cooked out of them. I told the waiter when he checked on us about ten minutes later. He offered to replace it, which seemed fine, but the second fillet took another fifteen minutes and was even worse. It wasn’t cooked to death, but it was so dry and grainy I could barely cut it. Eating it was like chewing stale gum, with no flavor or moisture. The napkin might have been better. The service was abysmal too. The waiter didn’t come back, so I paid and left.