City Steam Brewery Cafe

11/21/09

OK foor , very poor service

by ouch1 at Citysearch

Walked in at 5p on a FRIDAY .No one around, sat down and we were told with-in seconds. "YOU MUST CHECK IN' before sitting down . The HOst desk was towards the back of the place, not something you see walking in. Sat at a table of 10 and had to leave early. I asked for my portion of the the bill. OH I cant do that till everyone leaves. MY guess they were worried about a tip. I eye balled what I felt was my portion and leaving NO TIP, Have had numerous problems in the past and had hope things would get better. NEVER AGAIN.

• Pros: nothing
• Cons: poor service

12/07/08

Helped us in a time of need

by hwk455 at Citysearch

We had a wonderful meal and service tonight. My wife and I had just experienced a "downer" event and the restaurant was extremely understanding and helpful. We both had salads that were excellent.

Anthony, the manager, was excellent in understanding our situation and was extremely helpful.

06/01/08

Evening saved by Olympia Dukakis at The Hartford Stage

by AAEK at Citysearch

This was maybe our sixth or seventh dinner at this restaurant in the last 2-3 years. WE WILL NOT RETURN ANY SOON!

First they have to fire the chef for the bland, bordering on tasteless food he sent out to 6 out of 7 diners, then the head waiter should get the boot for his staff delivering tepid warm food after waiting about 45 minutes for the main course (yes, it is difficult to bring out 7 hot dishes at the same time, but somehow good restaurants manage)

The Special of the Day main course, Vegetarian Paella - abominable!. That paella did not see a pan, a pinch of saffron and I doubt even the presence of olive oil - it was a tasteless watery stew of rice and vegetables in some even more tasteless broth. It was sent back to be replaced by a substandard Classic Cobb Salad. Why substandard you'd ask? How can you murder a salad? Well, the only cooked ingredient in it, a poor chicken's breast, was cold, rubbery, and bland (a few seconds on a hot grill with some smoke flavor would have saved the day for the poor salad). Luckily, the recepy called for raw vegetables, just cut and place on a plate; oh yes, the chopped hard boiled egg was fine too.

The (3 orders of) Beer Braised PotRoast was OK if you IGNORE the blandness of the meat and the cold mashed potatoes; I doubt the meat was marinated with spices before braising it. The carrots and celery were fine, but we wanted the meat and potatoes......

The (2 orders of) Grilled Halibut was graded a solemn & silent "Eeeeh, OK"; its strong fish aroma kept me from tasting it.

The only satisfied diner was the (1 order of) Baby Back Rib Platter, lucky b.....

Did not dare order deserts. And they had the gall to add 18% to the bill.

What happened to the previous elaborate menu? In retrospect, they are better off with the current abbreviated one, less chances of ruining dishes.

The 1Star rating is there just because the website forces me to rate at least one; none is too many in this case

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Food