Morton's - The Steakhouse

07/27/09

Don't waste your time or money

by Complextlt at Citysearch

I had wanted to dine at Morton’s for a long time. While on their web site, a coupon popped up: Dinner for 2 for $99. Awesome, right? Decided to take friend to dinner for her birthday. We were greeted with prompt, courteous valet service and a very nice host. They even made reference to her birthday. We were about 20 min. early and were seated immediately. The ambiance was wonderful. Very romantic. We noticed some of the waiters rolling the carts around showing their customers the cuts of meat, lobster, and other wonderful foods on display. Our waiter’s enthusiasm changed instantly, however, when I pulled out the coupon. We both even upgraded to ribeye. He pretty much ignored us except to get the specifics of our order. The salads and appetizers were great. The potatoes lyonnaise were decent. The green beans were barely cooked (not al dente) and tasteless. The steak was a thorough disappointment! I really had to question whether it was a ribeye, because there was NO marbling in it. Both were cooked to specification, but were dry as a bone. Mine was even medium, and the outer layer was almost crunchy it was so dry. After finishing our entrée, we waited for about 15 minutes and the waiter walked by us 3 times before finally acknowledging that we were ready for dessert. The couple one table over were also celebrating a birthday. Their waitress brought out a nice dessert with a candle, so I expected the same for my friend. Instead, the dessert that came with our meal was set down roughly and she was unenthusiastically told happy birthday. The dessert was good, but I can guarantee you I will never go back! I understand that waiters are more enthusiastic when someone can afford to drop 250-300 for a meal for two, but I can’t afford that quite yet. So, I was excited to have the coupon. And if the meal and the service had been all they should have been, when I finish my degree and CAN afford the regular prices, I undoubtedly would have returned – OFTEN. But as a result of the SNOBBISH attitude, the poor service, and the horrible steak, Morton’s has lost a minimum of 2 future regulars, as well as anyone else I can tell before I die. We went to Texas Roadhouse the next day and the steak and service were 10 times better!!!

• Pros: Nice ambiance
• Cons: Horrible service, horrible steak

02/13/09

Small steak sufferer

by nostradamusnash at Citysearch

Little surprised by the price but it was a special occasion so i figured it was worth it. Both my husband and I got the smaller steaks just because we would never finish a monster one. Mine was the filet and it was just average - basically could compare it to a good steak at a cheap steak chain restaurant. My husbands was the ribeye and it was aweful. Full of fat and not even a good flavor what little meat there was. If it matters at this point, the service was very good.

01/28/07

You have to be kidding....

by foodmensch at Citysearch

I'll admit at the outset that I've always been mystified at the price of good steakhouses. Sure, the beef is high quality, but I can buy high quality beef and prepare it well myself. The other offerings on the menu are normally very boring, and the experience often doesn't seem worth the price.

Eating at Morton's last night with my wife has only reinforced this view. I had a $100 gift card and was deliberating beforehand whether to get a bottle of wine (and more or less use up the card) or have just a couple of glasses (and reserve some of the card for a future visit). When we first saw the prices, I realized how foolish the question had been. The wine list is an aboslute joke. Morton's sells bottles of wine that cost $15 in a store (such as Estancia pinot noir) for some $50--and that is the cheapest bottle you will find. I have never seen markup quite this bad. I didn't get any wine, and my wife and I had the least expensive steaks on the menu, single cut filets. These were good, but I can't say they were worth $31 a piece a la carte.

Even people with enough disposable income to eat at Morton's should retain some sense of value for your dollar. To that end, why not save the money for a dinner at Morton's and have two fantastic dinners at Cafe Margot?

• Pros: You can't afford to get fat or drunk
• Cons: Shamelessly overpriced--$8 for baked potato