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Foods from Al's Steakhouse
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Showing comments 1 to 6
2006 Dec 20
SteffQc,
It's standard for most restaurants to add a 15% gratuity on the bill for large groups...how many people were in your party?
Anyway, it's a completely separate issue from the quality of the food. I used to supply Al's with their desserts 3 or 4 years ago. They are one of those restaurants that make money hand over fist which is why they can get away with such mediocre food. They used to haggle with me about the price of the cakes I supplied them with because for some insane reason they wanted to charge $3.50 for a dessert when they would charge $30 for a steak dinner. Just for comparison purposes, Social was charging $8 at the time for their desserts and most everyone else was charging about $6.
It's standard for most restaurants to add a 15% gratuity on the bill for large groups...how many people were in your party?
Anyway, it's a completely separate issue from the quality of the food. I used to supply Al's with their desserts 3 or 4 years ago. They are one of those restaurants that make money hand over fist which is why they can get away with such mediocre food. They used to haggle with me about the price of the cakes I supplied them with because for some insane reason they wanted to charge $3.50 for a dessert when they would charge $30 for a steak dinner. Just for comparison purposes, Social was charging $8 at the time for their desserts and most everyone else was charging about $6.
2006 Dec 20
when you mentioned the escargot and the cheese, i agreed totally with you. I haven't eaten escargots THAT often in my life, but i know i really like them. I even had them at the steakhouse near my house in Hull (Sirolas) and they were average, but i just love the taste. But you are right about the cheese being melted into a blanket over them. I did have to cut through with the knife.
As for the tip, it was 15% i think.. the whole meal cost me like friggin' 75$, for 2 glasses of wine, escargot and the filet mignon.
That's why i said it was so damn expensive for what it was.. just average food IMO. Nothing like Domus or any of the other restaurants i really like can dish out for that price.
As for the tip, it was 15% i think.. the whole meal cost me like friggin' 75$, for 2 glasses of wine, escargot and the filet mignon.
That's why i said it was so damn expensive for what it was.. just average food IMO. Nothing like Domus or any of the other restaurants i really like can dish out for that price.
2006 Dec 19
I also had the escargot, and i think it sat too long, because the cheese was like a rubber blanket on the top of the dish...Should you have to cut 'melted' cheese with a knife?
The bill was my work's responsibility so I didn't get to see it. I can't beleive they included the tip in your bill! Isn't that supposed to be up to the customer? How much did they add?
The bill was my work's responsibility so I didn't get to see it. I can't beleive they included the tip in your bill! Isn't that supposed to be up to the customer? How much did they add?
2006 Dec 19
i went there today (office Xmas party) for lunch/dinner and it was just ok. The food was fine (i had "escargots" as the entree and filet mignon as the main course) and was cooked as requested, but the price was extremely high for the "just average" quality of the food.
I made the mistake of getting 2 glasses of beaujolais (total of 18$), so it raised the total price to a ridiculous amount for that meal. Usually i don't mind paying a lot for good food, but this was just average. When you get out of a restaurant and feel you spent too much, it's never a good sign.
Add to that the fact that they put the tip ON the bill.. which is a definite no-no in my books. I truely HATE when restaurants do this. I see it as an insult. I usually tip very well, but when they put the tip already on the bill, i never add a cent more.
Anyways.. average experience, i'm planning on checking other places out in the future.. no need or real desire to go back.
I made the mistake of getting 2 glasses of beaujolais (total of 18$), so it raised the total price to a ridiculous amount for that meal. Usually i don't mind paying a lot for good food, but this was just average. When you get out of a restaurant and feel you spent too much, it's never a good sign.
Add to that the fact that they put the tip ON the bill.. which is a definite no-no in my books. I truely HATE when restaurants do this. I see it as an insult. I usually tip very well, but when they put the tip already on the bill, i never add a cent more.
Anyways.. average experience, i'm planning on checking other places out in the future.. no need or real desire to go back.
2006 Dec 10
Went with office for our Xmas dinner.
For being one of the most popular and oldest restaurants in the city, they really need to step it up to maintain (rebuild?) their reputation.
I was conservatively expecting better.
The steaks weren't cooked as ordered. Medium rare was almost raw, medium well was like leather. The meat was flavourless.
Shrimp was rubbery.
Service was indifferent and borderline rude. My request, "Can I please have a side of mayonnaise?" ..the answer "Yah sure, remind me later." .. wtf is that?
Al visited our table and shared a couple of amusing anecdotes, but his charm didn't make up for the disappointment overall.
Not going back.
For being one of the most popular and oldest restaurants in the city, they really need to step it up to maintain (rebuild?) their reputation.
I was conservatively expecting better.
The steaks weren't cooked as ordered. Medium rare was almost raw, medium well was like leather. The meat was flavourless.
Shrimp was rubbery.
Service was indifferent and borderline rude. My request, "Can I please have a side of mayonnaise?" ..the answer "Yah sure, remind me later." .. wtf is that?
Al visited our table and shared a couple of amusing anecdotes, but his charm didn't make up for the disappointment overall.
Not going back.
Steak [3]
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2006 Dec 21
It's interesting. Just for fun, I brought up menus from both Hy's and Al's. The prices are really not that much different, but from what I remember of the last time I had lunch or dinner at Hy's, the quality of the food and service was outstanding.
Perhaps it's worth a revisit to Hy's :)
Perhaps it's worth a revisit to Hy's :)
SteffQc
silver
As for the food, i didn't get a dessert.. i was stuffed at that point and didn't bother looking at the dessert menu, so i don't know how much they charge, but i agree with you about the prices.
Hey, as i said earlier, food wasn't BAD, it just was OK and not really worth the price i paid, but then thinking about it a little more, i realize it's often the case at steakhouses. That's one of the reasons it's a type of restaurant i don't go to often.