Brought a large group to Davison's Steak for lunch and it was absolutely perfect! Through adversity their staff adapted quickly and provided top of the line service. Our waitresses were so kind and were personable. The food was delicious, too! The salad bar was great, especially the homemade ranch. The entrees were superb. Great portion sizes and delicious flavor. We will for sure bring our group back again. read more

I love to come here for lunch! The lunch specials are very reasonable priced. I've been here probably at least 5-6 times, and have never been disappointed. The service is great, very friendly and personable. Everything I've eaten here I'd recommend. Burgers, chicken salad, and the tuna salad were all very good! read more

We've been going here for many many years now. Excellent restaurant on all levels!! The food is excellent. Owner always makes sure we are satisfied and salad bar is awesome. I also love that there is ambiance here as well. Great place for couples or a date. Dinner and lunch are both excellent. Steaks and salmon always done perfectly. Owner is wonderful and very customer oriented. read more

Love this place! The ribeye sandwich, salad with homemade dressing, baked potatoes, potato salad, everything I have tried has been wonderful. Great place to take the family with a great atmosphere. read more

The best filet mignon around!! I love the salad bar also- it has good selections and it's fresh. My go-to steakhouse in Sanford!!

We have been going there averaging maybe once a month or so, since I believe 2004. Until recently, it had always been a good experience. We live about 15 minutes away and it is convenient at times instead of going to Raleigh, Southern Pines, etc. On occasion we have had a less than good steak, received grilled Shrimp in our cocktail appetizer, etc. But overall it has always been enjoyable. Tonight our youngest daughter and future son-in-law were in town. We went to dinner there. I received a less than 1/4 inch thick well done ribeye that was not the medium rare I ordered and had none of the texture and flavor of a ribeye. We never got the wine list. The other three had equally or worse dismal thin, overcooked, tasteless steaks. The vegetable side was simply some store bought frozen stuff warmed up. The salad bar had empty containers of some of the items half an hour after they opened when we went to it. One of our party, who detests onions, and when asked if they wanted the onions explicitly said no- had their steak arrive with the onions. The sour cream with the baked potatoes was watery, warm, and tasted off. If I was by myself, I would have got up and left in disgust. There is no making this right or coming back from this. Going so low and far below their previous standards for every meal brought to the table is not an excusable fluke. We will never go back. We will urge others that ask about it to not even consider going. Our waitress gave excellent service. We have had her more than a few times. She seemed off, embarrassed, and just going through the motions and not like her usual self. They should just close and be done with it at this point. read more

My cousin's surprise retirement dinner was held here. The area was set up nicely for the number of folks attending. Atmosphere is nice with white tablecloths. We were warmly greeted upon arrival. What I like most is the grill in the center of the room, which allows them to serve meats from the grill to your table! The salad bar has enough variety to make a tasty salad and is included in the meal. But what I have to give them accolades for is their service. We had approximately 30 people in our party and we were all served at once! And we all received our food hot, not sitting under a light. Kudos to the staff who came from other stations to help serve! read more

My wife and I ate here after church and both of us had the 8 oz. ribeye. When we entered you could tell it was dimly lit with table cloths and cloth napkins. The prices reflect that of an above average steak house. ($24-$35) I enjoyed the salad bar as everything seemed fresh. It is somewhat limited but overall not bad. We both ordered our steaks medium rare and when they arrived they were cooked perfectly. My baked potato was very big and light and fluffy. The meat was average. Although it was cooked correctly, it didn't seem to have any seasoning at all. Our waitress was attentive but felt like she should have been at an Applebees or TGIF. At one point we asked for straws and when she arrived with them she literally tossed them on the table. She would come by with dirty dishes and ask if we needed anything. For the price I would expect her to infer what I needed by looking at my table. The holder for our candle had also been neglected as it had stains all over the top of it. Overall I might return for a sandwich as they looked great but I won't order the main entrees again. read more

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Please do not waste your money at this restaurant. Besides being overpriced the food is sub par. The server asked for our order before asking if we wanted anything to drink, I asked for the Dirty Martini which was listed on the menu as being made with blue cheese olives but when it arrived it arrived with 3 regular olives. When I asked the girl who brought it (not our server) she said she just made it the way she knew how. For the second martini I asked our server for the blue cheese olives (listed on the menu) and I received 3 regular olives again with a piece of blue cheese on the toothpick. We should have left then. Ordered a shrimp cocktail, 5 small shrimp that were warm, mushy and sprinkled with what I think was Old Bay Seasoning. We should have left then. We both ordered the ribeye and baked potato. Both steaks were thin, really thin and tasteless. My baked potato was not cooked all the way through it was hard in the middle. My last martini, which I ordered after my salad, came after our dinner was finished I just assumed she had forgotten. We skipped dessert (why even try) and left. We will never go back it was a totally waste of $100.00 not including the $20.00 tip. read more

This place is a lot nicer on the inside than it looks on the outside. It's very big and has a warm and inviting decor. The prices are typical for a steakhouse. Approx. $20-35 for a steak, but it also comes with access to the salad bar and a baked potato or other veggie option. We got the surf and turf and I couldn't even finish everything!! The portions are great and the steak is cooked perfectly. Nothing extraordinarily, but good local place. Wine list is eh... Crab, lobster dip appetizer was super salty!!! Not for me! read more

My wife and I typically avoid steakhouses as both of us don't really care for beef. However, we are new to the area and wanted to try several different restaurants, so we went to Davidson's. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Steak and I really enjoyed it. The cut of fish I had really was sushi grade. It was cooked exactly how I requested, and had minimal seasoning to allow the taste of the fish to stand out. My wife ordered pork chops and she said her dish was excellent. The entree's come with a visit to the salad bar and a side dish. The asparagus I ordered was bland, and my wife said the same thing about her sweet potato. The salad bar is very basic, but it was serviceable. The service was good. My only real complaint is the inside/outside decor is badly in need of updating. Its not dirty, but it does feel a bit dated and rundown. When combined with higher prices than other restaurants in the area ($20-35 for an entree), I felt a bit ... cheated ... for the lack of a better term. I think improving their side dishes and some basic updates to the decor (even just a new coat of paint would go a long ways), would improve the overall experience. read more

My favorite steakhouse in Sanford, N.C. Food is outstanding whether it is the salad bar, the steaks, the ahi tuna, sides and so much more. Service is consistently only adequate. Husband receives refills on sodas or tea but i have yet to get a refil on coffee... which is rather weak for me but good) and more often then not desert is not offered...although good selection of cakes and pies is delicious when we ask. Atmosphere is romantic and upscale but casual at the same time. Highly recommend. read more

Great atmosphere and a great steak. Salad bar is one of best around that was our experience 1st time. 2nd time was to celebrate birthdays which we were asked about when reservations were made and by the waitress but not sure why. Two of us ordered NY Strip one medium one medium rare, both were rare. Desert I ordered something that came with ice cream and served with a fork. Not as impressed with 2nd visit but will go back. read more

Disappointing. We ordered Bruschetta as an appetizer and what we were served was nothing like we've ever had before. We also were not given 2 small plates to handle our food over. The tomatoes were not very tasty, no basil or mozzarella, just a bunch of clumpy ground cheese. My husband and I both ordered beef kabobs and potatoes. I enjoyed mine but my husband said his steak had no flavor at all. Mine was "good," but not an amazing meal like I thought I'd get. We most likely won't go back. read more

We came for lunch on father's day. Service was abysmal, at best. Seated quickly by a friendly host. Waitress was ready to go home when we arrived. Nicely appointed dining room and looks like it would reflect the experience. My in-laws had a ribeye sandwich and chicken kebobs, my wife had the steak kebob, I had a steak wrap. The food is the only thing keeping the rating at the level it's at. It seemed like every table was hearing more and more apologies as the meal went on. I'll come back, just to try a steak.. but you'd keep many more customers if the quality of service matched the food itself. read more

Had to beg to get water refilled but if the staff knows you, you are treated differently. The owner ignored our request for water. Food is okay but overpriced with extremely slow. They can't get your order correct and give you a flip apology. This isn't the first time we have received sorry service but it will be the last time. I had hope the quality and service had improved but I see it hasn't. I guess you forget there are other options for lunch. You have lost my business and my coworkers. Enjoy catering to your friends!!! read more

We had a party of four eating at dinner. Three at the table ordered steak dinners. All three were cooked correctly, the meat was an excellent cut for both the ribeye and a New York strip. The only negative comment about the steak was that there was not enough seasoning. The flavor was bland. I had the yellow fin tuna. The fish was cooked to medium which is what I ordered but the fish was tough and a little dry. It had no flavor. I also got, because recommended by the server the steamed Vidalia onion. This is a microwaved onion with no seasoning. I cannot figure out the purpose for this. It was terrible and I love onions. Maybe if they char it on the grill So it has some flavor and slice it thinner so it is easier to cut into. Also the asparagus still had the woody ends and the tops were mushy. I don't recommend paying the extra dollar for this. read more

We were just passing through and found this great steak house . Food was great and staff was very friendly.We told them we were from out of town and the waiter Donovan (great waiter) he went over the menu we us,even talked us in to having desert. Glad we stopped !! Stop here if you're in Sanford NC. ( if you are looking for cheap this is not the place but well worth the price). read more

Absolutely a wonderful place for large meetings with minimal interference during the event. The owner and the staff are friendly but not intrusive. Prices and food were wonderful and the atmosphere is the best in all of Sanford. Very clean and fast service! Highly recommend to for the best steak in Sanford! read more

Great service but the food was mediocre. The salad bar was as basic as you can get with very little choices. The steak was cooked to perfection but lacked flavor. My son had to use A1 which he never does. For the price the meal was very disappointing. Maybe I'll try their lunch menu which looked way better than their dinner. read more

Great steak. Aged from Omaha. Sanford NC is not known for it's cuisine. I'm glad I did not read the one review posted. Finding a quite place with cloth napkins and a smooth relaxing environment in Sanford with great food makes my day. Eat here. You will not regret it. read more

We were on our way to an event at The Bradford and didn't have time to make it to Raleigh for dinner before the event and we stumbled upon this gem of a steakhouse. The filet was delicious and cooked properly and my husband really enjoyed the blackened salmon. Our server also provided great service. read more

The steaks were good, but the sides left a lot to be desired. Unseasoned vegetables. And what's up with a salad bar? Time to leave the 80s behind. When I go to a nice steak restaurant, I don't want to wait in line at the Ruby Tuesday salad bar. It takes away from the overall experience. Tons of potential, but in need of some updates, to the building and the menu. read more

We went on Valentine's Day. They were not taking reservations, but when we got our names on the list, could not estimate how long our wait was, they just showed us the list and said "We have this many people ahead of you...."??? We sat at the bar, had a few drinks and an hour plus later we were seated. The food was great, the service was not exceptional, but it was crazy busy, so it could have been that. Best steak house in the area. read more

Brought a group of 40 people to this restaurant and could not have been happier with the food, service and atmosphere. Everyone's steaks were cooked perfectly and we're all delivered to the table at the same time. Mike (owner) and his team were extremely attentive to detail and making sure my clients had a great dining experience. Look forward to the next opportunity to dine here. read more

We were driving from Southern Pines to see my Mom in the Nursing Home and on our way to Durham to see our daughter. We don't like fast foods and always look for local restaurants because we love smaller places and we want to support these businesses. Much to our delight, we were seated at a pristine white-covered tablecloth, soft music and a waiter who treated us like we were special! We were dressed in our everyday working clothes, but it didn't matter to the staff at Davison's! The food was totally awesome and delicious and served to perfection. I wish we could remember the name of our waiter, but he was awesome! We were there on Tues June 22 and if you recall who was on duty that day around lunch time, please give this young man a raise! Also, the sweet ladies at the front desk, when we asked for a card to be sure and send a review, gave us the whole menu! We will definitely be back when we are traveling through Sanford. Now we know it's worth stopping in Sanford! Thanks again for a lovely, delightful meal! read more

This was a great dining experience! Steak and Chicken were superb! Staff were amazing! We will be back!

I absolutely love this place. Super Fresh salad bar that I can choose what I would like on it with fresh crumbled bacon - how can you not love that!! The hardest decision to make is what to order steak or chicken!!! The staff is always amazing and nice!! This place is a must go in Sanford!! read more

Shorted my wife on her food and after bringing it up to the owner and showing him the proof he still acted as if I was wrong. Kabobs are supposed to come with 3 pieces of steak each she received 4 pieces total. They also charged her for a salad when she opted out of a side. So her food was $18 for 4 pieces of steak, a few vegetables and a salad. Been going there for years and after this experience and waiting 20 minutes to check out last time and getting a bad potato the time before that we will NOT be going back.. Horribly ran. read more

Well yum! This place was great. No wait, great ambiance, excellent salad bar and awesome dinner. The manager (I think) brought out a big ole hunk of beef so we could see our meat and choose the cut. It is something fun and different. Not a huge menu so if you aren't going for the steak this place isn't for you. Manager came back several times to check on us and to deliver cheesecake to our birthday girl. Artichoke dip was bomb. The grilled mushrooms were a perfect addition to the steaks which were all cooked perfectly with great flavor. Awesome little touches like water served in wine bottles and little individual pitchers for refills of sodas were just a nice touch. Not one even thing here to complain about. It is pricey but meal includes the salad, side, and soda and it is a great place for special occasions. Too bad I live in California or I would definately be back. If you haven't eaten there you are missing out. read more

The food was delicious. We really enjoyed the ambiance and the chef came to our table with a slab of ribeye and cut our steaks in front of us. They also asked us when we wanted the chef to fire up our steaks. The hostess is what really made the experience phenomenal. We called ahead of time and she let us know there was a wait and she could put us on the waiting list. She was as sweet as can be from the moment the phone rang to the moment we entered the door. We sat at the bar and waited for our table the bartender was as miserable as could be, didn't get not one smile out of her. But the drinks were made very well and inexpensive. Our server was very sweet and did her job as best as she could I would say could have used more training. I expected her to introduce herself and say our chef has blah blah specials tonight and our salad bar is featuring blah blah.. instead she walked up and said, " are y'all ready to order tonight?" Like what!? Hold on, excuse me!? I had never been here before.. Needless to say I didn't see the manager once. But if you're looking for great food without leaving Sanford this is your place! Just don't expect great service. read more

Everything was great from the food to the service. We had the lobster scampi as an appetizer and split a ribeye - both were excellent. Good salad bar as well. We will be going back. read more

Had a date night with my husband recently and could not ask for a better meal. I had chicken and my husband had ribeye. Both meals were spot on. Cooked to perfection. Staff also very friendly and made sure we always had everything we needed. read more

After reading other reviews my wife and I decided to check out the food at Davidson Steaks. The environment and decor seemed very nice and I was very pleased. The menu is very small with only 5 items. Your choices are a grilled chicken breast, 9 ounce Rib eye , steak Kaboob, Filet mignon, or Tuna steak. My first impression was wow only 5 choices? So I decided to try the Rib-eye but decided to order my steak a 12 ounce and my wife tried the Tuna Steak. The menu claims that that each Rib-eye is Grass-Fed, Aged beef and the chef comes to your table and cuts your slice in front of you. I was excited after my order was taken. My waitress said the chief will be out shortly. However that didn't happen? After about 20 mins my food just simply arrived. The steak looked like a slim Rib-eye from a frozen package or a similar steak you would get from waffle house. It came with a steamed onion and baked potato. The Onion was bland, and potato cooked earlier and seemed to be reheated. As I ate my steak it had simple seasoning salt and pepper. The seasoning was simply ok, but nothing spectacular. The meat tasted like one of those frozen steaks you buy in a box at Walmart and brought back to life and grilled. Just not very good. It was very disappointing and figured I should tell them. I told the waitress to tell who she need that I was not happy. The chief or manager came to my table and i express the above. I explained I don't want nothing but need to explain why I wont be coming back. He said it was all just like the menu said and he claimed to understand my position but didn't offer me anything like sorry or maybe next time we can do it better. Nope he just walked away. However, It was not like the menu said was it? No Chief ever came to my table and sliced this aged beef in front of me? You served me a 9 ounce steak, and not the 12 ouce I was paying for, So to make that statement is simply not true. My final thought to him and this steak house that only has 2 steaks on the menu? If I can buy a piece of meat at food lion and grill it myself an average cook in my back yard and have better a better quality steak then why would I pay you $30.00 for a fools frozen steak? No thanks, Your suppose to be a high Quality steakhouse that serves a great steak, not a below average steak. I will look around else for steak worthy of $30 dollar price tag. My Yelp is take your chances. but I'm not returning. read more

Save your money. It is as over hyped as it has ever been. It had been at least 3 years since our last time trying Davison's. It seems nothing has changed and, had it not been for a family event, we wouldn't have gone back a second time. At least I know that my opinion was justified. Walking into the dimly lit restaurant from the entrance, one notices the steaks are being cooked "right in front of you." I'm sure this adds to the aura of quality and adds to the meal to some people. I assure you, it does nothing for the quality of the meat. More on that in a moment. First you decide on which undersized and overcooked piece of meat you'd like. The filet is $29 for 9 oz. There's a kabob or chopped steak for $19. A special note on the rib eye: it is $24 for 8 oz and $1.50 for each additional oz of meat. You can get cheaper steaks at the Angus Barn, no kidding. You can also add a side of a microwaved potato, microwaved sweet potato, precooked "steamed" vegetables, or (I'm assuming) precooked asparagus (for $1 more). You're next given the opportunity to head over the the salad "bar." I've honestly had better salad bars at all-you-can-eat Chinese. Golden Corral's salad bar puts this one to an absolute shame. Yes, I said Golden Corral. There are 13 "vegetables." Yes, I counted. What else did I have to do while the other huddled and shuffling patrons tried to fill their terribly small bowls? The standard high school lunch room salad bar has more items and variety. Here you get a "mixed" green lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, pineapple, carrot peels, eggs, black olives, peppers, onions, sliced mushrooms, cheese, and beets. No, I didn't stand there and memorize them. That's just what there was. At the end of the "bar" there were 7 dressings, all in the same deep vat seen at pretty much any all-you-can-eat place. After the bar, one can make the choice of adding questionable pepperoncini, bacon bits, raisins, and sunflower seeds or premade croutons. Once the steaks arrived, I had pretty much confirmed why we hadn't come back and why my opinion had been justified. The 8 oz is not a joke. Do not expect more. If you want more, go somewhere else or be prepared to pay the additional for it. Everyone in our party of 4 ordered exactly the same thing and all our steaks were fairly consistent in appearance, doneness, and size. And since they cut the steaks in house, that should be expected. Back to the star of the show: The steak was bland, overcooked, and lukewarm. How do you overcook a steak and it not be hot? I have purchased much better pieces of meat from the Food Lion just down the road and have certainly cooked them better. And I didn't pay $3 per oz for those steaks, either. The potato was of the microwave variety but at least it was hot. The soaked with butter small piece of French bread "toast" was also cold so at least consistency is there between the things actually coming off the grill. The service was good. No complaints. I've had much better steaks at the local chain establishments including Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday's, and Sagebrush. Much better, larger portions, cooked as desired, and for about the same price. While I don't mind supporting a local establishment, I won't spend my money needlessly on something that is overpriced and not as good as something I can get elsewhere for less. In my opinion, the popularity of this place is solely due to the fact that they charge so much for the food that people think it is special. If this food was put against pretty much any other restaurant in town in a blind taste test, it would very likely lose. Go to Sagebrush or drive to Southern Pines and get a better meal for the same price. For the price of two "dinners" here, you can afford to go to the Angus Barn and eat more and better food. No kidding. For me, eating good food is more important than spending more money. read more

First I will say that I had the prime rib and it was excellent. The Ahi Tuna Steak is not sushi grade tuna but still tasty. My companion was done with his Ahi Steak when they came by to offer him the wasabi sauce that was supposed to come with it 30 minutes later from the time we got our meals. It is not a classy place and needs to be updated from the 90's era with a little more ambiance. Service was decent but could always be improved upon. For the small salad bar it was decent and had a good selection. For what you pay, you should have classy service and atmosphere, I got to realize that this is Sanford, NC not a sophisticated city. read more

If you are in the area and don't give this wonderful restaurant a try you are missing out. Thank you so much for the food and hospitality!

Has a reservation for over a month, got there and the table wasn't ready. When it was ready there weren't enough plates and chairs. Server dropped the drinks and then took 10 min to get more drinks. The water brought out was hot. Ordered steaks and they came out dry and bloody. Drinks were never filled. Salad bar had brown lettuce. Not a good experience wouldn't go back. read more

Although a funeral brought me to the town I worked in over 15 years ago, the night was topped off with a stellar meal. Having a friend with extreme food allergies, she wanted to go to Davison's Steaks, and she knew her food would be cooked properly. From the moment I walked in, the service was impeccable. Mike was incredibly attentive and demonstrated such a strong sense, of not only compassion due to the circumstances, but professionalism as well. It is clear that he knows how to create an atmosphere of comfort while producing quality food. The steak melted in my mouth and the tuna made me feel like I was on the coast again. The menu offered a plethora of options to satiate any pallet. I loved the fact that it has a salad bar in which I could create the exact salad I desired for the night. If only this type of quality steakhouse existed in Uptown Charlotte! Davison's Steaks is a MUST for EVERY Sanford resident and those in town! read more

food was very bland, no seasoning even the veggies, steaks are omaha raised, but chefs do nothing to meat. there is little to be desired. will not return to this place read more