It breaks my heart to do this, because I really think Fred & Steve's could have some great potential, but I must say that a lot of the problems I experienced and observed during my meal here far outweighed a good steak. First of all, I noticed some people on here complaining about the steaks not coming with side dishes. Clearly they have never been to a real steakhouse (Outback doesn't count, people) because this is how every steakhouse works. You select a cut of meat, and then you can select sides as you like, and purchase them separately. Any fine dining steakhouse works with an a la carte menu. Do not be shocked by this.
For what it's worth, I thought the steaks here were really good. The prices are comparable to other fine steakhouses such as Ruth's Chris, etc. I have a few issues with some of the dishes, and some serious concerns with consistency, presentation, and service. One of my dining companions ordered the petit filet cooked medium well, and instead received the wrong steak entirely. A regular-sized filet cooked black and blue. As rare as can be. Something went wrong in the kitchen. He had to sit around and wait while the rest of our large party dug into their meals (we had already started when he cut into his steak and saw it was seriously undercooked).
My steak was cooked fine, but I ordered Bearnaise with it, and instead was given a Gorgonzola sauce. I didn't say anything to our server at this point. I was okay with it so I just ate it. But it was certainly not the only thing wrong with our food/service.
The baked stuffed shrimp that came with my surf and turf consisted of mostly stuffing and barely any shrimp. The shrimp were so puny! I was really surprised the restaurant had ordered such small shrimp to stuff. The stuffing really makes it look like the shrimp are bigger than they are. Do not be fooled.
Another diner at the table ordered the lobster bisque. It was served in a way that suggested fine dining... a small pile of lobster pieces and pats of butter in the center of a modern-looking plate, with tableside pouring of the bisque, and a small sidecar of brandy that you can either add to the bisque or drink. While I didn't taste the bisque (and can therefore not comment on the flavor), the texture looked gelatinous, and I couldn't stop staring at it jiggle from across the table. I have had my share of incredible bisque in my lifetime, and it should be rich and creamy. Not gelatinous in any way. I would not want to order that myself.
I tried two side dishes, the sweet potatoes and creamed corn. The sweet potatoes were my favorite. The brown sugary sauce was a really yummy touch. The creamed corn was pretty tasty, but the sauce reminded me more of sweetened condensed milk in texture (and even flavor) than real cream. Again, it had an artificial almost-gelatinous seeming texture. It was very sweet, and the corn was fairly crunchy. My sister said the last time she dined here, the creamed corn was better. All I know is that the consistency of the "cream" portion of the creamed corn was off this time around.
Really, the food is the most important aspect in any restaurant, but in a fine dining atmosphere, there is so much more to take into account. For example, all of the glassware on our table was covered in unsightly water stains (likely from a dishwater that needed to be drained and replaced with fresh water). Not only should the glassware have been polished (at the prices people pay to eat here), but at the very least, it should not be covered in splotchy stains (both our water glasses and wine glasses). Also, our back waiter was very uncoordinated. When she brought over our steak knives to mark the table, she placed them very carelessly, sometimes placing them by the other knife (as she should have) but sometimes by the forks... for the same person's setting. She was clearly not paying attention to where she was marking the silverware. This led to a lot of confusion when our meals arrived and some people had 2 steak knives at their place setting (one on each side) and some people had none. This is a big deal! This is an expensive restaurant and these details should not be overlooked. And if I'm going to be a stickler, the salad forks should have been cleared at this point if they had not been used in the first course. At any other nice steakhouse, they would have been.
I'm sorry for going on an on, but I think this is all vital information to anyone planning on visiting Fred and Steve's in the future. It's a mediocre restaurant (serving good steak) disguised as fine dining. The steaks are tasty, but not nearly good enough to outweigh all of the other issues I observed during my visit. For the same cost, you can be treated like royalty at many other steakhouses not far from here. I know this is the only fine dining restaurant in Twin River, and that's probably why they get away with it. No competition. read more