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| - To put it in one line Fleming's is a 3-star restaurant posing as a 5-star restaurant.
The issue for me at my visit to Flemings was service. The hostess was rather unenthusiastic. It seemed was just her job to point us in the correct direction, which was the bar to wait as our table got prepared. For a 5-star place, a reservation is a reservation, and the table should darned well be ready when advertised. I expect to wait for a table at Outback, with the little buzzing and flashing beeper, but Flemings isn't Outback. Right? And as I will state later, getting the food orders correct was an even larger issue.
For background, I was part of a large group (11 people) for dinner. The bread served before the meal was absolutely delicious; fresh, hot, with a crispy crust, tender middle. Drinks and salads were ordered. I got a Caesar salad, and all I can say is that it was adequate. I have had a better Caesar salad at my employer's cafeteria. But, I'm not there for the salad. Fleming's is all about steaks.
The server moved around the table and took orders. Our server was cheery and tried to make small-talk conversation with the table. She took the orders where overall there were 8 steak orders (some of the couples got one meal and split it) and various sides. I ordered the prime rib-eye; whenever I go to a steak place, it is my benchmark meal. When the food arrived I had a very nice, although I would call it a bit small piece of Filet Mignon in front of me. A very nice cut of meat, but it wasn't what I ordered. Also, one of the couples at the table was not brought any food. So, doing the math, the serving staff has a 25% chance in bungling your order. The staff re-took the incorrect/missing orders and about 5 minutes later the manager was by to apologize. The couple who had the missing order was offered a shrimp cocktail; I was not. Maybe that is why I'm the odd person at the table. I started munching on the community sides watching my other friends enjoying their steaks. As for the sides, they were adequate like the Caesar salad; nothing to see here; although the Fleming potatoes were better than average.
About 15 minutes later, my steak arrived, a bit rare for medium rare. Gee that would make it rare. I was hungry, and I ate it anyway. The steak was very nice. Tender and tasty, the way a good rib-eye ought to be. To be honest it was one of the best rib-eyes I ever had, although slightly undercooked. Much more tender than ones in those cowboy steak places. There is something about the flavor of fat from a good rib-eye, and that is why it is my benchmark steak. I was not alone on the notion under-cooked nature of the steak. I guess from a management standpoint, undercooked is better than overcooked. But I am of the school nothing goes back unless I am always within eyesight of my food. I've seen the movie "Waiting".
We got desserts, and did them community style. The walnut turtle pie seemed to be the best liked. I didn't do the walnut turtle pie. Walnuts are a bit bitter for my tastes.
The timing for delivery of food was a bit slow. This was "European" dining. Reservation at 6:30, offered dessert 9:30. So, in a way we owned the table for the evening, or maybe the staff realized they were not going to turn the table for another customer, and with a large group tip was set, so there was no need to hustle for the tip. Slow service is fine, if that is what you expect. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed chatting with my other friends at the table, but this was not typical "American" dining service. On the good side, the water glasses were filled with great regularity. Water glasses were 12 oz glasses, and these glasses never got below half full. Service from the bar was not as good. I ordered a glass of Shiraz before the salad, and the glass arrived after the salad. So, about 20 minutes to get my glass of house Shiraz.
With respect to the food errors, the manager did deduct the two meal errors from the bill, and that was very generous from Fleming's management. But mistakes like this will crush high end places. From a profit perspective, that's $80 that Flemings management isn't going to get, and a not so stellar review on Yelp.
So for me, I give Flemings a 4-star for food, 3-star for service, and a 2-star for value.
As for me, I'm not a high end restaurant guy, but from the small amount of travel I do for the company I work for, I have seen some higher end restaurants. I was expecting penultimate experience, and I received an Outback level service experience.
Ultimately, the question is: "Did you get what you paid for"? For my money, it is a resounding no. But Flemings is in the business to appease business types with expense reports and such. It is sufficiently snooty enough to impress your customer, so the corporate sales guy can give the impression to his customers that the company he represents "cares".
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