Prior to last night I would have given this restaurant a higher rating. Last night we dined here for the second time, driving more than forty miles from out of town. We could have gone to Mark's downtown or another restaurant, but MT's is convenient to the interstate and we enjoy the ambiance and the food. Our experience was quite disappointing. First, our waiter did not know the wine list. I asked for a recommendation between three wines, and he was unable to give me one, which was not great, but no big deal. What happened next, however, really surprised and angered us. The chef had offered a special consisting of venison steak, along with some kind of cabbage and spaghetti squash. My husband is an avid hunter and a pretty decent cook of venison, which is not the easiest meat to prepare as it is tough and gamey, but can be very good if prepared correctly, so he thought he would like to try the venison steak. However, he also really enjoys the truffle macaroni and cheese and does not like spaghetti squash, so he asked if he could get the venison steak but choose his own sides. As we were not quoted a price on the special, we felt it would be no problem to change sides, and we would have not minded paying more if that was an issue .... although frankly at a restaurant of this caliber it should not be. The first time the waiter returned from asking the chef about the sides, much to my shock and the later shock of my brother and his wife (each of us having worked in the restaurant business, including fine dining, for at least five years), my husband's request was flatly denied. We were told the chef was particular about his sides. Thinking that maybe this was because the chef was concerned that the strong taste of the venison would come as a shock if not paired in a specific way, my husband reiterated to the waiter that we are very accustomed to eating venison, that we would very much like to try the venison steak, and that we were paying the bill, and asked the waiter to convey the request to the chef again. I am not sure whether the waiter simply failed to convey the gravity of the situation, or whether the chef truly is so pretentious that he is unconcerned about accommodating the clientele even when they press the point, but my husband's request was again denied. Because we wanted to enjoy our night and our expensive bottle of wine, my husband simply ordered the prime rib and we finished our meal, but we found this incident to be completely unacceptable, and we will not be coming back to this restaurant any time soon. The hallmark of a fine dining establishment is service. I am paying for an experience and I expect the waitstaff and chef to do whatever it takes, within reason, to make it a positive experience. Last night either the waiter did the worst job of communication in the history of table waiting, or the chef put his ego before our experience. Either way we were disappointed.
A Disappointing Experience
Prior to last night I would have given this restaurant a higher rating. Last night we dined here for the second time, driving more than forty miles from out of town. We could have gone to Mark's downtown or another restaurant, but MT's is convenient to the interstate and we enjoy the ambiance and the food. Our experience was quite disappointing. First, our waiter did not know the wine list. I asked for a recommendation between three wines, and he was unable to give me one, which was not great, but no big deal. What happened next, however, really surprised and angered us. The chef had offered a special consisting of venison steak, along with some kind of cabbage and spaghetti squash. My husband is an avid hunter and a pretty decent cook of venison, which is not the easiest meat to prepare as it is tough and gamey, but can be very good if prepared correctly, so he thought he would like to try the venison steak. However, he also really enjoys the truffle macaroni and cheese and does not like spaghetti squash, so he asked if he could get the venison steak but choose his own sides. As we were not quoted a price on the special, we felt it would be no problem to change sides, and we would have not minded paying more if that was an issue .... although frankly at a restaurant of this caliber it should not be. The first time the waiter returned from asking the chef about the sides, much to my shock and the later shock of my brother and his wife (each of us having worked in the restaurant business, including fine dining, for at least five years), my husband's request was flatly denied. We were told the chef was particular about his sides. Thinking that maybe this was because the chef was concerned that the strong taste of the venison would come as a shock if not paired in a specific way, my husband reiterated to the waiter that we are very accustomed to eating venison, that we would very much like to try the venison steak, and that we were paying the bill, and asked the waiter to convey the request to the chef again. I am not sure whether the waiter simply failed to convey the gravity of the situation, or whether the chef truly is so pretentious that he is unconcerned about accommodating the clientele even when they press the point, but my husband's request was again denied. Because we wanted to enjoy our night and our expensive bottle of wine, my husband simply ordered the prime rib and we finished our meal, but we found this incident to be completely unacceptable, and we will not be coming back to this restaurant any time soon. The hallmark of a fine dining establishment is service. I am paying for an experience and I expect the waitstaff and chef to do whatever it takes, within reason, to make it a positive experience. Last night either the waiter did the worst job of communication in the history of table waiting, or the chef put his ego before our experience. Either way we were disappointed.
MT's Gainesvilles's Best
MT's Chop House is by far the best Gainesville has to offer. Great food, great wine, and great fun. Never had a bad meal there.
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