Three things at which great restaurants excel: food, service, and ambience. Rathbun’s has excellent ambience, a nice modern/industrial design in converted warehouse space. The menu has a nice diversity, some interesting takes on old standards, and the food is (eventually) excellent. Nonetheless, the service my party of 9 received was below average, and WELL below expectations for a restaurant with Rathbun’s price point. I would suggest that many other alternatives in the same category be considered before choosing Rathbun’s.

First, a small-ish example… When the waiter came for drink orders, I wasn’t quite ready, so I asked him to skip me for the moment and come back. He proceeded to finish the drink orders (there was only one left after me), and then he left the table, came back with the various sodas/cocktails/wines but still failed to come over to get my order. After patiently waiting as he made another couple of trips back/forth, I eventually had to flag him over to take my wine order.

Second, a more serious faux pas… When the medium-temperature filet I ordered arrived, it was in fact well done (brown throughout). I called the waiter over and pointed this out. He of course immediately removed it and had the kitchen prepare a new one correctly. However, he left my side order sitting on the table, which of course was cold by the time the correctly prepared filet arrived. He did send a complimentary small caesar over for me to have while waiting, a nice gesture though I’d already had an appetizer and didn’t want to get any more full before my entree. When the correctly prepared filet did arrive, I was offered another side dish (also complimentary). However, when the bill arrived, the filet was still on it!

Now, the manager did come over and apologize, as well he should have. And, they did provide a complimentary salad and additional side as noted above, though I actually did not want either. However, I believe it is TOTALLY unacceptable for a restaurant of this price point to foul up the preparation of a filet so badly and still bill me for it. The fact that it was eventually corrected and the complimentary sides are irrelevant to this point. The other 8 gentlemen in the party (it was a birthday gathering for a friend) had to sit and make conversation while I finished my meal, an awkward situation to say the least as I felt rushed to finish my meal. The rest of the table was eventually cleared while I sat there continuing to eat. While the food was (eventually) excellent, the experience was ruined.

As a side note, Ted Allen (of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame) happened to be at the restaurant as well. Perhaps if the head chef and manager had spent less time fawning over Mr. Allen, they wouldn’t have taken their eye off the ball of the other patrons’ experiences.

In the end, my experience wasn’t bad enough to say “never” to someone who asked for my opinion (or to all those with whom I will certainly share this experience). However, as I summarized above, I would certainly have a long list of sure things I would suggest someone consider before settling for a potentially similar service experience at Rathbun’s

The restaurant was a little hard to find (there’s also a Rathbun’s steak house which is down the street) but it was a great atmosphere once inside. The food was great. I had the hamachi tartare and seared ahi tuna. Tried the risotto and a bunch of different sides. Great food!

Really good atmosphere. Everything was delicious. It would have gotten 5 stars if my dessert were a tad warmer.

This restaurant is totally unassuming from the outside, hip and cool on the inside. The menu caused my whole group a major headache in that we wanted to try at least 4 of the starters and several of the main courses – they sounded so good. (They should do a sampler menu). The food, when it arrived, exceeded our expectations. Unusual combinations worked well, and the bison short ribs were heavenly. I can’t recommend this restaurant highly enough!