Forbes Mill Steakhouse

04/27/2008 Posted by Unptoentialcustomer

After a very expensive & disappointing party-of-five Birthday dinner, I can never recomend this resturant to anyone ever again. They were out of 4 fo the 5 choice I made from THEIR wine list ! Then to add insult to injury, a supposedly top-notch Steakhouse had not Baked Potatos available at 8:00 P.M. It was exteremely noisy and loud and the service was medicore at best. Save your money and go somewhere else. There are a lot of other very good resturants in Los Gatos.

Pros: None

Cons: Lack of choices and noise!

11/17/2006 Posted by gourmetgirl5

My husband and I love this place - from the Cowboy Ribeye to the Kobe New York steak, we've walked away happy every time. It'This place definitely ranks near the top of the list in terms of South Bay steakhouses.

07/19/2006 Posted by roni2

I had a fantastic time at Forbes Mill Steakhouse the other night! We started off with two glasses of champagne and shared oysters on the half shell and pan seared ahi as our starter course. We split a ceaser salad. The spliting the salad was our server's suggested as the we loads of food coming. Great idea! I had the bone-in ribeye cooked to a perfect medium rare. My husband had the kobe filet mignon with a lobster tail. It was out of this world. We also shared the asparagus with bernaise sauce. We had a wonderful Pinot Noir that our server suggested, then decanted properly at the table. For dessert, we shared the cheesecake topped with a passion fruit glaze. Written on the plate was happy anniversary! To our suprise, the server informed us that the dessert was on them as it was our anniversary. Our dinner was served in a timely manner. We felt neither rushed nor ignored. I know some of the reviews on this site has had not so nice comments about the service, but I didn't see any of that. In fact the staff and management seemed relaxed and happy in their working environment. Oh, I forgot to mention that they had a special greeting for us printed on our menus to wish us a happy anniversary. A very nice touch. Thank you Forbes for a wonderful evening!

Pros: Nice food, good service, great wine list!

Cons: Not the best place for kids.

07/17/2006 Posted by samjose

Forbes Mill used to actually be a place to go get a great steak, and even get your money's worth. How times have changed. The service was friendly if not impatient, and the atmosphere is quite nice, as its always been. But then comes the key for me - the food (crazy thought, right? focusing on food in a restaurant?) Way too expensive, first of all. mid-30's starting point? And no sides? ouch - the steak Better be good. but no, the filet wasnt cooked right, and the taste just wasnt there really. The sides were small and bland, and my wife's veggie dish went half-uneaten. If you read my other reviews, youll see I moved on down the street for a great steak....and its not even a steakhouse....

Pros: Nice dining experience in terms of ambiance and service....

Cons: ....but not in terms of food or price

06/27/2006 Posted by allisonhurt

I was able to enjoy yet another fabulous dinner at FM last week. I have dined here 6 times, and every time it's better than the last. Food: The steaks are fabulous. I have tried 4 different cuts, and all are great. The ribeye with Maui onions and bleucheese is amazing. I was planning on having it last week, however other guests had beaten me to it. The server suggested I try the dryaged ribeye. It came so well prepared it melted in my mouth. Choices of other guests included a 'Forbidden Rice' dish, vegetarian pasta, and 3 other steaks. All of us loved our choices. The side dishes (mashed potatoes, au gratin potatoes, aspargus) were all done well, served hot and there was plenty to share. We enjoyed the 'sampler' appetizer before dinner - the server gave us a choice of 3 items. Calamari, sirloin tips, and seared ahi. It was all outstanding. Dessert was an event as well. The Kona coffee brulee is always a winner. They have a cheesecake that is ordinary. A choice of a sampler dessert... warm apple crisp with icecream and 4 or 5 other items. Some guests shared this - it is huge! Their wine list is astonishing and fun to read. We always bring wine, and they are more than happy to pour for us. Corkage is $18 (I think), but it beats paying the typical restaurant mark-up on wine. Service: Everytime I have been there, the service has been impeccible. The servers are kind, gracious and helpful. They have been trained well and perform to the high standards the owners obviously demand. Some may think it 'snooty', but joke with them a little at the beginning and they invariably loosen up and make it a fun night. Don't expect to have dinner and get to the movies. Take your time, enjoy, it's worth it. We were there to celebrate a 30th b'day and when I called for reservations, the hostess told me that they would personalize the menu with a Happy Birthday message. I assumed it was for our table only, it was for the entire restaurant... what fun for the birthday girl!

Pros: Steaks, service, atmosphere

Cons: parking stinks!

06/11/2006 Posted by groovology

My wife and I went to Forbes Mill Steakhouse after wanting to eat there for quite some time. I should have known we'd be in trouble when the concierge at the desk gave me a shocked look when I told her we had no reservation on a Saturday night, and then acted like she'd be doing me a favor by getting me a table in "20, 30 minutes, maybe longer, have a seat and we'll let you know". We sat down in their little holding cell and I went to the bar to get cocktails. It took ages for the bartender to decide to pay attention to customers who wanted drinks. I had hoped that this was just a fluke, and was looking forward to a nice steak dinner. We were finally seated in a cozy corner of the restaurant, but was surprised that they had paper table cloths on top of linen with cheap cutlery. They did have an impressive wine list,and although we didn't order wine, the Sommelier clearly took his job seriously, complete with proper decanting. On to the menu, where I was shocked to see prices for their steaks started in the mid $30's for steaks. Just steaks. We're talking ala carte, no salad, no veg... you have to buy these separately at $7 and up. Talk about setting up some extreme expectations; $40 for a steak with no sides makes me think it will be a definitive culinary experience! We decided on ordering two of the chef specials and two salads to start along with a spinach side. The salads came promptly, and were absolutely delicious! With great anticipation we waited (and waited, and waited) for our steaks, only to be profoundly disappointed. My wife's "dual filets and jumbo shrimp" were nicely presented, but the filets were the size of meatballs, literally. Clearly their portions are substandard. I received my steaks which were two New York petites with asparagus and potatoes au gratin. Bad news: the plate was cold, the steaks were luke warm and had obviously been sitting for quite some time. I was asked if everything was okay, and I told the server about the problem. Instead of apologizing and wisking away the plate to fix the problem, the server instead got defensive about their kitchen. "Everything is served promptly" Perhaps this was a regular occurrence that she should defend her kitchen instead of just fixing the problem? The server took the meal back, and some time later my plate was returned, much hotter now, but the steaks were, in all honesty, not very tasty and certainly no better than what you can get at Outback. I expected perfection and all I got was medicrity. I realize for a place that specializes in steaks this is a distinct insult, but the fact is the portions were small, the steaks weren't particularly tasty, the accompaniments were somewhat goopy (potatoes) and greasy (asparagus), and definitely NOT worth the money. I would have expected some kind of compensation for being served a meal that had obviously been sitting for 10 minutes before being served. We were offered apologies and then asked if we would like complimentary deserts, which we declined, and then told that if we asked for that server, the desserts were on her if we remembered to ask for that server. Huh? Pretty presumptive that we'd return, I think. Disappointing, for sure. Being in the restaurant business is very hard. It requires a combination of supremely gracious service and exceptional product quality. I would have to say that Forbes has neither. They are snobby without merit, their prices are outrageous for what you get (the bill came to almost $120 and we didn't have any wine!!) and the quality is sub-standard. Perhaps being in the middle of yuppieville means they survive inspite of their weaknesses, but for the rest of us who don't have tons of Cisco options, I'd say pass on this place. There are many fine restaurants in Los Gatos, this is not one of them and I'd suggest you try one of the other places in town before enduring this place.

Pros: Great location, nice wine list, decent ambience

Cons: Don't go for the food...

09/21/2005 Posted by winemaster01

Not happy at all with this place. Ordered a $45 steak medium Rare and was served med/well/well. Date finished dinner before I got mine and they offered nothing after the screw up. 3 times there, 2 were poor...no more.

Pros: ambiance

Cons: manager/owner, price

08/08/2005 Posted by schultzee

We were celebrating an anniversary and requested a quieter table. Forbes Mill came through. The hostess indeed seated us in a slightly quieter area. The "Specials" sheet that was tucked inside the menu read "Happy Anniversary Mr, & Mrs. Schultz at the top of the page. One or two reviews on this site mention rushed or poor service. Our waitress was informative, but not obnoxious, attentive, but not annoying, and seemed genuinely interested in making our experience at Forbes Mill Enjoyable. Lonny, Manager and Sommelier, is loaded with enthusiasm for his craft. The guy knows his stuff. His suggestions for a wine that would work with our order for both meat & fish was dead on The restaurant is fairly pricey, yes, but Forbes Mill didn't just prepare an excellent meal, they used all of their resources to create what will be a lasting memory for us and our guests.

Pros: Good service, good wine gidance, great town/location

Cons: tad pricey

07/28/2005 Posted by jesten

first of all, the steak there are pricy, but they are sooo good. The same reason why you would buy those shoes, why you would buy that car: just because they are sooo good and irrestable. On their menu they match which wine goes well with which dish for you and their dessert is deadly tempting too. [ i was full after the steak that I didn't try out their dessert. :(] but i can see why people don't like their service. it seems that the restaurant is so busy that their servers are a little bit tense towards their customers.

Pros: steaks, wine, ambient

Cons: price, service

06/12/2005 Posted by jeniferv

It was a birthday celebration w/ impeccable food and service. I ordered surf and turf which was excellent. My friend took the plunge and ordered the super luxe prime cut 8 oz. Kobe filet. We went there for good beef so we ordered the good beef. Side dish was creamed spinach (delicious). There was a small mix up when they brought out our plates so my friend had to wait an extra 10 minutes for his filet. I can tell you right now - it was worth the wait. I have never tasted a more amazing piece of meat. It didn't even feel like I was eating beef. The texture was velvety and it truly did melt in your mouth. To make up for the delay in dinner, we were each given a complimentary glass of a delicious Tawny Port and kona coffee creme brulee for dessert.

Pros: Awesome service, Outdoor dining option, Excellent service

Cons: Tiny parking lot