Forbes Mill Steakhouse

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...