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Many guests come to enjoy nicely cooked mushroom soup, ribs and prime rib roast. Tasty ice cream can be eaten here. This place is famous for delicious beer.
If you look through the guests' comments, the staff is well-trained at this steakhouse. Spectacular service is something clients appreciate here. Pay low prices for eating at Howard's Grotto. The nice decor and peaceful atmosphere let visitors feel relaxed here.
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Visitors' reviews on Howard's Grotto
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Steakhouses, Vegetarian options
$$$$
Price range per person
$11-$30
Address
14732 Lakeshore Dr, Clearlake, California, USA, 95422
Features
Сredit cards accepted
Wi-Fi
Takeaway
Parking
Booking
TV
Wheelchair accessible
Opening hours
| SundaySun | 9AM-9PM |
| MondayMon | 11AM-9PM |
| TuesdayTue | 11AM-9PM |
| WednesdayWed | 11AM-9PM |
| ThursdayThu | 11AM-9PM |
| FridayFri | 11AM-10PM |
| SaturdaySat | 9AM-10PM |
Website
Instagram
@foodeist_com
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The menus we were handed were half handwritten, and in binders, with most of the pages on the brink of falling out, as well as stained. In the mood for a steak I got the New York Strip (rare) and my dining companion got the Prime Rib (rare). I decided to also order some pot stickers as one of the reviews I read said they frequently did an “Asian” night. The dining room was very outdated, dingy, and did not reflect the prices on the menu. It was also nearly empty, save for a few retiree's.
Our meals came with 1 trip to the salad bar and a choice of soup; eggdrop or vegetable beef. I ordered the eggdrop, and my friend ordered the vegetable beef. The salad bar was mostly canned or pickled items, and some iceberg lettuce mix. No tomatoes, or anything with crunch. There was some floppy celery sticks swimming in cloudy liquid, pickles, sliced onions, and croutons. The dressing had bits of veggies that had fallen from previous diners plates, the blue cheese was oddly sweet, and fruity, not a flavor profile one expects from that dressing. The croutons might have been house made? Very large and hard, but saturated in vegetable oil, I tried 2 to see if maybe the first was a fluke, but unfortunately for me and my companion, it was not and we were both left with a mouthful of oil.
With our meal we also had a bread basket. Floppy, un-toasted sourdough, that seemed microwaved rather than heated in an oven was what greeted our table. Once it cooled down it was hard as a rock.
Our soup had the same base, despite vastly different styles. Peas, carrots and cornstarch were heavy in each soup, and the beef in the beef-vegetable was super dry despite being soaked in soup. Both were overwhelmingly salty, and lukewarm.
The potstickers came swimming in vegetable oil. They were clearly store bought, and judging on how the edges were so tough, they had been microwaved. The sauces with them were inedible. One was super-sweet, and mainly vinegar, the other was a soy-sauce with chucks of garlic swimming in it. I love garlic, but that was all I tasted, and it was gag-worthy. By the end of the meal, the sauces had separated, showing a lot of grease.
Honestly the only highlight was the both the cook of my steak, and the prime rib were rare. Sadly they were not properly cooked in any regard. The grizzle was left on my steak, and the fat had not melted into it. The prime rib was cold, and the fat had was congealed. All I could taste with my steak was charcoal, there was absolutely zero seasoning of any kind, and despite it being rare, there was no juice on my plate. The fries also had zero seasoning, and tasted like the freezer. I was not expecting a nice meal here, but I was hoping for something I could eat, the few bites of the steak I could saw through and start to chew, ended up being spit out, because it was like chewing bubble-gum. I couldn't even swallow the vegetables, bland, soggy and swimming in vegetable oil. The sauce with the prime rib was a concentrate, I know because I use the same as a base with I make french dip. The difference is, that I only use maybe a tablespoon with beef broth, and let my meat and onions simmer in the crock-pot for about 12 hours. This was hardly diluted so it was overwhelmingly salty, and it was clear the juice and the meat only touched after they hit the plate. The prime rib itself had no seasoning, and again, despite it being rare, did not release any natural juices when cut. All in all, we had maybe 5 bites each before we said, “I can't do this” and waited for our waitress to return to the dining room.
Each of these dishes were about $25, and yet they were not nearly the quality to warrant their price tag.
By this point our waitress had disappeared, and we were not checked on until a good 20 minutes later. We asked for a box, not waiting to waste the huge portions of meat, and when she returned I finally was able to tell her that there had been big errors with our dinners. I told her that the chef really needed to season the meat before it was sent out. She immediately defended the dishes and told me “We don't use salt here; some people can't have salt”. She failed to have any explanation for the soggy, greasy vegetables, microwaved bread, inedible sauces and overly salty soup. She seemed rather proud that this is what they served, and informed me that the prime rib was “fresh” and had been crusted in seasoning and rock salt. Well, that's lovely, but if you aren't using pan-drippings for your sauce, and cut the crust off the center of that roast will be absolutely flavorless. When I said that the fries were floppy, unsalted and tasted like old oil, she pointed out that they did not cut them in house; the freezer taste had told me that. I am doubtful that much is house made. I did not get any type of apology for our experience, and was cut off with I pointed out that most of our meal was simply not worth the cost they were charging, with her telling me that the steaks were “fresh”, this seemed to be the only indication of quality she had for our meal. I have fairly low expectations for Lake County, and most notably, she did not refute that our meal was microwaved, but really stood by their food. There was zero resolution to anything I had to say regarding our disappointing meal. The longer I spoke with her, the clearer it became that even if I had sent it back, I should expect the same quality to come right back out.
We chose to skip dessert at that point, and asked for the bill. When it arrived I was heartbroken. I've never complained at a restaurant before, and while I don't mind having a bad meal, it was having an expensive crappy meal that was fairly offensive. I don't get a chance to eat out often, and this was a big expense for something so poorly made. When I spoke to the waitress, I didn't expect to get a discount, as I was hoping it was just a bad night, but to hear her defend that poor quality and then walk away while I was talking, tells me that this is just their standard. I know that she has little to do with what is on the plate, and really I was hoping to speak to a manager, but that was not an option, so I paid and left. Locals seem to enjoy this place, and really that's the only sort of clientele I would expect; the only way you can have a meal and enjoy it here is if you have eaten here for the past 30 years.