Overrated restaurants
 

We've had a thread about favorite restaurants - how about restaurants that you've seen rated highly but seem overrated.

In Boston the first two that come to mind are Legal Seafoods and Great Bay. Legal doesn't have the best chowder in Boston in my opinion, and everything else there is subpar.

As for Great Bay - it gets great reviews, but I've eaten there twice and was not impressed either time. There are MANY other good seafood restaurants in Boston, much better than that one.

I don't know if it's a national chain or not, but in the DC area there's a restaurant called Houston's, it's supposed to be the bee's knees. We went there the other night and I was really disappointed by the menu and the food was good, but not that great.

Good God, BRAVO. I have friends that think this is just the greatest thing in the damn world - when there's about a zillion REAL Italian restaurants that have better food, bigger portions and reasonable prices. So you can get a chocolate martini there - whoopdee doo.

Clarion had a sub shop called Bob's Subs that everyone used to rave over, but I never saw why. They were OK but not that great.

yep it's a chain. we have one in boston, that a girl i knew from school bartended at for some time. i've seen it in dallas too. i've never been in there though.

Boulevard Steakhouse.

I'm sorry, their steaks are not $50 steaks.

I've had those before, and theirs are just not all that.

They are decent and the atmosphere is okay. But you can get better food and better atmosphere for cheaper in this town.

There's a palce in Toronto called The Rosewater Supper Club. It's suposed to be this fantastic restaurant. I haven't been there, but my parents have and they say it's ridiculously overpriced with mediocre to bad food.

Another place here is Sassafraz. All the celebrities hang out there. I have been to this one. The food again, is mediocre and it's expensive

Marche (there's an accent on that e) is another overrated place. I don't even like it. I can get the same kind of Museli at the grocery store, thanks. The concept is kid of cool, but the food is nothing to write home about.

The Outback!! I do love their potato soup, but besides that, everything is so greasy, I always wonder if I was serving a wombat steak instead of whatever I ordered. blech.

And I once heard how many calories/grams of fat are in their Bloomin' Onion, but I think I've mentally blocked that out!

The Pita Pit. You don't get what you paid for, and they put in less meat now.

PF Changs!!! I don't get why people are obsessed with this place!!! It's expensive and completely disgusting. :(

Yeah I figured it was. I failed to mention it was pretty pricey for burgers and steaks and stuff.

Houstons is everywhere.

Overrated restaurant number one: Spago in Los Angeles. Wolfgang Puck was actually in the kitchen. He came and talked with us for a bit that night. The food was awful. My dish was some sort of lamb with green curry on the bone. For what I pay I don't want a substandard strange version of a steak. The dessert was good though.

-Rudey

No way! I love Pita Pit.

The Pita Pit in Guelph is awsome. Maybe it's just the one you go to.

I second that. I'd rather eat $5 chinese take out.
Plus you don't get ANYTHING for your money there... it's ridiculous

Mader's, in Milwaukee. It's a german restaurant that's supposed to be one of those places you have to go to when in town.

I like german food, but it was really not all that great (no better than any other german restaurant I've been to) , and they had the tables crowded in there so bad you could hardly breathe.

Yeah, it's a national chain. We have one in Orlando and I went to one 2 months ago in Atlanta. The food is good but not excellent. I hear so many people say, "Ohhh, we went to Houston's for our anniversary, Valentine's Day, my birthday, etc. It's the best restaurant in the city." Personally, I've had better.

Should we just say every restaurant in the Waterfront and be done with it?

Goodness, yes! I saw that special on 20/20. I was appalled
:eek: Just knowing it made me nauseous. I'm glad I never ate one.

But one in the DC area is Levi's. I mean, its good, but I can cook soul food better than that so it doesn't impress me.

No! I love Mitchells. But everything else (though I do like Bravo, i'll admit it's overrated and overpriced) is overrated.

mcdonalds. i hate how the commercials make it seem like their food is so wonderful and just lifts your spirits.

Speaking of the waterfront, we have Phillips here, and they used to be THE place to be back in the day. You had to have a reservation or wait forever to get in, and you had to be DRESSED. Going there was an ULTRA treat, they used to have these warm cinnamon raisin rolls with warm rum glaze on the table when you sit down, table cloths, the whole nine.

Now, its just a regular place, the food wasn't stellar, and I was VERY disappointed. You can go just off the street in booty shorts if you wanted to. BIG disappointment.

I'm probably the only one, but I HATE O'Charley's. All my friends love it and always want to eat there, but I think they give you tiny portions and the food sucks. I think the bread is horrible, but everyone else goes crazy over it.

I think Planet Hollywood's food is WAY too expensive and gross. At least at Hard Rock you get a lot and the food is decent. The only thing Planet Hollywood has going for it is the atmosphere, and that's not worth the price.

we have two O'Charley's here. i hate the food too. it is gross but it is always crowded:confused:

Also Brown Sugar Cafe...supposed to be one of the best Thai restaurants in Boston, but it's not really that outstanding. You can get comparable quality from any of the takeout places around.

Any chain Italian restaurant, with maybe the exception of Macaroni Grill.

Outback is gross and greasy and they fry their stuff in lard. That's nasty.

OCharley's sucks. I haven't eaten there in over 5 years.

In general I steer clear of chains. They aren't good and they aren't a good deal.

Olive Gardens.

None of the food I've eaten there really taste like authentic italian food ('cept for the Tiramisu).

I will second Macaroni Grill and Elephant Bar. The E-bar here is ALWAYS packed but I have seen the menu... I could probably get the same food somewhere else and cheaper. The mixed drinks aren't bad but they have ZERO alcohol.

I've never eaten at Mac Grill. People always swear by it but I have heard the food is way too greasy to enjoy.

In New York, Sardi's is very overrated.

There's a restaurant in Denver called Cucina Colore. The Nuggets wined and dined Manu Ginobli there as just one example of where it ranks. I don't like it. Maybe it's because they lack vegetarian options and I had to have them leave proscuitto off of everything including my salad. However, the pasta dish I ordered was simple, uninsprired and something I swear I could have made at home. My boyfriend also rated his dish as so-so. Factor in how expensive it is and I'd rather eat almost anywhere. Could just be me though.

I've never been to the Marche Movenpick in Toronto, but I loved the one in Montreal.

I fourth (or fifth or whatever!) whomever said they hated O'Charley's. That place SUCKS.

I don't like The Capital Grille. I think, compared to other restaurants of that caliber, it's nasty. If I'm going to spend that much $$$ on a steak, I'd rather go to Morton's.

I think Ruby Tuesday has gone downhill and will probably soon be added to this list. Although their salad bar is still a decent option for my lunch break.

I've tried Buca di Beppo twice now; the first time I was fairly impressed, the second time was "eh" - so I don't think I'll be back.

Honestly, they have one everywhere here. Well not really, but they even have one in the Eaton Centre. I had a really lousy Brie omlette from there. It was terrible. The food is really nothing special. But that's just my opinion. I've never been to Montreal.

i love getting kids meals from the outback! you get 5 ribs, a side, unlimited drinks.. and its something like $4.99 ;)

i think the ribs are really good and so are the baked potatos... we're gonna take it to go sometimes at school when we're hungry hehehe

Hahahahaha... Bob's Subs, I think I only ate there once, it was pretty good, but after eating a zillion subs at Gemmell, I wasn't too into subs anymore by the time I graduated.

It was neat that they delivered though.

PS-33, what's the name of the pizza place on Main Street, toward the stadium, up from the Loomis? Anyway, the guy that owns that's brother owned a pizza shop in my hometown 5 hours away! Coicidence? I think not!

Add me to the I-Hate-O'Charley's list.

Hey, New York people...what about Le Cirque? I hear so much about it and I really wanna go there once before I die, but my sister went and she wasn't impressed. I refuse to give up, though.

I went there once, but it was a while ago. I don't know if I was more impressed with the restaurant, food, and ambience, or my date, but it ranked WAY up there for me! ;)


And I'll agree with thumbs down on Mader's in Milwaukee.

You mean Vinny's? That used to ROCK on Tuesday when you could get a large cheese pizza for $2.99. (this is back in my day when it was still called Collegio's)

Four Star (gross) was further up the street, next to The Tavern, but I'm pretty sure it's gone now.

I thought of another overrated restaurant: Le Mont on Mt. Washington. We used to always have our Christmas party there and the h'ors d'ouvres were good, but I never thought the dinner was that fantastic. The last time we were there it downright sucked.

Le Cirque: I went there once, many years ago (pre-Le Cirque 2000). Definitely overrated, and the dining room was so packed with tables that it had to have been a fire hazard. The woman at the next table brushed me with her hair every time she turned her head. (Granted, this was the era of big hair.) BTW, AchtungBaby, you'd better hurry up - my understanding is that it's closing at the end of this year.

Marche: I've been to the one in Boston a couple of times. The food is good, but I find it's overpriced for what you get.

Legal Sea Foods: Actually, I like their chowder. Other than that, it's overpriced for what you get, the service can be spotty, and I do NOT like how they redecorated the Kendall Square location.

Outback: Don't have a problem with it, except they're always jammed, so you have to either eat at the bar or wait a week or two for a table. An acquaintance of mine who was on Weight Watchers showed me a website that lists WW points for menu items from various chain restaurants... on the Outback page, the Bloomin' Onion wasn't even listed. Guess they had a little trouble with the "infinity" symbol. :p

I think Chick-Fil-A is really overrated. I like the food and everything, but it's not out of this world.

I'm sure there are others, I'm just blanking right now. I haven't been out to eat in forever.

Fazolis, most of their food isn't anything different from what anyone could make at home. About the only thing its god for is the breadsticks.

I also agree with the person who said Phillips. It seemed like those restaurants went downhill in the past few years.

I always thought the cheasapeake inn near the Bay Bridge in Maryland was overrated as well. The food was a lot pricier than it should have been.

I'd have to add Bennigan's. My friend and I ate there a few weeks ago and we both got sick. The food was waaay too greasy. The service is also really hit and miss.