Impeccable
We rarely eat red meat, so if we do we want perfection. This is it. Ambiance, service, food. Also, you don't feel like they are forcing extras on you, like Morton's and Donovans. Total class.
A Great Quiet Evening
Rainwater's was quite a dining experience. The service was fantastic as was the food. I had a prime ribeye steak covered with mushrooms. The mushrooms were on request but the server had no problem with it. It's on the pricey side but for a special occasion it's perfect.
Always Perfect...
Rainwaters has been a favorite of ours for years and we know that when we go ,we will have the BEST meal ever and never be disappointed.Exceptional service and the *CHEF* Tino Lopez is very warm and gracious. You cant go wrong with anything he recommends on the Menu. He has been part of Rainwaters forever and makes us feel like family. His experience and cooking style is a tough act to follow. Absolutley the best in fine dining if you are in San Diego. We make the trip fom Az just to have dinner. (make sure he's in the kitchen when you make your reservation)It's worth the drive everytime!!!
Mediocre at best
Cancel your reservation and try some other place. Food and service were average. We expected something special for the $$$ they charged. However, five stars for ambiance.
Below expectations
Ambience - 3, tries to achieve steak house/private club style but more like a hotel banquet room.
Service - Waiter needed training. attentive, but seemed to get in the way frequently. A bit obsequious.
Food - very good, but very overpriced and undistinguished.
Wine list - incredible and long
By the glass wine - incredibly expensive, needs some more creative touch on decent values - don't show vintages and lowest priced selection was $14.50. Most are in the $20-28 range.
Prices - ostentatiously high and overpriced.
Overall - this would be a decent weeknight "nice steak restaurant" if they charged half their current prices. Food was good though potato rosti (hash browns) were over-crispy and Tuna was very bland.
I'm hoping to do better elsewhere in SD..
I had dinner at Rainwater's and the food was average, and it is extremely over priced. The fish was not tasty, and in fact I've had better fish at a medium priced restaurant. The atmosphere was non-existent, and the waiter was not well informed. We were celebrating a birthday and they did nothing to make our visit one to remember, and did not even say Happy Birthday to the birthday person. I was not happy with dinner and would never return.
Food and service is bad
Food is not good and the service is bad, i went and waited 45 mins just for our food, and when it came it was cold and not too good, and the prices are too high for me
Avoid!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do not dine here!! The food is bad. The service is worse. The owner's daughter is crude and rude. Please try something better. San Diego has so much more to offer.
Lunch Visit
We were a party of five at lunch and not one of us was really impressed. Salads were really bad. We have had lunches for a fraction of the price and better service in the area. It was like the restaurant was warming up for dinner or something. We were on an T&E and that made me feel guilty....I would hate to have someone use their own money on this place.
DISSAPOINTMENT
I JUST RECENTLY DINNED AT YOUR FACILITY FOR THE FIRST TIME. I DECIDED TO CELEBRATE MY YOUNGEST SISTERS BIRTHDAY AT RAINWATER'S. THE FOOD WAS EXQUISIT, BUT MY DINNER WAS NEARLY RUINNED BY THE SNOOTY ATTIUDE OF OUR WAITRESS. I CANT REMEBER THE LAST TIME I WAS SPOKEN TO SO CONDESCENDINLY. I AM A BUSINESS OWNER HERE IN SAN DIEGO AND WOULD BE DEVISTATED IF ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS WAS EVER MADE TO FEEL THE WAY I WAS MADE TO FEEL AT YOUR FACILITY. BASED ON THE CRABCAKES AND THE MEATLOAF THAT I HAD THE DINNER WAS STUPENDOUSE, BUT THE SERVCE KILLED THE EXPERIENCE AND LEFT AND AWFUL FISRT IMPRESSION.
RESPECTFULLY,
ALEXIS S.
Service
I read about your restaurant in an in-flight magazine, ranked to be one of the best steak houses in San Diego. My daughter lives in the San Diego area and I passed on the info to check it out.
This weekend my wife flew out to meet her and she had made reservations for Saturday evening. I was extremely disappointed when I spoke with them and was informed of the extremely poor service they were given. The server began the evening by saying she really didn't want to be there that night, and her service confirmed this. In November, both my wife and I will be visiting and I feel that we just may not have enough time to return to your establishment. I guess this confirms that one "can't always believe what they read". Sincerely, Gene
Worst Restaurant Experience
This has got to be the worst steak house, if not restaurant that I've ever been to. The restaurant is located in a business building, so if you're driving at night, it's very difficult to spot. You walk upstairs and when you get to the "restaurant," you get the feeling that you're in a hotel restaurant. The wine was bland, the food was cold and had no taste, and the waiter was very unattentive- walking away everytime he finished his sentence without even waiting for a response. I order the Filet Mignon, and with the very expensive prices, expected it to be nothing less than butter in my mouth. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed when I felt I had to saw into my steak and dip it in the unpleasant taste of the bernaise. The only good parts about my experience was the Smoked Salmon appetizers, the creamed corn (which you have to be pretty bad to mess up on creamed corn), and my date. I would never even think about going here again, and if YOU do, then you must be extremely rich and like to waste money on bad food. All that I could think about while I was there was "I should've stayed with Ruth's Chris."
Bath At Rainwaters
02/08/2007 - Met old friends for dinner at Rainwaters. Sat down at the table and a member of the staff poured half a container of water on me. Was there any attention from the management to the awful mistake....NO! Not even a word....the table was also soaked and after 10 minutes without any management attention we got up and moved to a new table( the waiter who spilled the water was very nice but where was anyone else)???? We could not believe that no one on the staff came over to offer a word of concern or apology. Unbelieveable, after spending over $300 on dinner no one even offered any compensation for upsetting our dinner party. Finnally after we forcefully ask, they offered a one ounce sip of port or a desert or dry cleaning...HMMMM Wonder what these people are thinking. Must say, not only will we never go back to Rainwaters we will tell all our friend about the awful service....by the way the men's bathroom was trashed and the kitchen floor was full of food pieces....yuck!!!!! Just about the worst night out to dinner in many , many years.....also, thought i'd go to thier web site to send them a comment...guess what...they don'y have any email contact info on the WEB site...guess they don't even want to hear from thier (former) customers.
Worse service than Denny's
It is becoming a tradition of sorts for my boyfriend and I to spend Valentine's Day trying out local restaurants known for their delicious steaks. Last year we had A+ Service at Donovan's Steakhouse, which he had selected. So this year, I decided we would try out Rainwater's, which boasts itself to be San Diego's oldest "steak and chop house". We were excited as we had heard great things about Rainwater's, however, were quickly disappointed after being seated. A server asked if we wanted any wine and when we declined he quickly disappeared.
For the next 20-30 minutes the only person who tended to us was our busboy, refilling our water every now and then. After sitting patiently, I asked the busboy if our server was on break and pointed to the gentleman who had initially asked us about the wine. A female server approached us and asked us if we had any questions. When she answered our questions, I was unsure if she was our server or we were supposed to give our order to "MIA" server so I asked her. Her reply was that "they were a big team", which solidified that fact that we had been forgotten about.
The female waitress took our dinner order and we thought the night was looking up. Our salads were brought out promptly; however, we were soon abandoned again when no one asked if we wanted any drinks, fresh ground pepper, or were curious to see if we enjoyed our salads. For another 20 minutes, no one attended to us and I started to get upset. My boyfriend decided to go to the bar to get drinks for us. While he was gone, I told the busboy how unhappy we were with the service. He went over to see what he could do and soon after the first server came back to talk to me. Trying to hold back tears, I told him how horrible the service had been and my boyfriend had to go to the bar to get a drink. He apologized for the inconvenience and said how he should have taken our table himself. He also said that our server (I assume the woman) slipped and fell and had to go home. I guess we never were assigned a waiter in the first place and after the "slip" no one bothered to ensure we were taken care of, which made me cry as I had selected the restaurant and felt horrible for my awful decision. Don't get me wrong, I feel for someone with an injury, but the show must go on people!
Another waiter soon came over (I can't name names because no one introduced themselves) and apologized for the delay on the steaks but my steak took longer than usual to cook (which was a lie because the only steak on the menu that said it took extra time to cook was the cut for 2 people, which I certainly did not order). When he finally brought out our steaks my boyfriend's Filet Mignon was overcooked and dried out and my New York Strip was charcoaled on the outside and completely rare on the inside (I had ordered Medium-Medium Well). I ate about 3 bites and tried not to cause a scene, but when my boyfriend asked for a taste he became outraged by this final straw. He got up and found our waiter. With more tears streaming down my face, I told the server I didn't want my steak or overcooked broccoli or cold mashed potatoes and asked him to take everything away. He apologized for the inconvenience and asked if I wanted anything else but by that time I had lost my appetite.
When we got our bill, no one from management had come over to apologize or see if there was anything they could do. He comped my steak and the two drinks my boyfriend had to get from the bar but charged us in full for everything else, including the a la carte broccoli and mashed potatoes I didn't even eat. Needless to say, I will never dine or recommend Rainwater's as a restaurant worthy of a $50.00 New York Strip. I am going to make up for the lousy Rainwater's decision with dinner at Donovan's for my boyfriends upcoming birthday where I can be sure their first class service will be worth the money!
Trailer Trash
This is the last place in San Diego you want to spend your money. We knew we were in trouble when a reservation made 48 hours in advance didn't exist. Our table overlooked the railroad tracks. We ordered a filet and asked that it be pink (not red/not brown). When it arrived brown and our fish entree was dry, it took a while to get a servers attention to surface our displeasure. She offered to arrange for a new filet and to keep the fish warm in the oven (no doubt so it could get drier). The owner presented herself and apologized, despite our concern that we hadn't been served the right cut of meat insisted it was filet and that a new entree would be out shortly. She asked what else she could do, we responded nothing, please step away from our table while we waited. Not liking that, she suggested that we were rude and that she would call the police to have us removed. We were presented with a bill for the entree that remained on the table (but weren't allowed to eat it). The most embarrassing meal I've ever participated in. There are many many wonderful restaurants in San Diego - try them enjoy them and stay as far away from this one as possible (unless of course, you want to be treated like trailer trash by trailer trash). My wife left our anniversary celebration in tears. Thank you!
