Cast Iron Chef Chop House & Oyster Bar

Based on a recommendation from a business acquaintance, I suggested a friend meet me at the Cast Iron Chef Chop House & Oyster Bar in New Haven for lunch.
I had such a hankering for a really good hamburger, and presumed that is what I would get. WRONG. I ordered the House Burger and asked if it could be cooked medium rare. NO. I was advised by the wait staff that the Chop House does not "temp" their meats... WHAT? If I was ordering a filet or a sirloin steak or a lamb chop... I would get it 'cooked through'? It was almost inedible.
We ordered the House Made Focaccia to share. It was sad at best. Tasted like Italian bread picked up at a local grocery chain store. The Garlic Butter was a crushed clove of garlic floating in a sea of what I could only guess was olive oil - and not even good olive oil.
And the service was mediocre.
The only redeeming feature was the popcorn.
What a disappointment!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 2

Delicious food with excellent service. I definitely recommend this spot if you are looking for a great steak

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Chicken Parm, Chop House Mac & Cheese

The place was awesome. It is a definite redo. The steak (I don't think) isn't dry aged. But it was very good. The service was really good. I didn't have to pour my wine except for once. We didn't feel rushed. I don't enjoy being charged extra for a substitution on a vegetable - mushrooms instead of potatoes. Speaking of mushies, they were really good though I make better ones at home. But you must know they are shiitake - a very good accompaniment to steak. The menu is expansive with so many good options. That's not a negative! I would like to see a sub hundred dollar amarone on the wine list. We will definitely be back.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

I’m a food influencer/blogger, and I had the worst experience that I’ve had in the longest time. It was a Sunday, around 4, decided to sit at the bar in very casual clothing to test it out as if I was just a random guest.It wasn’t busy at all. The bartender was personable, menus were dirty with the paper crinkled, I ordered a crab cake and it was cold,totally defeats the name of the restaurant, it should have come out sizzling hot in the cast iron.I told the bartender and still paid full price. We had one drink each, two bags of popcorn to go and one cold crab cake to spend 80$ with tip. We were planning on doing a tower, the appetizer that I mentioned, and entrees, but after the crab cake situation I decided to walk next door to Encore, where it is always an exceptional experience and atmosphere. I will never plan on going back. The owner who I believed to be sitting at the end of the bar didn’t feel warm and welcoming to guests, yet sitting watching sports.The staff was a bit too comfortable joking around at the service bar. I felt for the price point it was a bit unprofessional,even with one employee with sunglasses on top of her head.Sad to say after hearing such great things about this establishment, what an awful experience I had. The complimentary popcorn was delicious.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

Great food. Nice atmosphere. Business attire is not required, BTW. We ate lite but will go back. They have a really interested steak feast, though, which is on the expensive side. $350 for 70 oz of great meat. But if you think about each person being able to each 16oz, this feeds 4.5 people. $70-$90 pp is the most you'll pay on the menu by far, so it's not really a bargain. But it's worth considering.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Me and husband waited for twenty minutes to be served. Once we got served the waitress had a little bit of an attitude. The lamb chops had no taste.Instead of the waitress explaining how big the sides are. My husband and I both ordered sides that could feed eight people. I heard good things about this restaurant. But it was awful and we will never go back.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

Crab cakes not that great. Not nasty but needs that lightly fried crust on it. Mac & cheese is VERY oily. Taste is good though. Service & staff were great!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Had two oysters as an appetizer, and they were good. Fresh and clean.

My wife had the chicken parm, with a side of linguine. The chicken parm was excellent, and the linguine was good as well, and much larger than a "side" - but I had no complaints having it for dinner the next day!

I had the ribeye, and this is where it all went wrong. Well, not wrong, but at the price paid it was just mid. And when I pay that much for a piece of meat, I expect better. The steak is supposed to be aged, but there were no funky notes that would indicate that.

Regarding taste, the steak barely had any. It was poorly seasoned. There was little beefyness to it, and while the crust wasn't bad, the interior was bland. Again, I would expect a prime ribeye that's aged to be much more flavorful.

Finally, the thing was pretty tough as well. Being prime, being aged, and being a ribeye are all things that would make me expect a pretty tender steak. But it was actually kinda chewy.

Finally, the garlic butter. There was a lot of garlic, but not much butter. I think that would have provided a sort of sauce to bring flavor if there was more there. Also, to me, the garlic was very pale. It had no roasted notes that I'd expect from roasted garlic. No carmelization on the garlic to give it more depth. It was soft, and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as it could have been, inmho.

So yeah, our experience was good pasta, good chicken parm, good oysters, and a good steak if it was half the cost they charged for it. But at that price, the steak was disappointing.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Blue Point Oysters, Bone-In Rib Eye 26oz w Roasted Garlic Butter

It’s ok. Definitely didn’t live up to the hype. Food you can tell was “warmed up” not freshly prepared as it had cold spots. Definitely would not return. I am insensitive to pricing when it comes to good food and good service. This was just ok. Not bad but food just ok.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 3

We tried this place after having an appointment downtown. Living in Naugatuck, we don't always come this way anymore, and when we do, we like to try someplace new & fun. We set a reservation & parked nearby. When we came in, we were greeted & immediately brought to a table in the corner by the kitchen. It was nice to see some of our food being made. We ordered drinks, I had the pomegranate pisco sour, and my husband got a scotch. They were delicious. Then we each got an appetizer - spicy meatballs & the scallops over cauliflower mash. Both were well executed. For our main, we shared the wagyu for two with gorgonzola mashed potato, roasted garlic, & broccoli. Of course, we had it rare, which is how it should be. It was great. I always favor a filet, but the strip side was also really good. Finally, we closed by sharing the tres leches cake which came with seared banana & topped with a strawberry rose filled with mint, and a small glass of limoncello. It was a good night & we were there roughly 2 hours. We just finished the food for lunch, which we lightly reheated in our air fryer. We will definitely consider coming back next time we're in the area!

Kid-friendliness: There were some children but they were quiet & well behaved.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Jumbo Meatball Parmigiana

I ordered the bone in rib eye steak and asked for it medium well and they brought it to me well done. I requested for them to cook me a new one and they did but charged a gratuity fee of $36 for two people to recoup some of the money back. Needless to say I won’t be returning and I actually liked the place. So sad how you treat your customers based on the restaurant cooking my steak contrary to how I requested it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 1

Please don't take away what you had in the past. Brough six people from Boston, MA and the Cape to have brunch today, Worst choice. Everything changed, portions smaller. Cinnamon rolls like for 2 year old. Pancake Banana fosters burnt and on two of the orders, NO sauce."What the heck". Steak tips, everyone got 5-6 I got three! We spent with Tip over $600 so not worth it. I was totally embarrassed with my friends. I don't recommend them for Brunch any-longer. You lost a customer.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 2

Food was good waitress never wrote anything down so some items were missing.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Bone-In Rib Eye 26oz w Roasted Garlic Butter

I could only give the food 4 stars along with service. It took 25 minutes from the time we were seated to get our drinks. We know what we wanted ahead of time so we were ready to order right away. It took longer for apps to come. The fra diavolo calamari ,order of the brussel sprouts . Both were better than expected. Split a garden salad so we'll presented and placed on top of a hole plate of sliced beets. Entrees Chix Parm too thin over cooked not much flavor. The pork chop that was supposed to be enormous by weight . I don't think so yes the bone is included but I do all the shopping so I know what it should look like. It was delicious and cooked to perfection. . Desert was the bread pudding out of this world served with caramel sauce and ice cream. They make in house out of their homemade cinnamon buns I am told. I have some pictures of the food forgot the dessert.i also have to comment on wesite rules. Kids were there alot of people don't follow dress code. They also state on website a table of 2 has a time slot of 1.5 hour. I said in begging of this post it took almost 39 minutes to get drink another 25 to get apps . We ended up being there 2 plus hours.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

One of my favorite restaurants. It's a great place to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and any other special occasions. After a long work week, treat yourself to their happy hour special. You won't regret it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Blue Point Oysters, Beef Empanadas, Lamb Lollipops, Bone-In Rib Eye 26oz w Roasted Garlic Butter, Octopus