The Steak House at Silver Reef

We celebrated my birthday dinner.
Mark our server was top notch.
The food and steak temperature was spot on.
Brian Smith

The service was great. But, the whole meal was covered in burnt garlic chunks that made everything bitter. Even the balsamic reduction was bitter. The green peppercorn sauce was inedible, though it was recommended by a friend. The Brussels undercooked, but the flavor was better, the Macadamia nuts a nice touch. The filet was good once I scraped the burnt garlic off, and well cooked. Overall, I could have made a better meal at home. The atmosphere was nice, but needs refreshing.

The food was awful… my one time a year I go to this once amazing steak house has gone Walmart in their food department. Miss the lemon butter and the mash potatoes tasted like powdered potato’s. Bring back who ever ran it before and get rid of this current guy!

What was once the best restaurant in Whatcom County is now below average. What made this restaurant stand out was the quality of food, the attention to detail, the friendly staff and manager (Jay was very good at his job), and the things that other restaurants don't do: flavored butters with good bread and salmon pate with crackers. I sincerely hope this restaurant returns to their old ways!

Great food and service.

The little details that once made this place special are gone. No more tableside touches, no flavored butter, and instead of delicate puff pastries on the escargot, you now get basic buttered toast. While the service was good, all three of our steaks were heavily seasoned with an overpowering amount of salt—completely different from our previous six visits. To top it off, despite booking a table for three, we were squeezed into a booth meant for two. Disappointing changes from what used to be a great experience.

On previous visits, the manager would always come around, check in on guests, and introduce themselves, adding a personal touch to the experience.

This time, there was none of that—it feels like they’re cutting corners at every level, turning what was once a quality experience into something disappointingly cheap.

We were very disappointed in the lack extra little absences we always looked forward to. We don't get out very often and we usually try to book a time here. No more tabe side salads, extra crackers with salmon pate, etc. Food lacked that special touch, and the desserts were not appealing. We loved our waiter. The atmosphere was just so so.
Very disappointed.

Food here just divine 😋 I would go here just for the service. Our server john amazing tended to our every need made sure we had a great time. Loved the atmosphere. The steak was perfectly cooked and the asparagus amazing 👏

We have been going to the Steak house for over 20 years.We understand it has changed management. The oyster rock was not even close as before even though on website still says original recipe.I should have looked at menu.Salmon was still delicious. Our waiter Rick was amazing...made our night !! Thank you !!Did miss seeing Jay.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Steak, Caesar Salad

I ordered the Ribeye, and it was cooked to perfection. Our server was very attentive and professional. This is definitely the most upscale restaurant in Whatcom County.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Steak

This is our family go-to restaurant for all special events. We have been coming here for over a decade and have always left with smiles on our faces.

We recently visited on a Saturday evening for my husband's birthday. Unfortunately, it will be our last visit.

1. He was excited to order his favorite, the prime rib -- it's been taken off the menu!

2. We asked about the crab dip -- our server said they can't afford to serve it anymore. This is just after we overheard a group of people being "comped" $700 for dinner.

3. We are served bread -- but it's not the traditional bread. It's now SUPER GREASY focaccia bread and the flavored butters are gone. Why? The server said they can no longer afford it.

4. My daugher and I ordered Chateaubriand -- first, my husband's steak arrived before our tableside Chateaubriand. The server pulled the cloche off my husband's steak and then started cutting and plating our Chateaubriand. It took the server an extremely long time to plate our meals because he was sawing through the meat like it was piece of wood. If Jay, the manager, had not been let go, this would have never happened. He was incredibly professional and understood how fine dining is done and trained the serving staff with attention to detail.

5. Because my husband is polite, he waited for our Chateaubriand to be placed in front of us. By then his steak was cold. His baked potato was also prepared incorrectly -- he asked for no sour cream and ended up with an enormous amount.

6. The Chateaubriand comes with mushrooms. The new mushrooms are now a grey, slimy sludge of overcooked yuk that look like something that's been sitting out for hours at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

7. The Chateaubriand also comes with carrots that are no longer made with the wonderful mustard sauce. The mashed potatoes are now boring and bland.

8. For the first time ever, we left food on the plate. When asked if we wanted a box we said no thank you, which is sad because we love The Steakhouse leftovers.

9. Birthday dessert? We always get the best-selling mud pie. Guess what...it's gone! GONE! It's no longer on the menu.

From our daughter's birthday in May to my husband's birthday in September, The Steakhouse has drastically fallen. They should not claim to be a fine dining steakhouse. What made The Steakhouse special is how special they made us feel. From the second we walked in the door, we felt like a million bucks. Now the front door staff is unfriendly, bored, and clearly does not want to be there. The manager doesn't come around like Jay did, in fact, we weren't aware of a manager. The server was nice but lacked all fine dining serving skills.

It's also the little things--like the crab dip and flavored butters--is what made The Steakhouse stand out.

We never minded spending hundreds of dollars for the food and experience. But now, between firing their amazing manager Jay, taking away the "little things", changing the menu for the worse, not training their servers, and not feeling like we were at a fine dining steakhouse but still paying the fine dining prices, we can't recommend this restaurant to anyone. Gone are the days of going to The Steakhouse for celebrations, client dinners, and treating visiting family.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Champagne Cleanse

Minor suggestion regarding the lighting and sound volume in the main dining room- the bright leds with a high lumens' count, needs to be dimmable/adjustable - the volume of the music, albeit lovely, needed to be controlled based on the volume level of your patrons.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Seafood Tower, Lobster and Steak, Steak, Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, Escargot and Oysters Rockefeller, Sherry and Garlic Mushrooms, Caesar Salad, Creamed Spinach, Olive Wagyu Steak, Steak Au Poivre

You can tell this restaurant is not managed well. Pretty unorganized, under trained staff and under staffed. Here is why I say this and in chronological order of events:

1. The hostess did not handle a request from another couple for a booth instead of a table well. She looked like a deer in headlights and the poor couple that asked felt bad. After the request it took her 2 solid minutes of saying "ummm" before finally deciding to bus them a booth and cleared the table herself but not before making it awkward for everyone. After the couple stood there for a bit feeling in the way, she asked them to wait in the lobby where we were. I just think she is new and under trained.

2. We got seated at a table next to a booth that was not happy with their service and /or food. They were nice about it but we are so close together it was hard not to feel how unhappy they were before leaving. We were the only table seated in the middle at the time. Out of 4 to pick from, right next to an unhappy booth.

3. My Filet Mignon was cooked to perfection. My husband's Tomahawk was undercooked at medium-rare when he had asked for medium. Plus we never actually got the bearnaise sauce we ordered and were charged for. Shortly aftering getting out food, our server just disappeared.

4. We watched another couple who had our same server wait and wait for the table side salad to be made. I believe their server was looking for something they ordered but could not find. They literally wheeled the salad to them and it just sat there waiting to be made. It wasn't began until we were leaving a good solid 20-25 minutes later.

5. After being finished with our meal, we waited 15 minutes before we flagged another server down. We just wanted to leave. I felt bad for our server but clearly something was missing and couldn't be found and it was effecting several tables.
No manager to pick up the slack.

My husband and I understand customer service is pretty freaking hard and under paid. We are pretty good with rolling with the punches. We kind of felt there were a series of unfortunate events that unfolded on Saturday. That being said, most likely we won't be back to eat there. We actually had much better service at the Red River Cafe for breakfast.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 2

We have been to the Steak House about 6 times before as we have always loved it. Our latest experience to celebrate a birthday was very disappointing. Our server was stretched to the limit and unable to provide adequate service. Our ceasar salad was overdressed and sopping in dressing. We ordered steaks and sides. Our sides arrived and were cool by the time our steaks arrived. Unfortunately, this will be our last visit to this restaurant.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 2

We come here often but since new management, the portion sizes and the drink selections have gone downhill. the steak was still very good. They no longer bring the crab dip, crackers and carrots out and the bread is a cheaper version.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Steak