Texas Cattle Company

Like so many others have indicated in their reviews something sad has happened with this place. In the past we have enjoyed many family celebrations, however I will never patronize this place again. Or party was large, about 15 people. It took 30 minutes before anything was brought out to us. I felt sorry for the waitress and walked up front to ask the manger if he could get us some help. The evening was down hill from there!!! Evidently, the manager didn't feel my concerns were of any importance because he never came to our table to check on us.\r \r The waitress was rude (throwing salads on the table, responses to request very short). Several in our party solicited the managers help; however he was defensive, full of excuses and ineffective!!!\r \r All we wanted was hot coffee, bread on the table, hot food and pleasant service, none of which was offered. The best word to describe the night is HORRIBLE!!! We refused to pay the 18% gratuity and the managers response was, you will not get the free birthday steak. \r \r It appears as if they are trying to run this business into the ground. The worst part of this is no one appears to care. Sad and disappointed. more

8/8/12 .. VERY SAD. After 20+ years of great service and top food it is now under ""new management"" and what a drop in standards. Service has dropped from 4 and 5 stars to 2 or at best 3 stars. Food has dropped from a 9-1/2 to a 10 down to a 5 or 6. Steaks are tough, bread is not as good, salads are not the high quality. The servers are not the highly trained and sophisticated as they used to be. more

Wilted lettuce, limp steak with plenty of gristle/fat and slow service. Find another place to spend your money! more

My friend and I went to experience the steakhouse for the first time last night ,as we share a birth date, and were drawn by the free dinner as such. We were greeted by our server Cody and seated at a nice booth. I was impressed by the decor of the restaurant, the comfortable seating and warm atmosphere. We started out our dinner with the bacon wrapped and wood grilled scallops which were delicious and tender. For a moment, I thought I was back on Guy Lombardo Ave. on the Nautical Mile back in Freeport, Long Island N.Y. Scallops worthy of a fine seafood restaurant. Our bread and salad arrived next, and I thought they were quite good, although I am not really a salad and bread guy. We both upgraded to the larger Porterhouse steak from the complimentary T-Bone. Great choice-although I am sure the T-Bone would have been just as tasty. Onto the Porterhouse. My steak was the best I have ever had, truly. I thought I knew good steak..........Wow! This steak was so tasty that I can not even begin to describe it. The marbeling of fat content, the texture and flavor ! You can not make this steak at home, period. You have to come here to get it. Whatever the aging process,combined with the choice of cattle, to the woods used and the cooking techniques- just the best. All said, I thought that this was a great place with great food and service. I am sorry I have not been here before. Many times I have passed this place by in the last 30 years I have lived here. I had no idea that this place was such a remarkable treasure. I had always assumed it was just another average steakhouse on U.S. 19, not so. My advice, go try it and see what a real steak should be! John Forziano more

What a disapointment! Went last night for darling wifey's birthday, because they advertise ""best steak"" and ""great value"" with a free steak on your birthday. Upon entering, we were impressed with the attractive decor and the enticing smell of wood smoke, along with a friendly greeting. We were taken to a nice booth, but as we settled in the trouble began. Apparently the dish washer was on the other side of the wall, and soon our table was shaking and we were assaulted by loud bangs and crashing sounds. We asked the waitress for a new table, and were moved to a back corner, which solved this problem. I will warn you that if you are a normal sized person the booths are VERY tight, almost uncomfortably so, so you will be better off getting a table. Upon perusing the menu we were a little shocked at the prices, for a place that advertises value. Steaks range from $27 to $50, and are ridiculous sizes. A three pound steak? Really? My wife received the 18 oz. T-Bone as a free birthday dinner, and I ordered the next smallest cut, a 24 oz. Ribeye. Both were ordered medium rare. When they arrived, they were both about 1/3 fat. Both were cooked properly, but flavor was average. No crust on the outside, although they advertise how great their wood fired grill is ""burning three times hotter than charcoal."" In my opinion this is all hype. I do a much better job on the backyard Weber. The disapointment comes from the hype they dish out, which sets a certain expectation, which they don't come close to delivering. Everything was mediocre at best, but at high-end prices. Cost for two (with a ""free"" steak for my wife's birthday) was $61, and this was with only one glass of house wine and two botles of beer, with no other extra's (no appetizer, no desert.) Service was slow, and they add the tip (18%) onto the bill (I'm guessing because most people do not understand that you should tip on the total value of the meal (including the free item) and undertip based on just the final price.) Obviously, this ""guaranteed"" tip means the wait staff doesn't have to try very hard (and they don't...) Overall, this was a disappointing experience and we will not go back. Average quality steak with a lot of fat, below average service, high prices, and nice decor. (One final peave- the restaurant looks nice and upscale, but the wait staff wear these ridiculous giant cowboy hats. Very low-class. Loose the hats and it be a better presentation.) Bottom line, there is no such thing as a free dinner. You pay for the birthday steak by the overly inflated prices on everything else. This is obviously their marketing strategy, because when the waiter greets you the first question is ""are there any birthday's today?"" It is now apparent that they must do this to survive, becasue there is no reason to go there otherwise. Even with the free birthday steak, there are many better choices in Tampa Bay, so do yourself a favor and pick any of those over the Texas Cattle ""Car"". more

HORRIBLE!! We went for a friend's birthday and discovered a roach walking around the table, the waiter practically swept it toward me and said ""that's normal."" We called the manager and she gave us two free appetizers. Which was nice, but didn't make up for what happened after THAT. The service took forever, the food was completely co...ld and my husband came down with a bad case of food poisoning after eating the fish. My $16 salad was like soggy paper with white-creamy OLD looking salmon on top. I complained and the waiter said ""oh it is fresh, don't worry."" The manager basically ran away after I told her about our problems. My husband turned pale white and held back throwing up while the waiter took a half-hour to deliver our check. I hope this place burns down, they deserve it for their disgusting excuse of a restaurant AND serving people bacteria ridden food. Best part, they included the tip on the check, we had it taken off, and only signed for the food and NO tip and guess what? THE TIP has been charged on my debit card, so after my husband throwing up all night, now I have to deal with them illegally charging my credit card. Do yourself a HUGE favor, DON'T GO TO THIS RESTAURANT!!!!!!! more

This was our 4th time to this restaurant, 2 out of 4 I guess isn't bad......the first time was great. The second time was okay (slow service, dirty glass and silverware) the third time was pretty decent but this forth time was pretty crappy and we won't be back.) We waited for 20 minutes before served bread and salad. Then our waiter obviously waited until we completely finished our salads before putting in our order. We waited another 20 minutes finally our steaks arrived. I ordered a filet mignon, medium rare - okay it was a bit under cooked maybe my fault so I sent it back to be done medium. I got it back to the same doneness that it was done the first time. When I told my waiter he just shook his head and said I just don't know how you want it cooked! I said DONE! NOT MOOING! HELLLLOOOO? At that point my husband and I were done, I wasn't going to wait another 30 minutes for the second time - I mean how many times were my mashed potatoes going to travel though the resturant???! So we were just going to leave - the I think the manager(?) chased after my husband and wanted to charge us $40 bucks for his steak! My husband had to take him back to the table to show him he didn't even touch it! He said he was sorry that the waiter had told him that he had eaten half of it! To say the least, we won't be back. This really sucks - we thought we found a great steak place. It just turns out that it's just another ?great? St Pete establishment. St Pete, you have got to be sooooo proud of yourself! I am disgusted and sorry to say I have to be a resident here for another 3 years ? more

Management has seen the bad posting and bad reviews. And thats a good thing. Our food and service was excellent. When Michelle, our waitress brought the check, I ask if she was aware of the negitive postings online. She said the restaurant was aware and that everything is excellent now and I know our dinner was. more

Now I will say every place has it's bad days.I am writing this because of the other reviews I read below.I have been to this place countless times so I know that the birthday deal is no scam.You are getting $23.95 off you total bill.So what you pay 18% gratuity.It is so cheap people(which sounds like those who are opposed to it)don't stiff the server.Reservations do not mean you will get sat the moment you walk in.You will at the top of the list if they is a wait.Alot of the time it is because another table of customers decided to stay over 2 hours at your table and that is not the fault of the restaurant. more

My family and I love to eat out. We usually experienc services varies from excellent to mediocre. We can deal with mediocre but this one is unacceptable. more

First I must compliment the excellent food! We have been to this location in St. Pete. several times, as well as Charlies in Orlando. Second, I regret that we will no longer continue enjoying your Restaurants. more

The place doesn't look appetizing from the outside, so although I had driven by many times, I would have never eaten there without a recommendation. I'm sooooo glad I tried it. My husband really wanted to try it because his co-worker raved about it, so we went on his birthday a few years ago. He upgraded his free meal to the porterhouse steak and I got the T-bone. Huge cut of meat, aged, apple wood smoked and cooked to perfection! I have to say that they need a major face lift as far as decor goes...but I guess that could be a part of the ""old west Texas nostalgia"". If you know good steak, you'll like this place. Pros: Free T-bone on your B-day, Great Steak! Cons: Very old decor -- pricey more

We went there for my birthday and everything was delicious. Pros: Delicious steak and great service. Cons: None. more

if you like blue cheese or ranch dressing on your salad, you won't find it there. if you like prime rib you won't find it there. if you like a friendly and attentive waiter you probably might get that there if you don't get the same waiter our party had on 9/25/2009! all in all the over priced steaks were cooked to perfection. Pros: steak was excellent Cons: unfriendly wait staff more

The food is average to pretty good but over-priced. more

Texas Cattle Co definitely has some high points. For example: the salad is great & the portions are large. But they don't seem to know how to cook steak. The last 2 times I was there every piece of meat at the table was undercooked. The steak did not have a good flavor. The Texas Cowgirl cut ( the one that is given away on your borthday) is over priced and of poor quality. At this point, I'd have to say that my favorite steak restaurant in the Tampa Bay area is Council Oak @ Hard Rock. If I want a steak and don't want to venture out of Pinellas, I would definitely take Outback over this place. Pros: Great salad Cons: steak has poor flavor and is frequently undercooked more

I have ate at those high dollar steakhouses in Tampa, there is no comparison. This is the best. You can spend anywhere from $18.00 up to $32.00 for the 5lb. steak, but if you eat all of the 5 lb'er it's free. And if you have a problem with your steak, manegment will give you a card for a free one the next time. Did I mention you get the $18.00 steak free on your birthday?! Pros: All portions are huge. Cons: The oversized doggy bag your gonna need. more

The Best of the Best. I have dined at many of the high end steak houses and must admit Texas Cattle beats them all. Prices were excellent the Rib Eye steak I had melted in my mouth and the garlic potatoes were to die for. The salad was awesome. The wait staff was very attentive..all in all job well done Texas Cattle and I will drive the 45 mins to dine again... Pros: service was GREAT more

The country western decor is not the same atmosphere of Burns, but just as awesome steaks without quite the extreme price. I have not had a better steak anywhere. Pros: Steak more

If you're hungry for a juicy, flavorful, perfectly cooked steak, don't even consider anywhere but Texas Cattle. The filet mignon falls apart in your mouth, but the ""cowgirl"" t-bone is my new favorite as it has a bit stronger flavor. Service is exceptional. If you go on your borthday with a FL driver's license, the t-bone is free, too. more