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Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop San Diego Reviews
First visit on a business trip recommendation and the place
First visit on a business trip recommendation and the place was great! The bartender has been there for ages and is part of the history! The place inside is beautiful, food amazing! Enjoyed it!
Ordered the 8 oz.
Wagyu Skirt Steak, for $64 it's a reasonable price. Happy hour drinks are also great served from 3-6 pm. Cool atmosphere and the bread service was excellent. Will definitely be back!
Was not impressed with this place which is disappointing
Was not impressed with this place which is disappointing since I was excited to try it for my husband's birthday. To start our food took 40+ minutes to arrive. My steak lacked flavor and when I received it, it was under cooked so i had to send it back which took another 15 minutes to fix. My husband and I ate separately which took away from the experience. Didnt want hin eating cold food. It wasn't fixed after the additional 15 minutes. It had a lot of charcoal and had been cooked dry. I left it as it. Definitely not worth $60. We got the cauliflower and mac and cheese. When I was done with my meal i was offered boxes which i accepted but the server insisted on packing our food and I regretted it. It's the little things. I expected each side be packed separately from my actual entre as is customary. They had other plans and mixed our sides with my entre making one big mess. The thing that was most irritating was i didnt love the sauce on the cauli so i would have given it to my husband and kept the rest but now my steak, mashed potatoes and broccoli were covered in that orange sauce from the separate side we ordered. I will now toss after almost $300.... It's the little things. Out visit was not worth the cost. Please pack items separately and cook steak to order.
Never ever do yelp reviews but this place was perfect and
Never ever do yelp reviews but this place was perfect and service was out of this world. All the servers are really on it. Everything we requested was met with excellent customer service. Food was amazing. Came here for my girls birthday and they made her feel extra special. We had the ribeyes and they were huge and the Brussels sprouts and Mac and cheese were insanely good. Everything about this place screams top quality service as food. Definitely will come back
This has always been one of my favorite steakhouses.
Their warm rolls are a perfect way to start off the experience. I am in love with the local organic greens salad, but you really can't go wrong with any appetizer. I always go with the fillet, which comes with asparagus and mashed potatoes. The pastry shop, Kate, is phenomenal. She prepares the best banana fosters dessert. The service here is exceptional. I love the ambience. It's definitely a top spot in San Diego.
The service was really good and attentive, but the
The service was really good and attentive, but the recommended wood fire NY Steak was nothing to rave about, and at $115, I was expecting better than what I received.
The tartare was delicious, bread was mediocre, steak was
The tartare was delicious, bread was mediocre, steak was very tasty. Drinks were also good. Service was just ok and they try to upsell you a lot. They charge for everything - sauce, splitting the plate, bread. Most steakhouses have free bread. Ambiance was fun and busy. I would come back.
We started off at the bar with a glass of Cab, which ranges
We started off at the bar with a glass of Cab, which ranges anywhere from $18-32. It was smooth Napa Valley wine as you would expect. We moved to our seats and got started with (the extremely amazing) bread rolls and the shrimp cocktail which was also great. Unfortunately that's where the good review ends. She got the 8 oz wagyu and I got the 18 oz dry-aged ribeye. Both were medium rare like we asked but extremely tough! I couldn't believe how chewy both steaks were. My jaw got sooo tired of chewing through it! When two of the most expensive steaks on the menu are tough and chewy, even when medium rare, that's enough of a reason for me to NEVER go back. I've had far better steaks at non-steakhouses. I just couldn't believe it after so many great reviews about this place. The server was nice but now I know why they try so hard to push those $100+ specialty options, because those are the steaks that are probably actually tender. But you shouldn't need to spend so much to get that. The interior is nothing special and by San Diego's standards is one of the duller places, and also very loud inside. Not a piano bar kind of steakhouse but a rowdy Texas-style kind of place. I personally wasn't into it. Almost forgot to mention the sides! Because there hardly were any! Honestly Cowboy Star should be embarrassed about these portions! Look at how little mashed potato and broccoli is served with the steak. Very disproportionate. Laughable.
Amazing place, I really enjoyed the service and the food
Amazing place, I really enjoyed the service and the food are great. I really like their banana pudding.
Flawless service, friendly ambiance, purse hooks at the
Flawless service, friendly ambiance, purse hooks at the bar, and LITERALLY THE BEST STEAK OF MY LIFE. The flank steak was amazing, I've been dreaming about it every day since I visited a couple weeks ago. Really enjoyed sitting at the bar for dinner as well. Top notch.
High quality meats and great service, but the execution was a bit lacking
This restaurant is rated one of the top steak places in San Diego, and it is located in a lovely physical space with wonderful servers and great service. I ordered the onion soup as my starter, and my wife had the Local Organic Greens salad. The onion soup looked great and had an impressive and quite tasty melted cheese coating. The soup itself, however, was too much on the sweet side for my liking. I don't mind a little sweetness in my onion soup, but that was the dominating flavor here. My wife really enjoyed her salad, and I likewise enjoyed the sample of the salad that I tried. For dinner I had the Wagyu Skirt Steak, which was prepared as I had requested and which was the most tender skirt steak I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. My only complaint is that the steak was excessively seasoned with pepper. I love a little salt and pepper on my steaks, but this had so much pepper you might describe it as au poivre (without the sauce). Speaking of sauce, I had ordered the Chimichurri to accompany the steak, but the excessive pepper seasoning on the steak overpowered the Chimichurri. My wife ordered the Woodfired Rack of Lamb, which she really liked. It came out undercooked from what she requested, but they gladly prepared it properly once she pointed that out, and she really enjoyed it. The total bill, without drinks but with tip, came out to a little over $200 people for the five items described above (the steak sauce is a separate charge). For that price, I was expecting a little better.
The Best Night we Could Have Had.
Matt and Doug were phenomenal. The food was out of this world good and both of them made sure to make us feel welcomed. The food was killer, including the New York and filet but the e rioja recommended to us was heavenly. We will be back solely because of Matt and Doug’s service
The food, service and entertainment were all spot on!
The food, service and entertainment were all spot on! Dinner and a show is always nice! Try getting seating at the kitchen high top or even in front of the desert station. Great experience!
Great place for an after work event.
All the food is prepared well, and the servers are very attentive. I'm a little surprised there isn't a chicken dish, though.
The service was great, but the ambiance and food were both
The service was great, but the ambiance and food were both mediocre. In hindsight, we should have gone to Born and Raised.
The host ran half a block to give us our forgotten
The host ran half a block to give us our forgotten leftovers! Awesome birthday experience. The steak included mashed potatoes and green beans which most places do not include.
Favorite steakhouse in San Diego.
Love the old Hollywood cowboy aesthetic. Excellent service
Best steakhouse in San Diego and one of my favorites in the
Best steakhouse in San Diego and one of my favorites in the country- and that's comparing to Chicago and NYC. This restaurant is unique. From the ambiance to the service to the high quality food, it's a special place to go to. I've been here multiple times now and each time is fantastic. It's an old-school steakhouse, where service is top notch, attentive, well-timed, helpful with knowledgeable staff- it's just service you don't see much in San Diego. And the staff seem to enjoy working there. Everything is executed well with outstanding flavor and quality- I think they should be considered for a Michelin star! You get good value for the price and the amuse-bouche along with the palate cleanser before the entree is such a great touch! We had the wedge salad, bread, waygu steak and ribeye. Mushrooms as a side and the bread pudding for dessert. Let's just start with the bacon on the wedge salad- I didn't want it to end. The blue cheese was mild and I'm ok with that. Steaks are cooked perfectly. We wanted to share so they gave us our own plates with the sides on them, then put the steaks between us so we could easily cut and share (they will split it for you too, we just wanted to cut our own). Both were great but this 'ribeye regular' thinks the waygu strip steak is the star. I think it's my favorite steak on the menu! Tender and full of flavor. The mushrooms are excellent as were the house made sauces. Their steak sauce is the best and the peppercorn is fantastic. Their creamy horseradish was too mild for me- I wanted a little more bite and flavor so if you want horseradish flavor, get it raw. Dessert was just ok. We had the chocolate chip bread pudding with butterscotch sauce and chocolate ice cream. I prefer bread pudding to be sliced from a loaf- it's more moist that way. Here it is individually prepared and they warm it up before serving. But it comes out a little charred and even with the sauce it's too dry for me. The butterscotch sauce was excellent as was the ice cream. It just fell a little short for me but still giving a 5, because here, it's about the proteins. The ambiance is vintage western, down to the music and posters- it's really pretty cool. Don't forget to check out the moving bar- the alcohol moves up and down when they need it- very industrial and cool. They book up a few weeks in advance but if you come right when they open you can get the full menu at the bar. They have a great bar menu too. There is also bar seating by the kitchen but that requires a reservation- that's next for me as I love watching the chefs prepare food. It's pricey but you get great value and service for it. It's close to Petco park or the Rady shell- not the best neighborhood but it's a hidden gem. A favorite San Diego restaurant for me.
Such a great vibe + food was delicious and phenomenal
Such a great vibe + food was delicious and phenomenal service! I can't wait to go back for some steak & the bread rolls!!!!
A San Diego staple located in the heart of the city, Cowboy
A San Diego staple located in the heart of the city, Cowboy Star does not disappoint. Cowboy star is a butcher shop and a steakhouse and the food is absolutely phenomenal. From the amazing bread to the high-quality meat, Cowboy Star never disappoints. Their French onion soup is phenomenal as well and I really enjoyed their high-quality seafood. They have a huge selection at the bar and lots of premium spirit. If you are looking for five star service in San Diego, but no further than Cowboy Star.
100% will be coming back! $60 for filet mignon including
100% will be coming back! $60 for filet mignon including mashed potatoes and asparagus? YES. Ambiance is upscale western. Service was great and polite! I kind of worried that this would be another hyped up place with a tough steak. I was so wrong. Incredibly juicy, tender and flavorful. My partner got the dry aged 35 day ribeye and it was divine as well. If I had more room I would've gotten a ribeye. On my list for next time! We had the rolls 4 pieces served piping hot, Caesar salad (enough to share), filet mignon and chocolate chip pudding dessert with ice cream. Will be back and recommending to others! 100% worth it. Book 2-4 weeks in advance for your preferred date + time
The food, service, and ambiance were all flawless.
One of the best dining experiences we've ever had. I rarely think spending a pile of money on dining is worth it. This place is an exception, and exceptional.
Great vibe and a special night out! Amazing steak full of
Great vibe and a special night out! Amazing steak full of flavour. $140 Fast service, definitely need a reservation here! Has an instagramable area with the wines in the back.
OUTSTANDING
Awesome food, service and hospitality. Onion Soup, Mussels/Clams, Wedge, NY strip, Tenderloin, dessert all outstanding, Thank you to all the staff from the hosts, servers, runners and everyone in the kitchen including the utility workers for making this an amazing dinner experience. They all truly understand the meaning of exceeding expectations. Thank you!
Great ambience !
Very reasonably priced steak that was good in a beautiful ambience with great service. I would recommend this spot for couples dining or family dining. Get the French onion soup and the chocolate mousse for dessert too !
Old fashion deliciousness!!
Everything was fresh and delicious! Steaks, apps, drinks, service! Wow. The wine pairing recommendation was splendid. The old fashioned was hands down the best I’ve EVER had. The wait staff were attentive, friendly and professional.
Good food
Food here was good. My wife got the ribeye and I got the Halibut. I also got a whiskey sour. Wasn’t my thing but I’ve never had one. We sat a table that you could see the dessert station and it was awesome. The lady making desserts was super nice. She made the experience for us. We tried the Mexican Street Corn ice cream and surprisingly it was awesome. I would eat here again.
One of my best steak experiences ever
Excellent prepared T-bone steak. Grilled to a perfect medium rare just as I like it. My friends agreed it was a very great experience.
Brought my son here for his 16th birthday and the service
Brought my son here for his 16th birthday and the service and food was amazing! Pricey but well worth the price!
We had our 26th anniversary dinner last night with friends.
We brought one of our own bottles of wine and paid the corkage fee ($35). It was worth it as they didn't have that bottle of wine and, if they did, the markup would have been crazy. Steaks were done to perfection. Sides were awesome. Mac and Cheese was probably one of the best I've ever had. Service was attentive but not hovering. Very knowledgeable and they did not rush us. Room was nice. Cozy but not to cramped. It was pretty noisy but not so bad we couldn't hear each other.
The food was super great!!!Tasteful onion soup , especially
The food was super great!!!Tasteful onion soup , especially served by Pablo!!! Great aptitude and attention by Pablo!!!The ambiance was great, soft!! Not noise, very clean and delicate decorated and great experience and appealing atmosphere!!!Hard to find a parking!!!! Horrible from that side and unfortunately the surroundings are a bit scary.But, unfortunately the service provided by the waitress Joshua and Antonio was horrible,not so freindly at all, very absolutely abstract and simple, very simple service at all.Sometimes, I can get better service at a simply restaurant than this high scale place.But, the manager and other people working there were great!!!But , definitely not Antonio or Joshua.Thanks.
Food is barely edible.
Half of the stake is fat. They don't trim any of it. God only knows where they found that much fat stuck to a ribeye steak. But the real joke is their wine list. The average price is over $300 a bottle. Now, this is a below-average steakhouse. It would be a crime to drink any of the wines they offer with any of the food they have. You would not be able to taste any of these wines properly with a mouth full of their New York steak. To add injury to your wallet as they had to your mouth, they more than doubled the wine prices. Wine prices go as high as $2,000 a bottle. They do this in wine-country California.Don't be fooled by the wine list they posted on yelp. The actual price list is completely different.
Solid steaks, good ambiance, overall good experience.
Nothing blew us away but a solid experience for a steakhouse.
Delicious food, amazing service, and fun ambiance.
..one of the best restaurants I have been to in years.
FIVE STARS!!!! We love the ambience of this restaurant.
My husband and I have eaten here many times. The food is absolutely wonderful. We just love it!!!
This restaurant does not disappoint.
I always come here for a great steak. The French Onion Soup was surprisingly very good. It's probably the best I ever tasted. The steak was cooked perfectly. When I ordered the Bleu cheese, I was expecting it to be able to melt a little on top of the steak. It was more of a solid, so I will be skipping it next time. The service was great. We had an issue with our reservation, but the manager made sure the issue was fixed and even greeted us upon checking in to make sure everything went right. She went out of here way to make sure we had an excellent experience.
Just incredible.
I loved the service and the delicious food my partner and I shared for dinner! Arthur, our server, was great! I loved how we were treated during our dinner experience. We will definitely be back for more tasty food!
Disappointed
Venue fine but in an iffy location; loud all male military group seated very near booths, and worst was very thin cheap piece of meat at superior prices.
If your ready to splurge on a good steak, this is a good
If your ready to splurge on a good steak, this is a good spot to do it! Took my Husband here last week, to start celebrating a Milestone Birthday! It was delightful to see a personalized menu, (which they saved and rolled up for us to take home) Our server Joshua was knowledgeable, gave good suggestions and assuring of our menu selections. We got a nice amuse to start the meal, we shared the fresh rolls (warm, and fluffy) We each had Cesar Salad (I was pleasantly surprised by the chunk of bacon in it!) and the subtle small pieces of anchovy- just enough to "salt" the dish. Since it was a splurge meal, we each did the scallop add-on with our steaks. Cutting into the scallops, was like cutting through air, and they were so soft, sweet and buttery. Highly recommend those! His steak was the Dry-aged rib eye, opted with their house made C1 Steak sauce on the side. Mine was the Wagyu Skirt Steak and Bordelaise sauce on the side. The evenings sides they steaks included was creamy potato pure and fresh green beans. We each immensely enjoyed the food and even had some leftovers to-go that were just as good the next day! For dessert we split the Saloon Girl Brownie, which didn't disappoint and left m the sweet tooth satisfied! Also, fun fact, all their dining tables are named after famous cowboy stars!
Incredible Dining Experience in Downtown San Diego
We had an exceptional server, Luis, for our night at the kitchen rail tables. Watching the fantastic symmetry of the line cooks, appie cooks, charcuterie/salad tender and expo and line cooks made for a interesting night-"dinner and a show" The steaks and food was prepared with care and was delicious. Just a 15 minute walk from the Civic Theatre so very convenient for a night out.
Perfect service and steaks
When we arrived the restaurant was packed, but we were promptly shown to our table and met by welcoming smiles and a really attentive waitress. Both the cocktail list and wine list was extensive, and I settled on a lonestar cocktail which was fantastic (although not as alcoholic as I would have liked). The food menu was the perfect size, not too huge you struggle to chose, and not too small to struggle to pick. We had children with us and the waitress suggested splitting a steak as she advised portions were substantial. Delicious steaks came expertly cooked and our boys were served perfect smaller steaks that were still big enough for an adult! The mash was delicious and the greens cooked to perfection. We had a huge Mac n cheese side which was so good but we barely touched it as so full from our mains. This was kindly boxed up for us. We all shared one dessert, a yummy chocolate brownie with malted ice cream. Not a cheap meal but worth every penny and our best in San Diego.
5 Star Night
Checked multiple sites for best steak in San Diego. Cowboy Star was at or near the top of all lists. We were very impressed. The food was superb and the service was excellent. Our thanks to Adam and the team.
Connect with users posting reservations for Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop San Diego
AppointmentTrader is a community-driven platform where users can exchange their reservations or leverage their personal relationships with Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop San Diego. Buyers can make informed decisions using automated seller ratings, which reflect past transactions and reliability.
Each posting on AppointmentTrader shows you which user submitted it and along with that provides a trackrecord of that user which indicates how much experience
the user has and how many percent of their transactions resulted in them issuing a refund.
If there is no user posting that fits your schedule, you can bid on your preferred time.
Let's say Peter has a great morning and decides to take his three friends to Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop San Diego at 6 PM the same day.
He checks the restaurant's website and sees that no reservations are available. He then looks at the Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop San Diego page on AppointmentTrader, but finds that there are no user postings either.
That's where the community-driven bid process comes in.
Peter can place a bid on AppointmentTrader, which serves as a reward for any community member who chooses to work on securing the reservation. AT then notifies experienced users who may be able to help.
Step-by-Step Process
1.) Setting a Reward (Bid)
* AppointmentTrader uses historical data to recommend a reasonable reward amount for securing a reservation - let's say $100.
* Peter really wants to go, so he increases the bid (or reward) to $200.
* At this stage, the reservation does not exist yet.
2.) A Community User Picks Up the Bid
* DistinguishedTree58, an experienced AT user, has a strong track record of successfully securing reservations and low refund requests, they receive a notification about Peter's bid.
* DistinguishedTree58 picks up the bid, meaning they will now work on securing the reservation.
* Peter can now talk to DistinguishedTree58 for any questions Peter may have as DistinguishedTree58 user fills the bid.
3.) Finding the Reservation
* DistinguishedTree58 now uses their connections at Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop San Diego to secure the table.
* If they successfully get the 6 PM table for four, Peter receives a confirmation that the reservation has been secured.
* If DistinguishedTree58 fails to secure the reservation, the bid is returned to the pool so another user can try.
4.) Payment & Protection
* Once the reservation is secured, DistinguishedTree58 receives the $200 reward which is credited to DistinguishedTree58's AT balance, where users manage their own funds and can withdraw via available payout options such as bank transfer, PayPal, or Zelle.
* Peter can now enjoy the dinner with his friends at Cowboy Star Restaurant and Butcher Shop San Diego!
* As with all transactions on AT, disputes and no-show fees are handled through the platform's community-driven resolution system. Users with a strong track record are incentivized to fulfill bids successfully, and community members can report issues to maintain trust in the marketplace.
