When we walked into Bascom’s Chophouse tonight, we noticed several waiters and waitresses standing near the entryway into the dining room.  It reminded me of a store where the employees are paid on commission; they just seemed to be hovering like vultures.   Loren thought this was a sign that the service would be exceptional, boy, was he wrong.

We were seated in a corner of the dining room and the temperature was not regulated very well.  The restaurant was really warm.  There was also a shelf next to our table where they stocked the steak knives and pepper grinder.  It was rather annoying every time they banged the pepper grinder back on the shelf. 

Loren ordered a coke and after one sip, exchanged it for iced tea because it was flat. Needless to say, we weren’t too impressed so far and we hadn’t even gotten any food yet.  Perhaps we should have taken a hint from the group of men that were seated behind us.  They sat down, took one look at the prices on the menu and then promptly left. 

Probably the best thing about the meal were the rolls.

They were warm and the butter was soft, so it made for a good combination.  There were several different kinds of rolls in the basket and they were all pretty good.

Loren ordered a garden salad with his meal, since his steak didn’t come with any sides.

He said the lettuce wasn’t very fresh.  He ate half of it and set it aside.  Our waiter never cleared the plate from the table.  For his entree, he ordered the Delmonico steak.

He said it was ok, but really didn’t have a lot of flavor.  I didn’t think it was very tender at all.  It also boggled my mind that for $24.50, all you got were some onion straws on top.   I ordered the veal marsala and a side dish of the au gratin potatoes.

Mine actually came with rice and a big hunk of broccoli.  The veal was dry and the marsala sauce was weak.  If I didn’t know it was supposed to be marsala sauce, I would have said it was just a mushroom gravy.  There was no flavor whatsoever.  The au gratin potatoes were ok, but had a sharp flavor in them.  I thought maybe it was sour cream or some sharp cheese.  I think we came to realize why they offered fresh ground black pepper on everything, lack of flavor in all of the dishes.

Our waiter never refilled our drinks (my water glass was empty) and when he went to package our leftovers, he was very awkward.  He crowded in between us and nearly knocked the containers over.  Overall, it wasn’t a good experience, especially for the prices.  Luckily, we had a $25 Restaurant.com coupon, so the total bill before tip was $31.  We’ve definitely gotten better food and service for less money at other places in town.

Bascom’s Chophouse
3665 Ulmerton Rd
Clearwater, FL
(727) 573-3363

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