Grill 23 & Bar

Came to dinner on my first night in Boston. This restaurant was recommended to me by a true Bostonian. It was excellent. From the reception, the spacious venue and comfort all the way down to having a table in the middle of the room where you enjoy the ambiance around the room and have view of the kitchen, it was a show in the evening I was there. Full house. Not an empty chair. The best is always the menu. Food and Flavor comes always First. Yes the service and our server was exceptional. We had some steaks, beef carpaccio and a calamari to die for. This restaurant is classic. Do it.

One of the best steak houses in Boston. The service could have been a bit more personalized, but overall we enjoyed the experience. The ribeye was PHENOMENAL!!

Best steakhouse in Boston, hands down. The food is all wonderful. Classic 5 star service. Tanner was a wonderful server!

Grill 23 & Bar was an incredible Boston dining experience. We started the evening at the gorgeous bar, sipping the most amazing martinis—served perfectly chilled and covered in a layer of frosty ice, making them as Instagram-worthy as they were delicious. The complimentary bar snacks were a great touch while we relaxed for about an hour. For dinner, I had a perfectly cooked steak with rich, decadent millionaire potatoes, and finished the night with a smooth espresso martini. The atmosphere is elegant yet inviting, and the service was top-notch. Grill 23 is definitely a must for both food lovers and cocktail enthusiasts.

2017 Grand Award winner of the Wine Spectator. We had a great time celebrating my birthday @ Grill 23 & Bar. You can check in your coat at the front before you get seated (this is the first time we’ve experienced this; convenient; adds a nice touch; although the attendant stepped on my scarf when we checked out). The restaurant has 2 stories. Food & drinks were delicious, despite us feeling a little under the weather when we went. Various breads were brought to our table while we looked over the menu. The staff were kind and attentive. They will even silently guide you to where the restrooms are (also the first time we’ve experienced this). If we ever find ourselves in Boston again, we will definitely head over to Grill 23 & Bar.

Loved the evening spent here and it exceeded expectations! The food was all amazing, service was great, drinks were good! Especially loved the sides so get a few for the table to share. The portions were large. The food was so good I only got one photo!

Unique experience alert: Enrique was amazing under Brian’s tutelage. We had a nice bottle of Faust for dinner. I asked the Sohm what her favorite bottle of wine of all time is as the list is 100 pages!! She said the 1942 Hungarian Tokaj. She still has it in her office, asked if I wanted to see it. I said yes. This bottle has made it through several wars. Crazy.

had such a lovely dinner at Grill 23 & Bar, the atmosphere was perfect and the service was absolutely top tier. our server, Sean, was very attentive and courteous. the appetizers and entrees were both cooked perfectly with good portion sizes.

Great food and impeccable service. Ora King Salmon was delightful. Steak was like butter. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Such a great dinner! Everything was super delicious, but the chocolate chip cookies were next level (honestly the best I’ve ever had). Definitely a must-visit!

We had NYE dinner and celebration there, everything was great! As we were sitting directly front of the band, it was a bit loud to have a conversation but overall had very fun night! :)

Decent steak, pleasant atmosphere, and friendly service. I celebrated my birthday here and overall happpy with my choice. Beef carpaccio 5⭐️ Tuna tartare 3⭐️ Dry-aged ribeye 4⭐️ Desert 4⭐️

If you're seeking the quintessential Boston steakhouse experience, look no further than Grill 23 & Bar. This Back Bay institution has been consistently lauded as one of the city's finest, and for good reason. From the moment you step inside, you're enveloped in an atmosphere of refined elegance. Dark wood paneling, crisp white tablecloths, and the soft hum of contented diners create an ambiance that's both classic and inviting – perfect for a special occasion or simply a truly memorable meal. The true star of the show at Grill 23, however, is undoubtedly the steak. Renowned for their dry-aged prime beef, the cuts here are nothing short of exceptional. Whether you opt for a perfectly seared ribeye, a succulent filet mignon, or explore their impressive selection of aged sirloins, each bite is a testament to quality and expert preparation. Beyond the beef, their seafood selections are equally impressive, showcasing fresh, high-quality ingredients. Complementing the exquisite cuisine is an award-winning wine list that boasts over 2,000 bottles, ensuring the perfect pairing for any dish. The service is impeccable, attentive without being intrusive, and the staff are knowledgeable and passionate about guiding you through the menu and wine selections. Grill 23 & Bar isn't just a meal; it's an experience. It's a place where tradition meets culinary excellence, leaving you with a lasting impression of sophisticated dining and incredible flavors. It truly stands out as a Boston landmark for any discerning palate.

5:30pm valentines day reservation. We were greeted politely by a young man and also a man with glasses during the check-in. We were seated up stairs, it was empty at first, then parties were filling. We were seated at a booth where we weren't facing one another but one person was facing 45 degrees, this was interesting. Cooper was our waiter and was very attentive and helpful. Japanese rib cap steak was the must try recommended by Cooper, delicious and well cooked! Coconut cake was not too bad, trying the key lime cake next time. Thanks Cooper for making our first time experience memorable. no complaints, i'll come back

Finally went here after we heard so much from our friends. Loved the food and service. Didn’t get a chance to have drinks or dessert. Service was fantastic … they were able to accommodate us on short notice and did so very professionally and kindly. The hype appears to be real. This is a steakhouse that’s also a full size restaurant that can host medium to large groups. The ambience is very classy. The steaks were exceptional. We had the filet and the 100 day aged ribeye (apparently their signature steak). That cap was definitely something to write home about. The sides were fantastic too and our waiter made sure everyone was cooked like we preferred - they did medium rare plus for me. We got a look at their open kitchen too (always a good sign). The ribeye was super juicy and seasoned just right. Pro tip : don’t park in the spots right outside or the valet WILL tell you off :).

I’ve been living in Boston for years and went here for the first time. This is the very best Boston has to offer! Incredible food, service and atmosphere. Bernardo took care of us and he was fantastic. Very thoughtful, great recommendations, great conversations! Will definitely be back. Thank you Grill 23! 👏🏼👏🏼

My girlfriend and I had gone here for our 2 year anniversary. This was our 4th time there and the service and food was fantastic as usual. The fillet was one of the best we’ve ever had, as well as thousand layer potato was very rich and even though it’s a smaller bite I highly recommend it. And our favorite part of the meal was the Marshmallow bread pudding, we agreed it was one of if not the best dessert we’ve had in the city. Our server Sean truly made the experience exceptional with a great sense of humor along with vast knowledge of the menu, genuine conversation person to person not just staff to customer , we hope to see Sean on our next visit! I could not recommend this restaurant enough.

Brought my wife to Grill 23 for her 50th birthday last weekend and it was everything I'd hoped it would be. We had an excellent time. Service: I admit, I can't remember our server's name, and I feel horrible. Derrick? Maybe? We dined around 6pm on Thursday the 19th, it was my wife's birthday, and we sat at a 4-top down near the kitchen. Our server was delightful, quickly realizing, I think, that my wife and I are pretty chill, and playing along. He offered suggestions when we needed them, was attentive but not overbearing, and generally just did a great job. Food: we had the thousand layer potato and split a Caesar salad to start, then I moved into the filet with Bleu cheese crust and a red wine reduction (suggested by server). My wife had an aged steak Oscar, with a lobster tail on the side. Everything was delicious. Steaks both cooked wonderfully. For sides we did the creamed spinach, and the hash brown. Drinks: we each had a cocktail, or maybe two, to start. I ordered a bottle of Pinot from the Willamette Valley, which unfortunately wasn't available, but the somm (or manager?) came by and assisted me selecting another option. I also enjoyed an espresso martini after the meal. Again, everything was delicious. This may have been the largest check I've paid for 2, but it was absolutely delicious, and I would be more than happy to pay a similar check again. Everything about the restaurant is welcoming, and the food and drinks don't disappoint. I highly suggest visiting if you haven't. I very much appreciate them making my wife's birthday one to remember.

From the moment we walked in, the atmosphere was pure holiday magic—warm lights, elegant décor, and a cozy yet vibrant vibe that instantly set the tone for a special celebration. The staff went above and beyond to make my birthday unforgettable, greeting us with genuine smiles and even surprising me with a festive birthday treat (OTH) that felt so personal and thoughtful. The menu was a masterpiece. Every dish was a perfect balance of flavor and presentation—seasonal ingredients crafted into culinary art. The breadbasket was a wonderful assortment of different breads in which we all felt we had to watch ourselves not to get too filled up! We started out with the French Onion soup: outstanding! For our main meals, we had a Filet Mignon and the dry Aged Prime New York steaks, both cooked to perfection and melt-in-you-mouths delicious. Others ordered the Caeser salad with lobster tail, and the vegetarian in our group was happy with her Caeser salad. (Both said it was the best Caeser salad they’d ever tasted!) Our side dishes were also a highlight as they were shared around the table: roasted asparagus with garlic aioli and Montreal spices, roasted sweet potato with crispy pork belly, chili maple and hazelnuts, and parmesan fries with Rosemay and Garlic. The 2 desserts were the grand finale: indulgent, festive, and absolutely divine: Challah Bread Pudding with eggnog ice cream, toffee sauce & candied pecans, and Creme Brulé with fresh berries and a chai almond cookie. Our dirty martinis and the Big Crush martini were splendid! What truly stood out was the service. Attentive without being intrusive, the team and especially our waiter, Bernardo, anticipated every need and made us feel like honored guests. Tori, the lovely restaurant manager, visited our table TWICE to check on us. Combined with the holiday ambiance and the joy of celebrating a birthday, it was an evening that felt magical from start to finish. If you’re looking for a place that blends exceptional food, a great menu, impeccable service, and a festive atmosphere, this restaurant is the perfect choice. It turned a special occasion into a cherished memory.

Grill 23 & Bar delivered an outstanding experience from start to finish. The service and food were truly top-notch. My husband and I visited during a weekend getaway to Boston and couldn’t have enjoyed it more. Everything was perfectly executed, and our server, Henry, was excellent—attentive, knowledgeable, and made the evening feel special. We’ll absolutely be back.

My girlfriend and I celebrated our anniversary at Grill 23 and Bar, and the experience was exceptional from start to finish. We made our reservation through the Capital One dining portal, where I noted in the booking that this was an anniversary dinner. For appetizers, we started with the French Onion Soup, which was classic and comforting. We also received a complimentary 1000 Layer Potato, which was phenomenal. For the a-la-carte items, we decided to share two distinct cuts: the 18 oz 100-day aged Prime Ribeye and a 2 oz Wagyu Striploin. The kitchen was fantastic about accommodating this. They split the steaks for us, serving them perfectly cooked to our liking (medium rare) with sautéed onions and fresh microgreens. The Prime Ribeye and Wagyu cut like butter and melted in the mouth. We went all out on the sides. We had the Vermont Cheddar Mac & Cheese, the A5 Thumbelina Carrots, and the Grill 23 Tots. The Mac & Cheese had an excellent ratio of cheese to noodle. The Thumbelina carrots were cooked to perfection with a soft inside and a crunchy outside. The tots were meticulously prepared, with a perfectly crispy exterior giving way to a smooth, mashed-potato-like center. To finish, we ordered the Tiramisu Cheesecake. The staff also surprised us with complimentary ice cream to celebrate our anniversary. The Tiramisu Cheesecake was the best I have ever had the pleasure of eating, and the ice cream was excellent. Overall, I would highly recommend this establishment for an elevated steakhouse dining experience, with a lively atmosphere and excellent service.

The service was great and the staff are lovely. The restaurant's atmosphere is great for a date or celebration dinner. We tried the 3 course menu at dinner. The complementary breads 🥖 were actually really good and I used it to dip it in the seafood chowder (1st course) 🐚🐟 and it was amazing!! The chowder was 10/10. For the 2nd course, we tried the Steak Frites 🥩🍟 and Roasted Heritage Chicken 🍗. The steak was seasoned well (although I found it slightly salty) and was good but could be more tender. The chicken was moist and good (although the chicken breast part was a little dry). The 3rd course was dessert, and we got the Zucchini Cake 🍰 and the Salted Caramel Sundae 🍨. The Zucchini Cake was my favorite!! So delicious, not too sweet, moist and went so well with the oat crumble and blueberries with the yogurt mousse (my favorite out of everything I ate).

Grill 23 was very lively and fun atmosphere for a night out. Service was good. Food was hit or miss the steak was cooked rare in some parts and well done in others. Lobster bisque was great. Cold bread and hard butter are a pet peeve. Dessert was ok.

So the food was good and i might say even very good. But it did not have that wow affect so I can't give a 5. New york prime steak was good. The steak and frites were also nice. The crab cakes were mid. You can definitely give this place a shot!

The food at Grill 23 is undeniably good, but the experience didn’t live up to the expectations for a restaurant of this caliber and price point. Out of the six steaks we ordered, two had issues—one arrived cold, and the other was very underdone when we specifically requested medium. For a steakhouse of this reputation, it was disappointing to see such inconsistencies. The service was another letdown. Our server brought drinks we didn’t order, and the overall attentiveness and professionalism were just not there. It felt like a standard dining experience rather than the elevated one you would expect from a high-end establishment. For the price, I was hoping for a more seamless and exceptional experience.

I’ve been to grill 23 a few times before and always had great experiences, but unfortunately this visit was a bit disappointing. I ordered the steak Medium Rare, but it came out noticeably more on the rare side. Even the waitress mentioned it was a little under medium rare and said they could have put it back on the grill if we wanted — but by that time, we were already almost done eating, so it didn’t make sense to send it back. Another thing that bothered me was that while we were still finishing our meal, the staff started clearing our table. I was talking and didn’t fully notice until they had already taken away most of the dishes — including some side dishes I hadn’t finished yet. Overall, although I really like this restaurant and have had great experiences in the past, this visit was disappointing. I’d rate it around 3 out of 5 for this time. While writing this review: I realized my beer got taken away without asking! RUDE!

We were looking very forward to this dinner on our last night in Boston, but it was a bit of a letdown. The bread basket is excellent...mostly the focaccia. We started with the 2oz Wagyu and it was absolutely delicious. We then went to salads. The wedge was a 3/10. It wasn't a wedge at all. It was pieces of iceberg lettuce on the plate, a couple cubes of cheese, a few burnt, tiny bacon bits and a bit of dressing with a ton of onions in rings over the top. The heirloom tomato salad is basically a bunch of the mini multi colored tomatoes that you purchase in the store. There was nothing heirloom on the plate. Then our meals, one halibut and one salmon. There were more onions on the plate than halibut. So weird. The salmon truly was delicious. Cooked perfectly, the crust was amazing and the sauce was absolutely delicious. The side was not great at all. Mushy at best. The server took our bread away after the salad, even though we had only eaten 2 pieces out of it. That was the most odd thing. Why would you take that away? The restaurant is SO loud that you can barely hear. Keep that in mind when booking your reservation.

The story you don’t want to write, the word you don’t want to hear.. RATS, like rodents. My friend put their bag down near our table and when they picked it up a sticky rat trap was attached to the bag- one word gross! No, no rodents were seen, but the damage was done. Staff tried to get the rat trap off his bag but wasn’t really successful Neither was the service - didn’t really do anything which was silly given how gross it was!

Grill 23 & Bar is an okay restaurant, but the food doesn’t quite justify the high prices. While I have to give credit where it's due—the steak was cooked to perfection—the sides fell short. The macaroni was uninspired, just buttered noodles with cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan, lacking depth or creativity. The spinach could have used a bit of heat to balance the acidity, and the grilled onions felt unnecessary. As for the shrimp, it was an interesting experience. Growing up on an island, I’m used to shrimp with a firm, fleshy texture. In the U.S., I only find that at high-end restaurants, while most places serve shrimp that’s disappointingly gelatinous and unnatural. And then there was the coconut cake—a true letdown. The cake layers were barely half an inch thick, overwhelmed by an excess of sugary coconut shavings. The filling also had shavings, and the coconut sauce was so sweet that it only resembled coconut when I paired it with my shrimp. Otherwise, it just tasted like caramel. A better approach would be a more refined balance—perhaps a passion fruit filling or even incorporating rum into the cake layers for depth and contrast. Overall, Grill 23 & Bar has potential, but for the price, I expected a more refined and balanced dining experience.

Busy Friday 9pm reservations, Prompt seating and attentive servers. Seated in second floor, not as loud as 1st but noise travels throughout-wouldnt say this place is upscale. Food: Good wedge salad, Crab cakes were meaty, but way too much lemon, 100 day prime rib cooked well, but was swimming in oil. The chocolate cake for dessert was a miss, I have had better from stop and shop.

The spot we wanted to go to, Boston Chops, was closed, so we were trying to find something in the same price point, quality, etc. While the price point was similar, everything else was subpar. The food wasn't awful, but the quality you expect for that price point was lacking. The overall service wasn't too bad; we had a good server, and I think it was a manager that came over to check in unprompted. The atmosphere was a little sad in my opinion. I don't know if it's like this every time, but it was so loud in there I could hardly hear the folks at my table.

Grill 23 remains one of Boston’s most established steakhouses, but longevity alone no longer guarantees distinction. The food is competent and familiar. Steaks are properly cooked, sourcing is solid, and sides arrive as expected. There are few missteps, but also few moments that stand out. Flavors are conservative, presentations feel dated, and the experience relies heavily on tradition rather than refinement or evolution. It delivers exactly what it has delivered for years—for better and for worse. Service is professional but formal to the point of stiffness. Interactions can feel rehearsed, pacing leans procedural, and hospitality sometimes takes a back seat to protocol. The mechanics are sound, yet the warmth and anticipation that elevate a classic steakhouse are inconsistent. The room reflects the same story. Grand and comfortable, but unmistakably old guard, the atmosphere favors familiarity over energy. It works for business dinners and loyal regulars, but feels increasingly static compared to newer peers. Grill 23 earns three stars for consistency and competence. It remains reliable, but reliability without evolution is no longer enough to lead the category.

Very disappointing service, food and atmosphere! We booked here with high expectations and unfortunately after spending quite a fortune we left with huge regrets. Starting with atmosphere, we booked for dinner. The place is super loud to the level that the waiter was struggling to communicate with us. We were sat upstairs and it was very cold that we had to keep jackets on! The service given the tip we paid was very disappointing. Super slow and not very customer friendly behavior. We ordered some soft drinks and I specifically requested low on ice. The waiter completely ignored and the glass was full of ice. I asked to take reduce the ice amount and he just took some out and poured the rest in a smaller glass and brought back. We paid 6 dollars for a quarter of a glass soda!! You be the judge. I guess the business is so struggling that they need to make the money off of soft drink! The food was the worst of all. We ordered NY and filet mignon steaks and a few sides and appetizers. Some items were burning hot and some were cold! We ordered medium well for temperature and it was more than well done. You can see in the photos. And of course the prices are extremely high. For a tiny piece of potato with a sprinkle of caviar you pay 24 dollars. See the photo! Overall very inappropriately rated restaurant. Definitely not visiting this place again.

Firstly let’s start with the good. The wagyu carpaccio was really nice, maybe some of the best I’ve had (even as a person who doesn’t usually enjoy arugula). The portion sizes were huge. However, in a lot of the dishes I felt it meant quantity was prioritised over quality. Also, I am a person who enjoys trying a little bit of everything or at least not feel extremely full by the time the second course arrives. The price was not justified and I felt I could’ve gotten a better steak frites for much less somewhere else. The ice cream was also just normal. Nothing was horrible (except the noise but I will get into that) but for the elevated price you’d expect much much more. Also for that price, you’d expect a certain ambience in which this place was extremely lacking in. The noise levels were so bad I had to shout to get my voice heard by my family and I resorted to using the noise cancelling feature on my AirPods (even then it was still loud). Final advice, come here for drinks if: you and your friends know sign language, you want to bring someone who’s voice you find annoying (because you can’t hear them anyway), you want to admire the nicely decorated and designed room and leave immediately. Also at the end of our meal, when dessert came out, they brought out the incorrect dessert for my mother, but then brought out the correct one after being told. TLDR: very noisy, subpar food (for the price) other than the beef carpaccio, service was fine, don’t come before your reservation time you will have to wait

!!Coming from an Average Jo!! I cannot tell you how sad I am to say about how freaking disappointing this place was. If you're like me. Someone who's just visiting Boston, but looking for a steak house specifically to celebrate an occasion - I recommend somewhere else. I am genuinely so sad I saved up for this. 🥲 I was here to celebrate my Boyfriends 25th bday on a Saturday night. I was well aware of the pricing of the food, service level expected, etc. I was so excited after all this research just to be met with the most MEDIOCRE food ever paired with an extremely annoying atmosphere. Together we got the 1000 layered potatoe w/ caviar (So much smaller than I originally thought, and mine tasted way too dry), Wagyu Beef Carpaccio (Loved this!) 100-day aged steak (Mid. Definitely have had soooo much better for that price.) Mashed Potatoes (Nothing special at all. ) French onion soup (Tasty, but smaller & more sweet than I'd guess) The Carrots (Now these were FANTASTIC🧡!) And Milk & Cookies. Altogether w/ a drink & tip this was near $310. Our waiter was sweet & great, but unfortunately I could barely hear him due to how. Freaking. Loud. This place was! The noise level dampened our mood after some time because we just genuinely couldn't converse and so we stopped trying to talk. Then, where we were seated, I was a little annoyed with. A small, table for 2, crowded by the front which consequently felt crammed because of people waiting for their tables around that same area + host/staff constantly husseling to guide said guest to their tables in the same space. And just to add a cherry on top, a larger table next to us had a giant "selfie" light shining right in our direction the first 5-10 minutes of us being at our table. The staff did nothing to help this btw. So in the end I feel like I saved & paid $310 to be blinded by a light, deafened by the tables around me, crammed and in the way of everything, oh, and to eat very, very, very....basic food.

Ordered the $86 "100 day aged" 18oz prime ribeye at Grill 23 in Boston tonight. Ordered it "rare" as I typically do. The first steak had practically no sear and was med rare at best. Sent it back and got a burnt to a crisp with a cold center replacement steak. I told managment that this is not how to make a steak and I got shrimp instead. They just didn't care to fix it and never apologized.

I was really disappointed with our experience at Grill 23, especially given the prices and reputation. The tuna tartare was completely inedible and easily the worst dish of the night. The thousand potato caviar appetizer was decent, but we ordered a second one and were shocked when it came out at literally half the size of the first. For a $24 appetizer, that was absurd. The calamari was just meh, nothing memorable. The pork chop was recommended medium-plus, but it arrived well done and extremely salty — honestly one of the worst pork chops I’ve ever had. The ribeye looked decent; my guest thought it was okay, but nothing special for a steakhouse of this caliber. For what they charge, serving inedible or poorly executed food is unacceptable. To make matters worse, the next day I checked in with my guests and we all experienced stomach issues. I strongly suspect the tuna tartare, which tasted off from the start. The only positive note was the drinks. Overall, wildly overpriced for the quality and consistency. I would not return.

12/23, 8:15pm reservation. I felt compelled to share this given the nature of the experience and the expectations of a restaurant of this caliber. I recently had surgery and was on crutches while dining with my family, who had traveled in from out of town. When we arrived and gave our name, the host immediately began walking up the stairs at a rapid pace. My father politely asked if he could slow down, explaining that I was on crutches. The response was, “Doesn’t make a difference to me, I get paid by the hour.” We were seated without any mention that an elevator was available. Almost immediately after we sat down, our waitress, who was excellent, expressed confusion as to why we hadn’t been directed to one and informed us that the restaurant does have an elevator, likely noticing how fatigued I was after climbing the staircase. She later kindly escorted us to it after the meal and provided outstanding service throughout the evening. This review is not a reflection of our waitress, who was wonderful, but solely of the initial interaction. Dismissing a guest’s mobility limitation in that manner was inappropriate and left a poor first impression at Grill 23, which was disappointing given the otherwise high-quality experience. For what it’s worth, the restaurant is accessible, but that information was not offered proactively and had to be discovered after the fact.

Me and my fiancée went to Grill 23 for Valentine’s Day yesterday and we were so excited to do so as it looked great. When we first arrived, they seated us right away which was great. We did not order any alcoholic beverages and just stuck with water. I asked for lemon for my water and that got forgotten about which is a small thing but it’s the details that matter. We then ordered the crab cakes which were amazing but the service was still very bad and our waiter had not much personality from the get. We ordered our entree's, which was a New York strip that I got and my Fiancée got the tuna steak. The tuna steak was overcooked and it had a plastic taste to it and my steak was a bit chewy but still edible enough to not complain. We sent back the tuna with no problem and my fiancée got a New York strip, as the menu is pretty small. The steak was very tough, she said, and I agreed as well, as mine was also pretty tough. Obviously, me and my Fiancée couldn’t enjoy our meals together as we had to send the tuna back and the whole experience was not great and very unenjoyable. I have attached some pictures below as well. I really hope the service and the food gets better as this is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Boston.

I’m not sure which is greater: My disgust for the worst dining experience I’ve had (COMPLETE WITH RODENTS RUNNING AROUND THE TABLES), or my self-disgust, for being a sucker. TLDR: Abysmal quality, outrageous prices for the quality & quantity, inattentive service, large numbers of mice running across the dining room. I invited three associates to celebrate a big win, and wanted it to be special. I had never previously dined at Grill 23. We sat upstairs for our Wednesday, 7:15pm reservation. We shared the two, 32oz “signature” steaks ($147 Porterhouse and $184 Tomahawk). We also chose 4 sides (Mushrooms, $22, Tater Tots, $19, Asparagus, $17, Brussel Sprouts, $17). When the steaks (pre-sliced, combined on one plate) and sides arrived, I couldn’t believe how little meat there was. There is NO WAY that these were 32oz steaks! I’m speaking from experience: I’ve bought both cuts at other steakhouses and at retail. There is simply NO WAY we got what I paid for. I summoned the waiter, who was dismissive. He said “trust me, they’re all weighed out, would you like to order more food?” I declined. The sides were paltry, given their prices: the mushrooms, tots and sprouts were all meager portions in small bowls. The asparagus was stingy. Again, the sides were far smaller than what I’ve experienced. After everything on the table was gone, we were left feeling unsatisfied. Quality: First, the steaks (ordered medium rare) had almost NO FLAVOR! We were so shocked. The $184 “45-day dry-aged” Tomahawk tasted no different than a USDA Choice ribeye from a supermarket. The Porterhouse was no better, just devoid of any rich flavor you would expect from a nearly $150 cut. The meat all tasted frozen to us. The sides were simply awful: The mushrooms and Brussel Sprouts were overcooked to a droopy texture and SOAKED with butter or oil. The mushrooms were sliced thin, unlike the online pics of whole buttons. The “Grill 23 Truffle Tots” were inferior to what you can buy in the frozen food section of any supermarket, just a small bowl of pitiful little tots with a mild truffle scent, not enough for 4 men. The asparagus (with “garlic aioli & Montreal spice”) was just a small plate of bland, thin spears with a sauce that had little flavor. Three of us had the Fudge Sundaes (@$15) and they were PATHETIC: One medium scoop of unremarkable vanilla ice cream on a dish with a small creamer of chocolate sauce to pour on top…appalling. The service we received was not impressive. The waiter was not warm or friendly and had the energy of someone who looked at this as “just a job.” He wasn’t rude, but he appeared indifferent, not what you’d expect from a well-compensated, guest services professional at “Boston’s Premier Steakhouse.” He didn’t make us feel special in any way, and more importantly, NEVER stopped by to see how we were doing. One of my guests had to flag down another waiter for a second cocktail, and the other three of us were never asked if we’d like a second beer…so we contented ourselves with water…which we also had to flag another waiter down to refill. Mind you, this was a Wednesday, not a Friday or Saturday. THE RODENTS: After we finished, we stayed at our table until past 10pm. As I was talking, I saw something flash by on the floor. When I looked again, I saw a mouse dash from under a table towards the kitchen. We then saw that the place was swarming with mice. They were crisscrossing across the carpet and towards the kitchen. I walked over to the busboy and asked about the rodents. He nodded and said “oh yes, they come out every night at a certain time.” This represents a major health concern, and is something that one would expect from a “greasy spoon” on the bad side of town, not in a fine dining establishment. $563.36+ tip for the most disappointing restaurant meal of my life. When I consider the quality and quantity, I feel “taken” on both ends: the prices are outrageous while the product is terrible and stingy. I would have no problem paying their prices for generous portions of high quality fare. I still feel so bummed.