Peak City Grill

[StanN]

If you can stand the ear shattering noise this downtown Apex new comer may be worth a try. But try the patio. The dining room is inviting, brick walls, hardwood floors, hardwood furnishings, original pressed sheetmetal ceiling - inviting informal decor. But the hard surfaces reflect the noise and the crying children and blaring music system adds to the din.

The food was spotty. Excellent soda crackers and cream cheese replace the usual bread and butter. Our salads were excellent as was the bread puding desert. But the half rack of lamb was only three chops, poorly trimmed..more fat than meat. The crabcakes were tasty but loded with bread crumbs. The coffee was weak. The bathroom was clean. Service was friendly and will likely improve with time. $66 with 2 glasses of wine and w/o tip. Reservations necessary on Sat. nite.

Despite its attractive location (for southern Cary) and appealing menu we wont be back till spring makes the patio worth a second try.

stan

[LisaNewHill]

I won't be back there until next summer and if the food and service has not gotten better, that will be my last visit.

The first time we went, we were there 3 hours due to the horrible service. The bartender couldn't make a margarita worth drinking, first margarita I've ever sent back. Then it took 40 minutes to get a glass of wine. The menu was nice, had the choice of picking your meat & sides, but then we were told that we had to have potatoes or rice as a side, no vegies with our steaks. We offered to pay more for the veggie options instead of a starch and were told NO. Salads showed up after the entree. Our filet's (3 out the 4 were ordered medium) were seared on the outside, and raw on the inside. They went back twice, the third time they came back to us, they were only cooked slightly better. We were so hungry we ate them. We were seated at 6:30 and didn't get any food at all until 8:30. None of the wait staff had any experience at all. Things were sooo bad that dinner was on the house without us even having to make a big deal out of the fiasco.

Granted this was one of the first days the place was opened, but a good owner/manager knows you spend weeks doing walkthrus with your friends and relatives to get the timing right, dishes right, learning to use the new equipment.

My second trip there 2 months later, was not much better. It was still a 3 hour experience. My rule is you give a place 3 chances, after that forget about it!!

I was so looking forward to this place. I just don't think the owner has the experience to make this a worthwhile place to eat.

[Tonya]

The bartender couldn't make a margarita worth drinking, first margarita I've ever sent back.

I cannot imagine sending a margarita back. It wouldhave to be one seriously bad margarita! Now I'm really reluctant to go to Peak City.

Actually, this is a timely post, as I have collected money for my boss's gift, and was planning to get a gift certificate from Peak City. She lives in Apex and she and her husband used to go to Carly's often. Sadly, Carly's is no more.

Now I'm not sure what to do....

[Wuptdo]

Tonya wrote:Now I'm not sure what to do....

Tough call. My experience is to give these new places a couple of months to get their act togather. It took both the local BoneFish and Bennigan's a few months to get it togather. (You should here some of the stories for getting waitstaff at these places) However, I do recall, though it has been "ages" for me, that one of the best "wings" places in the area is in Apex. Sorry, I can't remember the name, but it is near the Ace Hardward Store, off of Highway 55. It may not be fancy, but a "wing platter" goes a long way during any football or basketball game.

Wuptdo B-)

[Tonya]

Wup, it's called 'Em er Wings, but I'm not sure if it's still there. I just tried to find it in the phone book and couldn't.

I think I'll go forward with the gift certificate. I know she's been wanting to go.

It is really hard to train good wait staff, I guess. When the 42nd St Oyster Bar opened (is it possible it was 17 years ago???), they had several "practice" nights for the entire staff, and they invited all of the subcontractors who had worked on it to come for a night with a guest. You could order anything off the menu, as much as you wanted, except for lobster, as I recall, and that's how they trained the staff. It was lovely.