This is my favorite restaurant for a special occasion. Â Have had quite a few birthdays there and the bday photos say it all. Â We are all grinning and glowing from good food. Â Sullivan's makes me happy. Â The steak is to. die. for. Â Divine. Â And the chilled seafood sampler appetizer for two is just so amazing. Â Some of you might think that it's too crowded with table spacing, but I just overlook that because it makes me feel like it's a party. Â And the martini that they have with the special juice concoction that is in a big jar thing in the bar is really wonderful. Â I always get the fillet duxelle. Â So very good. Â It is not cheap, although I think you could go and eat an amazing hamburger and it would be affordable. Â But it would be hard to go there and refrain from getting into the "let's live it up!" mode. Â The best steak place - simply the best!
Review Source:Started with drinks in the bar....very nice. Â The "house label" cab was very nice. Started dinner with the Jumbo Lump Crabcake. Â Less than great. Â I thought it had way too much onion. Â The wife and daughter both thought it has too much cream sauce mixed with the crab. Â The steak salad was pretty good. Â Meat cooked correctly and the salad crisp. All said and done the plate was empty! Â The small filet was also very good. Â Although cooked medium instead of medium well, the quality of the steak made the differential acceptable. The aged NY Strip, however, was disappointing, perhaps because it arrived medium instead of medium rare. Â As you know, dry aged meat has less "juice" so the combination made for a steak that was priced well above the taste. Â The potatoes received mixed reviews. Â One person liked them while the other did not. Â The service was the one thing that was consistently great. Â Overall an ok place but the cooks need to get on their game a bit more regarding steak temps.
Review Source:I had an opportunity to dine with a few colleagues and Sullivan's Steakhouse was not on my list. Â I have to say the experience was one of the best that I've had in a long time. Â I will definitely be dinning there again. Â They set the bar so high it's hard to believe that there are other steakhouses in Raleigh.
Review Source:I have reviewed a few places in Raleigh and, unfortunately, they have been bad. Â However, I am please to say Sullivan's is absolutely on point. Â Ate here about 4-6 times in the last 15 months and Sullivan's provides:
1. Â Great drinks--their Martini's are money
2. Â Awesome food--steaks are perfection. My wife loves their seafood...
3. Â Service--on point with a full glass of water and refills of wine/beer/whatever is done...no asking
4. Â Environment--piano going by the bar and everyone (when I was there) was having a blast. Â Lively conversation and good people...
Get some!!
Both my husband and I agree this is literally the best steak house in Raleigh, NC. And I can honestly say that we have probably tried them all.
Sullivan's Steakhouse is perfect in every way. Now they are even affordable too!
We were both impressed with their $39 3 course dinner that includes appetizer, salad or soup and main course. Don't expect to get scaled down versions of their meals either, these are full course servings. We left not needing any dessert.
The servers are all excellent and on top of things.
Our appetizers consisted of the Philly cheese steak egg rolls. Very good indeed.
I had the wedge salad with blue cheese, and hubby went wit the french onion soup.
Hubby went with NY Strip steak, while I chose the Medallions with shrimp and mashed potatoes.
A lovely meal indeed. I hope it doesn't' take too long for us to return because each time I go I want to head back again, then I forget!
It's so worth it!
Treated my parents to a nice evening out. Since we are from outta town, we were recommended Sullivan's. Â it's a little hard to find since its on the corner in an office building. Upon entering, we knew we were in for a real treat!
We had reservations and thankfully seated in the upper level, away from the loud main dining room. This way we could catch up and chat.
Our waiter, Joe, was fantastic! Friendly, down to earth and really represented Sullivan's well. He made the entire table feel welcome.
Started with Oysters, Ahi Tuna and shrimp Cocktail. All of which were fresh and fabulous! Â My father really enjoyed his French Onion Soup while the rest of us had the Caesar salad. You can really taste the anchovies this dressing, so if you only enjoy dressing out of a bottle, you might not like the fishy flavor.
My daughter order the pre-fix menu and had the filet medallions, which she really enjoyed. My husband had the Salmon and thought it was just a tad overcooked. I had the Filet Mignon, which was absolutely delicious. Â I ordered it medium and it came rare, but I enjoyed it all the same. My parents had the lamb chops, both ordered medium that sadly came out raw, not once, but twice. We quickly noticed tables around us sending plates back to the kitchen as well. Our waiter and Manager were more than accommodating and truly tried making it right. Â We were even treated to dessert for the table. I must finish this with if you do go to Sullivan's the best part hands down were the oysters and the Coconut Cream pie. The best I ever had.
For the 5 of us it was just under $400 including a bottle of wine and my daughter having the $39 pre fix.
We went to Sullivan's Friday night (I recommend reservations). Â I hadn't been there for five years. Â I used to go a few times a year, and was always impressed. Â It's really hard to impress, they always do it. Â The reason I hadn't been back is because for two people, I end up spending $150-$200 after tip. Â If money is no object this is a great choice.
So this time we had salads, filet with bourbon peppercorn sauce , the Hong Kong Chilean Sea Bass, Mac and Cheese, and Brussel Sprouts. Â For everything, five stars. Â WOW. Â We kept moaning as we were eating because everything was so good.
Service was impeccable, and I got the impression that if something had been wrong they would have taken care of it immediately. Â Excellent restaurant.
When money is no object, Sullivan's is the place to be!  I took my coworkers here for a company celebration and we ordered every bell and whistle we could think of.  We made reservations well ahead and thankfully found the last available parking in the lot next door.  The main intersection was closed down due to a event going on with live music being performed on the  street, cutting down our options for convenient parking elsewhere. Â
We were seated quickly at a large round table and ordered our first of many rounds.  We started with the seafood sampler, jumbo lump crab cakes, and crispy shanghai calamari.  I don't  eat sea food often, so I can't speak about most of the options from the sampler.  I did try the lump crab cake and the calamari and they were perfect.  The lump crab cake measured up with a legit Maryland crab cake I tried in the past to act as my standard measure of good.  The calamari was out of this world!  They were breaded so every bite made a crunch and came with a spicy kick that distracted from the squid essence.   Â
For the main course, I ordered the special; an aged bone-in rib eye (cowboy cut) in a bourbon peppercorn sauce.  The meat was so tender I could cut into it with just a fork.  The bourbon sauce added unnecessary  but welcomed flavor.  I never order steaks from restaurants because in my option, I'd rather not pay for something that I can make better at home.  In this case, Sullivan's proved that their steaks are one of a kind. Â
Sullivan's provides professional wait staff that are strategic and synchronized in their timing. Â All of our food came out at once, delivered by a host of servers and waiters. Â After a few rounds of drinks, we were cracking up after one pass when the staff swooped in to clear the bread crumbs. Â They use a special device to scrape the crumbs off the tables! It is known by some as "The Crumber", and they are apparently not for sale to the general public. Â Â
After some great food, hearty laughs and good company- we were even able to close our visit at Sullivan's with a few celebratory cigars to help compliment our spirited moods and fine occasion.
The first time my wife and I went to Sullivan's it was by accident. Â We were out shopping on Fathers Day and thought it looked like a good place to eat. Â We had just finished at Target and wanted to grab a quick bite. Â From the moment we walked in we knew it was a little different. Â After the hostess assured us we would be fine in our sweats we decided to stay and eat. Â Turned out to be a good meal. Â That was almost 15 years ago. Â Now when we go we try to dress a little better.
Good selection of steaks and sides.  This last time I had the Kansas City bone in strip and  Crispy Shanghai Calamari.  The bone in strip was cooked medium well with just the right amount of pink.  The closer you get to the bone the more tender it gets.  I always have to fight myself not to pick the bone up and....let's just say it is good.  The calamari was different as it was tossed lightly in the Shanghai sauce which was the right blend of sweet and tangy.
I look forward to going back.
Thank you, Triangle Restaurant Week, for letting a poor ole public servant like myself enjoying a (typically) very expensive place to eat. I have passed by this place a hundred times, always licking my lips at the smell of the savory steaks that are being consumed inside, however this was my first true venture into the depths of Sullivan's. So, overall it was good but not great - and I rate these restaurants very harshly based upon the expectations I have before I walked in. And I did plan on being "wowed" when I came here...
At any rate, Glenwood Ave is continuously becoming more and more difficult to find parking so I decided to go with the valet - at $4 I guess you can expect that for the stature of restaurant you are visiting. Or is this just a Glenwood Ave thing? I have been to plenty of other (very nice) spots on the other side of town and never had to pay for valet (just tip, of course!). Walking into the below grade restaurant was kind of cool - elegant with a Chicago mobster type of feel to it. Almost like a walk into 1920's gang land. It was really, really dark at our seat. If you have trouble seeing in the dark, bring a walking stick! Oh, and after being identified up front we were sat at our table right away, nice!
Our waiter was good, and had a pretty decent handle on the bar/wine menus as well as the specials. Rolled off the specials, and the upgrades, without hesitation. He was there when he needed to be and not when we didn't want him there. Overall, great service.
Food and drink, main reason for going to a place like this, had some hiccups. Instead of garnishing my bourbon with a lime (he asked, and I never tried so I accepted) they squeezed it into the glass. They were quick to replace it with another one. One steak was only seared, requested to be medium and it was raw. We know this because it was taken home as a leftover and examined under light and it was raw - seared on the outside and rare on the inside. The other food was good - salad was routine, lobster bisque soup delicious and the dessert - the cheesecake, was the crowning achievement! This was better than home (NY) and was the best part of the meal!
All in all, this was a steep night out. Two $30 meals, plus three drinks, tax and tip towered to well over $100. I cannot imagine what I would have looked like had it not been restaurant week! It was good, but I had my tastes satisfied and at least I can say that I have been there and done that!
Full disclosure - this review is for NYE 2012 only. Â I will go back and 'hopefully' have a better experience.
I'm always dubious to try new places on NYE as there's always a specific menu that's typically overpriced...well - this is exactly what happened here. Â My husband has been a couple of times for business dinners and has always liked it. Â While I don't eat meat, he's said there seafood dishes are quite wonderful. Â Thus we decided to embark here with our carnivore friends for NYE. Â The pre fixe menu was $89/person. Â A bit steep in my opinion, but after doing a little homework I realized that many places in the triangle had similar price points for NYE. Â For $89, you got one app, soup or salad, entree, side, and dessert. Â It seemed like a lot of food so we were okay with the price. Â We opted for the seafood tower for 2 for the app (this checked off the box for both my and my husbands app). Â He'd had this before and raved about it. Â The NYE version was MUCH, MUCH smaller however. Â I would expect that given the original is a bit pricey, but this was very small to be counted as 2 apps. Â For the entree, I got the crab stuffed shrimp and the hubby went with the NY strip. Â My shrimp were good but the crab was incredibly fishy...to the point that it wasn't appetizing at all and sadly it was left on my plate. Â We did start the evening out with a cocktail each which were good and then we moved on to a bottle of wine. Â We know quite a bit about wine, but I really wanted a professional's opinion about the best choice to pair with seafood and steak. Â When I asked for the sommelier, the waitress said she'd get 'somebody'. Â The 'somebody' that came over was a bartender that honestly knew nothing. Â I asked about a particular bottle and his reply - "that's a good one", how about this one?...again "that's a good choice too". Â Thanks for nothing dude! Â Since the bottles were on the steep side, we opted for a moderately priced chardonnay at $64 (yes this is moderate on their list). Â Add in one more cocktail and one glass of red wine and the bill came to a staggering $340!!! Â Wowser....and honestly the meal was nothing special. Â The hubby's steak was okay and the sides and dessert were okay, but again nothing to knock your socks off.
I do think I'll try it one more time when I can order off the menu. Â I will not come back here for another NYE or special event as it really seemed to me like they were trying their hardest to rush you through dinner and out the door so the next group could sit. Â
Huge disappointment!
A great steakhouse in Raleigh, that could be just a bit better.
A good friend of mine was in town and I decided to take him out for a traditional "man's dinner" at a proper steak house. While many things were great, there were some things that needed polish. We ordered martinis, and got them in highball glasses. They said they were out, but it was only 8pm. Chip the sommelier was great with the bottle that we brought in. Unfortunately the waitress was not well training on how to handle the wine service. The dry aged NY strip steaks tasted great, but we had to send them back for being under-done. For that bit of mistake our martinis got knocked off the bill. Our waitress was bewildered with my Scotch order, but got the coffees perfect.
In the end I had a chat with the manager and he was super cool about listening to my comments. He picked up the tab for the two cigars we wanted which was nice customer service.
My last thought is partially about Sulliven's and partly about Raleigh. If you are going out to what will easily be a $50/person and more dinner, is it really correct to wear grey sweat shirt hoodies? Has everyone forgotten the custom of checking their coat so they aren't draped all over the chairs like it's Golden Corral? Try to behave with just a little more class and bring that to our fair city's finer establishments.
We met some clients who live in town and Sullivan's delivered an outstanding experience. Nick the waiter was on point with all of his recommendations. From the bone in filet, the aged bone in ribeye, the Rockefeller oysters, and the filet trio every one at the table thoroughly enjoyed their meal. The staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable.
Pete makes a world class Old Fashion and it was the quickest service we received in Raleigh.
We had a wonderful time and look forward to returning.
Yummmm. I had such a great experience at Sullivan's the other night. My parents and future in-laws were all in town for a visit and we wanted to take them to a nice, fancy dinner while they were here. I loved the ambiance of this place, having been here only once for the Yelp Elite Prom night, and since then I have been wanting to come back and try the food. (We did have finger foods at Prom and they were fantastic)
The whole experience was pleasant from start to finish. I booked 7pm reservations on Open Table, and when we arrived we were seated immediately. Â Our waitress was SO great during the entire meal, bubbly, friendly and paid great attention to us. She came over often enough to make us feel taken care of, but not too much to be annoying which can happen in fancy restaurants when they try too hard sometimes.
We started with a couple bottles of wine for the table, a white and a red and ordered the cheesesteak egg rolls for an appetizer. HOLY CRAP you need to try these!! They were SO good, such amazing flavor and I enjoyed every bite. We also all got pre-dinner salad which came with the meal.
For dinner I got the filet mignon with a side of garlic broccoli. The steak was amazing!! I ordered it medium rare; it had a dark pink center, and was juicy, flavorful and cooked to perfection. It literally melted in my mouth. It was so good I was actually upset when it was gone.
Even though I was literally stuffed, I managed to find room for dessert. Cheesecake with strawberry toppings and fresh strawberries. Again, it was amazing. I managed to eat over half of it, and then felt like I was going to explode.
This was one of the best meals I have enjoyed out in a while. Due to my recent engagement, we wouldn't have gone to a meal this pricy if the folks weren't in town. You will pay a pretty penny for your meal, but it's totally worth it. Â Everything was delicious and the service was excellent. I couldn't have asked for a better experience to show my parents a good time. They all loved their meals as well, and everyone left feeling full and happy.
Cougars apart, I love me some Sullivans. While I've dine at the bar more times than I am old, I have never eaten in the dining room. Something about throwing down that kind of money for a steak I could cook at home just doesn't make sense.
I am a sucker however for their Thursday night $6 bar appetizers and $6 martinis. This menu needs to be revamped though so they are keeping it fresh and offer some fresh veggies or other options on it.
Back to the meal... thankfully Sullivans decided to participate in Raleigh restaurant week and when I looked thru all the menus they had the best value and meal quality for the buck. $30 for a salad/soup, entree, and dessert. I was served a salad which could have been a meal in it's own right (had decent flavor, very fresh), a 6 oz filet with amazing mashed potatoes and some not so exciting steamed veggies (they were hard), and their always fabulous ricotta cheesecake.
We walked out with food babies and would absolutely go back. It was our gf's bday and she got some extra special treatment from our server, so kudos to him for his exceptional customer service.
We had not dined here in years, but based off of fond past memories of Sullivan's decided to come here for date night (which also happened to fall during Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week).
First off- I would have submitted this review on OpenTable but the hostess for some reason decided to cancel my OT reservation so that (1) I was not able to receive my dining points and (2) I am unable to submit a review.
When we arrived at the restaurant, the hostess greeted us very meekly and immediately rushed off to grab a stack of menus (8-10 feet away). She kept her back turned and walked into the dining room. We weren't sure if we were supposed to follow her but we did anyway, assuming that was the end goal. Upon entering the dining room we decided to opt for alternative seating arrangements. As the tables are very close together and it was packed (good for them!) so the noise level was a bit too cafeteria-ish for our liking. We opted to sit in the lounge area.
After finding our table and taking a seat we waited for service. For about 10 minutes. At the time there were 3 people behind the bar and not one of them looked up at us. Finally, one bartender leaned over on the bar and shouted to us (from about 15 feet away)- "Do ya'll want something to drink??". Uhhhh.... "Yes". So we asked for a list (again, yelling across the lounge). He shouted back "Look on one of your tables".
We could tell that he was going to be incredibly helpful (sarcasm) so were relieved when a waitress came to the table. She took our drink orders and returned with the Restaurant Week menus. Not being 100% set on ordering from the RW menu, we asked for the full menu as well. This should have been a clue that we were not there simply to seek out the bargain deal, but to actually enjoy what we came for.
In the end, we did opt for the RW menus as we found it closely matched anything we would have ordered from the main menu, except we got to have dessert too. Sadly, we both ended up settling on the same items so we didn't get to try a wide range but hey- that's what we wanted.
We both had the Shrimp and Lobster Bisque soup. It was rich, but that is to be expected. Overall it was very good.
For entrees we both ordered the filet. I ordered mine medium and my boyfriend ordered his MR+. The server stated that they could not cook to MR+ (very, very strange for a "high end" steakhouse as that is a fairly common temperature and especially in any fine dining establishment) so he opted for medium-rare. She made an attempt at repeating our temperatures back to us and what they would come out as... but did a very poor job. Both of us having been in and out of the service industry with a large background in fine-dining had to bite our tongues from correcting her, "No, my medium steak will not be red and slightly warm... but warm all the way through with a pink center". Instead we sat on our hands and let her babble on for a while as she became more and more confused with her own words.
When the steaks came out, the server placed them in front of us and recited the temperatures back. After cutting in, I realized that my filet was severely undercooked. Thinking that we had swapped dishes- we traded. Nope, still not right. Maybe we were wrong and she was right... so we traded back again. End result was both of our steaks were rare. If she had come back to check on us even once during our meal, we probably would have sent them back to be cooked up. Since she didn't, we just had them boxed up at the end to take home to the dog.
The filet came with pre-plated sides of mashed potatos and broccoli. Both extremely bland, and the broccoli was undercooked. Â We did order an additional side of sauteed mushrooms which were DELICIOUS! The highlight of the entire meal.
For dessert we asked for one slice of cheesecake to go and another to have at the table so we could share it. The server promptly brought out our to-go dessert and went ahead and dropped the check. We paid, and waited, and she continued to stare at us as if we were in her way. Finally we flagged her down and asked if our other cheesecake was coming. She had forgotten. No big deal, those things happen- and at least we got to have our cheesecake after all.
When we paid the bill, I did notice that we had been charged an additional $20 on top of the restaurant week pricing. I brought this up to our server and she said "well we don't include the tax on the RW menu so that's what it is". Feeling a little rude but taken advantage of, I let her know that the tax would be included after the initial subtotal which disproved her theory. She did return quickly with the corrected bill and apologized for having rung the incorrect amount.
Sullivan's markets itself as a fine dining establishment. The only thing 'fine' about Sullivan's is the decor. The service and food do not have any redeeming qualities. If I didn't have to put a star to write a review, I would have left it at 0 stars.
Excellent Restaurant !!
They have a lively bar in front with music that was great. A main dining room with black table cloths and a large wine cellar under glass.
My husband and I had dinner in July 2012 getting seated right away on a Thursday night without a reservation.
We passed on the wine cellar since we dont drink wine and had a cocktail instead. I had the Red High Heels which was delicious!
the menu ranges from steaks to sea food with some chef specials. Most things are served a la carte they also have topping options for steaks.
We booth choose steaks with a Gorgonzola butter sauce that were perfectly cooked and delicious! We also shared a side of fabulous au gratin potatoes and had left overs. In fact everything we had from the bread at the beginning to the cheesecake for dessert was absolutely wonderful!
The service was friendly, attentive and excellent!
Took my son (2 1/2 yrs old) to meet up with a friend of mine Saturday night (8:15pm reservation)....the food was fantastic, and my filet was cooked perfectly...not to mention, the sweet potato casserole was awesome, and my son was a huge fan! Â
My friend ordered the Lamb Chops - while I'm not a fan of lamb, my son also grubbed on some of his and loved it! Â We did all share the au gratin potatoes, which I have no complaints about. Â
We were lucky to be seated just outside of the bar, as the musician (solo artist) was jamming, and after our meal (unfortunately, no room for dessert, other than some ice cream topped with chocolate for my son who always has room for ice cream) we stopped into the bar to listen to the music. Â
Overall, it was a great meal, with great food and great service....our waitress was very attentive and the assistants ensured our glasses were never even close to empty. Â I would definitely recommend, and would say it's a tie for second with Ruth Chris, and behind Angus Barn, as my local favorite steakhouse.
Came here with my fi's family as we celebrated a graduation.
We made reservations for 830pm but they were able to seat us an hour earlier. Â We had a separate area that wasn't in the main dining hall, which was nice. Â This looked almost like a library.
Oddly, the bar area had a live band playing, not sure what the atmosphere this place is going for, whether sports bar type or a little upscale. Â But I must say, the music they play here is great.
Service here is very attentive, i mean you had your water filled as soon as you put it down from taking a sip.
The steals here were ok. Â A bit too salty for my taste and for the price, if someone else is paying, then go.
I wouldn't say Sullivan's is a high end steakhouse, its more like a Ruth's Chris meets Outback. Â The prices are not as high as say Capital grille but comparative to Ruth's Chris except these steaks are salty and not buttery.
The sides are very small portions. Â The mashed potatoes was a tiny bowl.
The cocktails here are delicious but steep as they are about $12.
The highlight of the night was the trio dessert plate they brought out on the house in honor of our graduate. I am not a fan of brownies or anything chocolate but the warm brownie cake with ice cream was sooo goood.
The key lime pie was and strawberry cheesecake was yummy too.
Overall, Sullivan's was a nice place to celebrate a special occasion. Staff was great and atmosphere was nice.
My husband and I finally got to try Sullivan's during restaurant week. I had been wanting to eat there for a long time and for the most part the experience lived up to expectations.
The night we went (Friday) was very crowded and we went for a late dinner around 8:30 due to it being restaurant week. My husband and I both had the three course menu, both having the shrimp and lobster bisque for our appetizer and the filet for our entree. I liked how it came with mashed potatoes and green beans, I was not expecting to get two sides with it. He had cheesecake for dessert and I had the raspberry sorbet.
We both agreed that the shrimp and lobster bisque was the best part of the meal, so delicious. The steak was good too, cooked as we had asked for. I like the sorbet but was disappointed I could not try the key lime pie I was hoping for, since they had already run out of it.
I had a glass of wine at dinner, and my husband had a beer. They had a great wine selection, but we both thought the cost of the beer was a little high (but probably to be expected when you look at the normal prices at this restaurant).
Service was good, I noticed that the servers here were a lot younger than I am used to seeing at other steakhouses in the area. It was a loud and crowded atmosphere the night we were there, but that was probably due to the combination of restaurant week and the Prohibition even taking place.
Overall, I enjoyed Sullivan's and would go back, but I would probably wait for restaurant week to go again. Overall, I found the meal here to be good, but honestly, I still think I prefer the taste of the steak at Angus Barn or Ruth Chris.
Overall its fine. Steaks are cooked properly and are very tasty. The sides are aaccetable as well but frankly, for the price 35 to 50 per entree I expect more.
I would put this on par with Flemings, slightly behind Ruth's Chris and Morton's which are chain steakhouses. If you're looking for a steak and the standard sides donw pretty well then this is for you. If you're looking for something more interesting for your upscale evening out, I would look a little further.
I had dinner at Sullivan's recently with my wife and some friends (4 of us total). Â Overall, our experience was very good. Â The service was great, good atmosphere, and most of the food was very good. Â However, I had a problem with the temperature of my steak (requested medium-rate, it came out medium-well). Â For various reasons, I didn't let the server know.
The GM (Todd Henderson) was very professional about contacting me after my visit to find out if there was anything they could do to improve their process and avoid this type of mistake in the future. Â I was very impressed with his professionalism and desire to produce a quality product. Â Given the fact that the rest of our experience was very good, including all of the other food, I'm amending my original rating and will give this place another try.
Sullivan's is a very good choice for any special occasion. The server was friendly and the food was fantastic. I've always told my bride, when you want steak, you go to a steak house, and Sullivan's fits that bill perfectly. It was a bonus that it was Triangle Restaurant week as well as the prohibition celebration. Â We made sure to ask for a little "Giggle Water" before we ordered our meals.
The steaks were cooked to perfection, and the key lime pie for dessert was an excellent way to end the meal. Appetizers (Crab Cake and Calamari) Â were perfect!
While Sullivan's is not a budget friendly place to visit, one has to know how to fit it into their budget if they want to enjoy the experience. Â Valet Parking is inexpensive and well worth the $$ to not have to deal with the hassle of trying to find parking on GloSo on a Friday night.
For affordability sake, look for their deals... Restaurant week, Summer of $79, and other offers throughout the year.
Beautiful place and our waiter was very gregarious and helpful. Â We came in October and they were running an amazing deal for breast cancer awareness. Â I lost my notes (what a nerd!) so I don't remember how much was donated to charity.
It was a fantastic deal. Â Appetizer, entree, side & dessert for $40. Â The filet was medium rare like I asked and each medallion was juicy and delicious. Â I couldn't finish the garlic broccoli but it was tasty and I wish I could remember what I ordered for an appetizer!
I ALMOST feel snobish, ALMOST!
This place was 'aight but by no means would I say hit this place if you are in town for a few days.
Although I arrived to my reservations late with my boyz from work, they had already stareted on appz and drinks... The calamari was pretty good!
For the main course I got the special which was a bone in filet which I was probably way too excited about. Airplane food will do that to you.
I asked for rare and got medium well. I was not happy about that but am not one to make a stink over how the meat was cooked. The flavor was still good but for me rare is the ONLY way to eat a filet.
All the sides were REALLY good! Cream corn, spinach, yams (Holy Molly) and pasta. One may question my rating but for a steakhouse... YOU MAKE THE STEAK THE RIGHT WAY. No I was not yelling, just showing my emotion :-)
The drinks were good...
Cheers,
O
Our server, Kristian, was excellent and very attentive. Â If it was for just the service, I would have given 5 stars, as he even cleaned up after our 11 month old darling daughter, who kept leaving little messes on the tablecloth as she consumed various types of carbohydrates and vegetables!
The best thing on the menu was the demi/half bottle of Stag's Leap 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. Â Initially we thought we'd only need one as my wife is a light drinker, but as I waited for my entree to come back as you'll see later in this review, I got thirstier :)
We started with the cold seafood sampler and we were a bit disappointed because at Smith and Wollensky's in NYC, we've had a similar seafood appetizer with a lobster tail for about $22 more. Â Even at a local restaurant, Flemings, we've had more seafood, although, the Alaskan King Crab claws were no where as fresh as the stone crab claws, which was also a special, so YMMV. Â (FWIW, the fresh stone crab claws were succulent and sweet, but one per person wasn't enough) There were also 4 raw oysters and a modest amount of lump crab meat.
I ordered the special 12oz bone in filet mignon and my wife ordered the longbone ribeye, with a side of creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. Â
My medium rare came out extremely rare, with sinew and tendons exposed within three cuts. Â When I mentioned it to Kristian, he seemed like he knew that it could be like that and he took it back post-haste to be refired. Â It took about 10 minutes to re-fire while I ate some of my wife's medium ribeye and enjoyed the excellent wine. Â
While waiting, I finished off the demi-bottle and ordered another one, as I can never get enough of Stag's Leap, especially since I drink more when I'm not eating!
Once the steak came back, it was more medium than medium-rare, but by that point, I was just glad that I didn't see any sinew.
My wife's ribeye wasn't quite medium and was rare in the center, but that's fine for her, as she never finishes a ribeye anyway and that makes it perfect for reheating at home as a snack.
Our Chocolate Mousse was to die for, but a bit on the small side.
So out of 5 stars, 3 is given, with 1.5 point off for the raw steak and 1/2 off for the skimpy seafood sampler @ $48. Â I'm sorry if taking off major points for an underfired steak is being too harsh, but for a $58 steak from a steakhouse, it should be perfect when it's served!
We'd go back though, as we've read other reviews and we doubt the mistake with the steak is something likely to occur again. Â Perhaps it was the bone-in part that through off the proper cooking of filet mignon?
Pretty dang good as far as steak is concerned. I ordered a rare NY strip with some gorgonzola-parsley-melted butter on the side. Its hard to go wrong with steak, especially if its of good quality, and this steak was of good quality. My only complaint is that I remember that the steak was just a bit too salty, maybe they should have not salted it if it's accompanied with butter.
I took some of the butter home and mixed it with buffalo chicken sauce (picture melted gorgonzola, hot sauce, and butter on some fried chicken wings), it was pretty awesome.
I was taken to Sullivan's for a birthday dinner. Â We had never been and were excited for the experience. Â We got seated right away which was great. Â Our waiter came over, asked if we had been there and was there a special occasion. Â We said it was a birthday to which he got excited because we could order drinks. Â He explained the most expensive drink on the menu and walked away. Â
When he came back to order our food, he did an ok job. Â He never explained anything on the menu unless we specifically asked about it. Â The waiter one table over did a better job explaining the menu and he was 10 feet away! Â
We got bread, our salads came out which were good. Â The table wasnt cleared so we started stacking our plates up, no biggie, but with as many people that were running around that place you would think one would clear off the table. Â The manager ended up coming to clear our table off.
When the food came, it looked delicious. Â It was unfortunately undercooked, as in raw. Â I sent it back and they refired it quickly, very nice. Â They also noticed that we didnt like one of our sides and replaced it with something else of our choice, no questions asked, which was awesome. Â
We never saw our waiter again after he took our order. Â We even had to flag a manager down to get knives because they never came out with our food. Â
After the manager cleared our table yet again, he asked if everything was alright, you could tell we were not pleased with our service.
Our waiter then brought a free dessert out to all of his tables, we assumed because he did such a poor job. Â Even then, he set it down on our table, then brought one to another table and spent time to explain what the dessert was to the other table. Â What about us??
Overall, it was an okay experience. Â The food was delicious, but the service did not match the quality of the food, and that was a shame.
I would consider going back to give it another shot. Â But my hopes are not high for better service.
Why I haven't I been here sooner? Â I've been to the bar a couple times, excellent drinks, cool atmosphere. So when I checked out Sullivan's for a special occasion dinner recently I was so impressed that I'm disappointed I haven't had dinner here sooner. Meal starts with warm bread/butter. Â Entrees which are served with salad (lettuce wedge with blue cheese or caesar salad) are extremely filling, they are pricey ($42 for filet oscar - 8 oz. filet with lump crab meat, bernaise, asparagus), but with bread and salad there's no need for sides. Â They are really tempting however, but the entree is more than enough food. Â Also tried their oyster rockafeller which was some of the best I've had, but for $15 for 4, it was on the pricey side. Â The steak was amazing. Â Perfectly cooked (or in my case I order rare, so barely cooked) with a nice sear.
The service was good and the atmosphere is lively (big open space, bustling wait staff, open kitchen. Â The atmosphere really evokes a Rat Pack-esque feel, until they play top pop hits, that was a bit off. Â But other than that, Sullivan's is a fantastic special occasion restaurant or just a good excuse to get a great steak!
Go and sit at one of the bar tables in the back, so you can look out and watch the wonderful crowd of, mostly, beautiful people.
In the same room is a small jazz group who really helps set the mood.
Order a jumbo lump crabcake, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes with horseradish and a chopped steak ( i know, i know, but try it)...that's my order, anyway.
I've never been to a 5-star restaurant that was this poor, in Columbus we have 3-star restaurants with better food and service.
First problem, reservations. Â We had reservations for 8 and we had to wait more than half an hour to get our table, the hostest or manager never even offered a free drink at the bar or an appetizer to make this up to us. Â This isn't Applebees and when you are going to pay more than $50 per person there should be a little more concern on keeping reservations and customers that have to wait happy for the inconvenience. Â
Second problem was the service, I've had better table service at Chic-Fil-A where they've brought my food out and the old lady that walks around giving out mints got me refills and took away my tray when we were done. Â Here our glasses sat empty almost the entire time and we had to start stacking plates as we worked through our dinners because the salad plates and bread plates were not picked up in a timely manner.
Third big problem was the food. Â Yes, the filet mignon was great, but how can I say it was cooked right when it wasn't? Â My buddy's came out raw when he ordered medium and when he sent it back we were surprised that they brought the same steak back, charred and microwaved. Â Unbelievable for a $37 steak. Â Next I ordered medium-rare and my brothers girlfriend ordered medium-well, each of us paid $3 extra for our own choice of topping sauces, different. Â Her steak was medium rare and mine was medium well, after seeing what happened to my friends steak we opted to switch so $3ea was wasted. Â But how pathetic is that that at a 5-star restaurant we had to pass our steaks across the table? Â
Once I had the correctly cooked steak I ate it and it was pretty good, but like I said I can't say it was cooked right because mine wasn't. Â
For the same price you can eat at Ruth Chris's Steakhouse and have things done right and cooked right. Â I would advise people to stay away from here and eat there instead.
I was very excited to go to Sullivans, I came up to Raleigh with a friend from Indiana and we went here for a nice dinner with his brother, I had heard great things about this restaurant for years. I had never been and was looking forward to a very nice meal out.
We had reservations but for some reason it still took at least 1/2 an hour before we could even get seated. We ordered, the place was packed out and OBVIOUSLY under staffed for a busy Saturday night. Our Server whose name was Sarah was absolutely terrible, I ordered my steak and told her twice I wanted it cooked Medium, it came out rare, like really rare, almost bloody, I cut it in half and they used the same steak and threw it on the grill and cooked it more, so I had to sit there while the rest of my party ate. She didnt bring bread without us asking, and she obviously didnt really care about doing a quality job. If you pay $40 for a steak you want it to be good, the food was fine but this girl did an awful job and ruined the whole experience, I will not be going back to Sullivans even though the food was very good.
Whew!! Â This place is EXPENSIVE! Â Thank goodness I wasn't paying for this visit (business dinner) as I definitely feel the experience and food did not measure up to the price.
To my surprise, Sullivan's is actually a chain and feels very similar to Ruth Chris. Â The main difference being that Sullivan's has more of a relaxed NY mobster feel to the atmosphere. Â Very dark lighting, lots of dark wood, old boxing pictures, and a wait staff of mostly women dressed in black skimpy outfits. Â I honestly felt like they plucked them from a gentleman's club and not a fancy restaurant. Â
The drink selection is not up to snuff. Â No draft beer selections and all the bottles are $6-7 ($6 for a Shotgun Betty?!?). Â I was never given a wine list, but the cab sav the waitress served me was nothing better than Trader Joe's class. Â Maybe my fault for not being specific.
The appetizers were tasty (seared tuna and calamari) and reasonably portioned, but a little high at $13/16. Â The steak entrees are served with just a salad (wedge of iceberg and blue cheese dressing) and everything else is a la carte. Â I ordered the medium rare 12 oz fillet topped with blue cheese and a side of asparagus. Â The steak was a gorgeous cut of meat, but was closer to rare than medium rare. Â The veggie side was alright, but certainly nothing to write home about. Â Grand total for just the main and side $47. Â In this price range, I want the whole experience to be prefect and this definitely was not worth it. Â IMHO, Angus Barn is a better and cheaper choice.
Other comments about the night:
- The hostess would not seat us until the entire party arrived even though they had our table setup and they weren't busy. Â This amounted to us standing awkwardly in the front lobby for 20 minutes.
- I love a slow meal, but our reservation was for 7pm and we weren't eating our main course until 9:15pm and not walking out until 10:15pm. Â Not what we were expecting.
Came here for a wedding rehearsal dinner, and enjoyed the food, service, and company. Â I understand that every private event would be different, but we started out with a selection of appetizers, then picked between three entrees (I had a steak), had some sides of mashed potatoes, green beans and fried rice, and then a nice dessert.
Beer was free, or at least for me (apologies to whoever picked up the check - if I had known it was essentially a cash bar, I wouldn't have had so many). Â
It was a fun night and I'm interested in seeing how the food is in the main dining room.
Let me start by saying that the service was great, I tipped accordingly. The food was a completely different story.
The for a first course we had the escargot which was very good, cooked perfectly and seasoned well with lots of garlic. From then on the meal went down hill. The salads were not served as described on the menu. The Caesar salad was over dressed and piled high with shredded, not shaved Parmesan cheese, I've had a better Caesar at a truck stop. The buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad was better, with nice fresh ingredients but they really skimped on the balsamic vinegar, two microscopic dots buried under the frisee. The calamari appetizer was ruined by being fried oil that needed changing, the fry oil was heavily used, way past its prime, this is a common mistake and almost forgivable, but not at these prices.
For main courses the the broiled chicken was rubbery and flavorless and the Chilean sea bass was freezer burnt and spongy. The sauce  on the sea bass had an artificial after taste. Our side dish of sauteed broccoli was under cooked.
I realize that this is a steak house and we didn't have steaks but if the rest of the menu is any indication of the skill in the kitchen, I'll take my porterhouse order elsewhere.
I like the atmosphere in the restaurant and the bar is a great space but the kitchen needs some serious attention
Each time I enter Sullivan's on a Saturday night, I am transported to that great time in America where a man took pride in his carefully detailed suits, women wore intoxicating perfumes and dressed lavishly for a night on the town, and life was slower, smoother and more refined. While it is a franchise of sorts, Sullivan's expects more of its patrons than any other Glenwood establishment; very often you will see finely dressed men and women enjoying a perfectly mixed martini or cosmo, taking slow draws on expensive cigars and enjoying live jazz music courtesy of their baby grand piano. Overall, it adds up to a rich experience.
The food at Sullivan's is outstanding but expect the bill to be the same. You are going to be hard pressed to find a cheap cut of meat on the menu, and each is cooked, presented and served by a very attentive, sharp and professional wait staff. In addition to the regular fare listed on the menu, Sullivan's is the only place I have found in Raleigh to serve blue-cheese stuffed Olives, a delicious rare treasure that perfectly accompanies a dry martini.
Overall, I absolutely love the change of pace that Sullivan's offers compared to the rest of Glenwood's establishment. While it is certainly not the best high-end restaurant in Raleigh, it allows each patron a classy and vintage-hip experience that is unmatched anywhere downtown.
Eh, I've had better. Â Visitied Sullivan's as part of my friend's bachelor party with a group of 12. Â They seated us in a private room which worked out great as we had a box of Cubans to light up. Â Coming from California one thing I'm not used to is being able to smoke in a restaurant. Â Sullivan'ts gets one star for that.
I ordered a filet medium rare, and that's where things fell apart. Â First, they forgot my order. Â Then to make up for the time lost as all the other entrees had been brought out, they tried to cook the steak super fast, which they brought back as an extra charred "medium rare". Â On top of that they forgot my asaparagus. Â I sent the order back and they corrected it, bringing back a new filet, medium rare. Â Unfortunately everyone else was done at that point. Â I give them credit for fixing their mistakes quickly with no questions asked, but really with a dedicated server and the price we paid I'd expect better service.
They had a decent wine menu though many of the wines were way overpriced (some more than 3x retail) and you really have to hunt for something that's decent and reasonably priced.
All in all it was a good night, but credit goes more to the company I was with than the actual restaurant.
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