原本沒想過要將這兩家牛排館做比較，正巧在短時間內接連造訪，就湊合著一齊相提並論吧。
《Sonoma》Teppan-Grill(焱鐵板燒)
Sonoma 有好幾家，第一家是台北華國飯店內的「帝國牛排」，之後又開了「焱」鐵板燒、Sonoma Martini Bar 酒吧..... 一系列同英文名之餐飲服務。最近消息則是各家呈現「拆夥」狀態，股東結構有不少改變，將開的大直店股東已相當不同。開幕不久即至帝國，對食物幾無特殊印象，唯一記憶竟是那兒有位略嫌油腔滑調的男性經理、一位喜夾雜 "Singlish"(新加坡式口音英文)說話的女性經理。甚至對於他們標榜的牛排都沒印象。在股東結構變化下，這篇只談日前再嚐的焱鐵板燒 Sonoma Teppan Grill，暫不提帝國牛排。
焱不只是鐵板燒，而是與牛排館二合一，房間內也非鐵板燒桌、只是正常餐桌。帝國那位女經理(Rachel)現在在此，另一主事者鄧先生原來則是在《犇鐵板燒》任職。台北鐵板燒餐廳名字一窩蜂，《上林》做起來就一大堆「X 林」，《紅鶴》生意好時就一大堆「紅 X」，犇闖出名號就出現許多單名怪字者，連取名都沒創意。
主人選好了酒，反正吃牛排，經理直接說：「就吃『老饕』牛排吧？！」(指牛肋條上部)、「前菜是要田螺還是明蝦？」、「湯有南瓜、洋蔥、蘑菇」、「沙拉就是凱撒沙拉，還是要簡單的 Green Salad？」，簡直是連珠砲式點菜，感覺是沒得選又倉卒，因為主人是熟客反而如此「高效率」？筆者倒覺得太 "Pushy" 了。居然漏詢若干賓客選項及牛排火候，已經不怎麼期待高水準一餐了。
但有些許意外，最近這餐的菜餚其實不俗。前菜田螺(台灣慣稱而已，自然是 Escargot 蝸牛)不以焗烤而改以燉燴、但柔嫩不減；凱撒沙拉雖偏鹹但 Green Salad 卻意外的好：菜蔬鮮度佳、略加數瓣紅黃椒醃得可以；享盛名之洋蔥湯味道普通、容器湯皿選得不妥、容易四溢。牛肋條雖非美國 Prime，但亦屬澳洲玉米餵養天數足夠之級，五分熟恰到好處、柔軟之餘不失應有的肌理口感，主菜是成功的。人人「劃一」的甜點(溫巧克力蛋糕及冰淇淋)尚可，再來就是收尾飲料。整頓飯的步調屬「疾」，不夠從容。
《Robin's》Steak House
晶華酒店方向操作、拿捏不錯，許多本地客皆視之「高檔餐飲、高級地點」。筆者個人則覺得晶華是成功將中級餐飲以包裝、行銷方式升格為高級餐飲之形象。
Robin's 的前身是「晶華牛排館」，也有西餐及鐵板燒部門，但是二者水準皆僅一般，大致就是那種「似曾相識、就如此這般」感覺。變身為 Robin's 後，除了重新裝潢、便是多了「活招牌」老經理。可能由於以往經驗平平，就是提不起興趣再嚐，直到不久前應邀。
還是坐房間，房間內已擠、看外面散座桌間距離也相當近，侷促度不是這種價位級數餐廳應有。薦酒、點餐算是此級 Hotel 應有水準，上菜、添酒水(忽左忽右、打斷相鄰賓客間互動)訓練則宜加強。菜單豐富，套餐、單點皆有充分選擇。點了號稱頂級澳洲和牛肋眼為主菜的套餐，洋蔥湯偏清、生菜沙拉可以，湯羹沙拉之印象淺淺，直至和牛上桌、經理噱頭十足的捧出一盒長長短短 Laguiole 刀具供客人選擇，才算「聚焦」品嚐。和牛與《Joyce East》、《Joyce Cafe》貨源可能一致。既是和牛，顯然強調油花，但是肥度委實太高，切除、撇掉總有四分之一強(與 Joyce East 同樣情況)方能入口。素不在乎油脂的筆者都如此，不知女士們該當如何？
食畢暫離席，返廂房時見到房門外一台推車，堆滿房中收拾出的殘餚盤碟、就這麼大剌剌礙眼的放在門口，多事的筆者還等了一下、仍未見服務生前來處理，只有搖頭。
Table setting、美觀、餐具是 Robin's 居上風；但是菜餚風味水準以五星級飯店的西餐廳與一家鐵板燒牛排館比較，Sonoma 竟還略勝一籌。連自己都不相信 ...重新裝潢更名後的 Robin's 還是繼續... 印象一片模糊。
2006‧02(Pictures taken by Author, all rights reserved)
後記：不以 Sonoma 帝國牛排店比較，除了已有一陣子未去，亦因友人反映該處態度問題。友人前往中餐，該店力薦「XX 頂級牛肉」，結果那客牛排竟貴達七千餘元；友人不悅數落之，某位竟覆：『哎呀，以您的身價這只是個零頭嘛...』。如屬實，注重服務品質者無法再予該店任何佳評也。
14樓.2007/06/01 16:43真是白目
以您的身價這只是零頭也說的出來, 是不是要拿錢砸他臉上才會爽呢?
你那塊肋眼真的很多肥油, 整整一大圈繞著跑, 負責進貨的人也太混了吧.
- 13樓.2006/02/07 15:06check your hotmail
Pleae check your hotmail ! I have attached some Pictures!
12樓. Das Reich2006/02/07 12:00真慘
喔喔，那個SONOMA是活的不耐煩，還是覺得少了一兩個客戶無所謂？
那我們大家也都不用想去光臨了。
11樓. scubagolfer2006/02/07 11:57顯見...
美國牛肉再度開放進口、日本牛肉亦有管道、澳洲 50~120 天 corn-fed 及和牛水準也進步許多，好肉易尋；牛排本即不難烹製。顯然要加油的是餐飲服務水準。
台灣高級(or 價)餐飲的服務水準、專業度甚至用心度都尚有很大改進空間。「馬馬虎虎、得過且過」才是問題。
- 10樓.2006/02/07 11:30^^
專業的會用許多輔助工具...例如反光板...打燈...擺飾...我只是吃什麼拍什麼的神秘食客(Mysetrious Diner) 絕對稱不上直逼專業啦~ 大大太謙虛了!!!!
- 9樓.2006/02/07 11:07The Service at Sonoma - Part II
5 minutes passed. Nothing came. Not even drinks. I politely waved at the waiter, and asked him if he could bring the diet coke first.
Another 5 passed. No luck. I walked to the manager and asked why it took so long to bring a coke. Then she checked with the waiter, came over and said, "sorry gentlemen, we were out of diet cokes." Already irritated, I asked her "well, your waiter could've come over and said so." She then quipped, "well, this guy does not speak much English, so he was too scared to come over and tell you guys." I said, "well, then you should've sent someone who does. Or do it yourself."
Another 15 minutes passed until we got our salads! While having our salad, I asked our manager to check on our steaks as we were running out of time. "Bring it out ASAP," I said. Another 10 minutes passed. No luck. I could no longer stand it. I said, "bring our steaks now, or we are getting our check NOW. You are wasting my time and losing my face."
The manager went back, but did not come back for 3 minutes. When she did, she admitted to me, "Sir, we overcooked your steaks the first time. The chef is now making new ones for you. It will be another 15 mintues." It was already 45 minutes since we sat down, and we were not getting our steaks!
Enough was enough. I apologized to my visitor, promised to make it up to him later, walked up and just got the check for what was already served. End of story. Sure enough, I will not be going back there for a while!
- 8樓.2006/02/07 11:03The Service at Sonoma Grill - Tun Hwa & Hsin Yi
SG,
It's interesting you should mention the quality of service at Sonoma. I had been a frequent patron of this restaurant, mostly at their Tun Hwa / Hsin Yi location. Well, until recently.
My dining experience had been superb during my first 2-3 visits. The food was good, the service was decent (I guess I had been served by that Mr. Deng), and the ambience was pleasant. Then, everything simply went downhilll from there.
3 weeks ago, I had a visitor in town and he was craving for a good steak. Since we had a tight schedule and happened to be in the area, I recommended Sonoma right away. As soon as we walked in, I told the Singlish-speaking manager that "we only have one hour to eat, can you do it? If you no can, then it's ok lah. We come back next time loh." She replied, "can lah, Mr. xxx. No problem."
As soon as we sat down, I made orders for everything: the salad, the soup, the steaks, and even small order of fried rice for my visitor. I told them to serve everything pronto. My guest also asked for a diet coke before the manager left.
- 7樓.2006/02/07 10:04犇
這地方怎麼說呢? 食材多樣、大碗但是不便宜，用料不差，烹煮也算用心。味道、作法屬於本地風格 (i.e. without much creativity) ，最令人讚賞的是他們提供猶太教 (kosher)作法，為吾人許多正統猶太裔友人(orthodox Jews) 解決在台用餐的困擾。 So far, this is the only TRUE kosher place I have found locally, and I have looked around for a long long time!!
6樓. CATT2006/02/07 08:10死當 !!
後記：不以 Sonoma 帝國牛排店比較，除了已有一陣子未去，亦因友人反映該處態度問題。友人前往中餐，該店力薦「XX 頂級牛肉」，結果那客牛排竟貴達七千餘元；友人不悅數落之，某位竟覆：『哎呀，以您的身價這只是個零頭嘛...』。如屬實，注重服務品質者無法再予該店任何佳評也。
把客人當洋盤，絕對不及格。
5樓. ■♀醫楊曉萍2006/02/07 00:18可惜
犇不錯,
Sars後去過一次, 生意不佳, 以致服務絕佳
可惜油煙對健康不佳
