Rats Restaurant - Grounds for Sculpture

Not exactly sure what happened. Had a reservation and listed our special occasion. We were seated by the back door in the bar area (the door was constantly opening). It was cold and we asked to move. We were told we could move two tables over. It was still cold and not at all the atmosphere we expected. There are several quiet, private rooms, including an upstairs. Everyone else who came before and after us were being seated in the quiet, formal areas, even those wearing jeans. We were the only reservation being placed in the bar area. We were told to go back to the host if we wanted to move. We informed who we thought was the manager and he said he would switch us. There was a long line and people were annoyed we did not wait in line. We watched as several people were seated and we just stood. We finally left and when I put back the menus no one even saw. The odd part was when the host told the person where to seat us the first time, the person he told commented that we had a reservation as in that is not where people with a reservation should sit. We went somewhere else- not easy to find a place on a Saturday night and very disappointed. Could not justify spending that type of money sit in a bar by the outside door (it was like a sun room).

Good food, spirits, and atmosphere.

Great ambience. Every room in the restaurant had great decor. Waiter was very attentive. Food was great. If you get dessert get the pecan pie. It is phenomenal. Will definitely go back in spring/summer to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Hectic Valentine's day service was handled well by very polite staff. Food was upscale but not extraordinary.

Valentine’s Day. 815 reservations for 4. 2 of the 4 came from NY to join us. Beautiful restaurant/art on beautiful grounds. Valet service very welcoming. Maitre’d. Told we would be seated in 20 minutes. Shown to overcrowded bar area and basically standing over ppl eating at tables in bar. Bought cocktails ( great restaurant gimmick). Waited for 30 mins before checking. Finally shown to table around 9. Large table/booth we sat so far away from friends. Ordered wine pairing. Marco was our server. No description of wines during entire meal. Soup good. Scallop crudo came on 2 plain white plates placed in the middle of the large table. Thought they were going to bring us two more. We were told that is for sharing. High end restaurant prixe fixe sharing? Next pasta came out cold. Returned it. Pasta brought back. Still cold. Decided to eat it. Main course. 3 had filet 1 had salmon. Salmon came out on nice plate. 3 filets (very petite) w a small amount of mashed potatoes and one carrot to be shared by the three on one plate in middle of table. Little white side plates given to the 3 as dinner plates. wTF? Food good but nothing special. Saw Manager walking around. Asked him over. Explained what happened. He said it’s Valentines Day, food to be shared. If I wanted family style I’d go to Golden Corral. Gave us his card. Not sure the purpose. Not a good experience. A high end Restaurant should have been better prepared and when someone complained about a $600 dinner for four you do something about it. Have been there before and never had an experience like this.

What a disappointment. We have been to RATS many times and have always been very pleased with the experience, however, they completely botched Valentines Day. First, they completely overbooked the restaurant, we had an 8:15 reservation and were not seated until just about nine. I know that wait time is a function of how long people stay seated and is not always controllable, but this was obviously a case of taking as many reservations a possible and not caring how long people had to wait. Next, once we were seated, we were not greeted by anyone for almost 10 minutes. Just some glassy eyed stares from the waiter and wait staff that were in the room. Finally, we had to physically call someone over just to get a glass of water. After that, the waiter was apologetic and became very attentive. The meal itself was pretty good. It was a tasting menu, though, and had some pretty unique dishes. There were five courses, of which my wife and I each liked four. There were no options except they would replace the filet with salmon if you did not eat meat. You had to ask though. I have been to many special occasion dinners like this, and usually there is one or two options for each course. I think this was a miss, especially with how unique some of their food is (Scallops Crudo). I guess their thought was, we are serving you raw scallops, and if you don't like it, well too bad. One table behind us got up and left because there was almost nothing on the menu they liked, after waiting almost an hour for their table. Happy Valentines to them. My final comment, and sorry if I come across as a Grinch. There was a family with two small children in the restaurant. The youngest was maybe two or three. He was shreiking for most of the last half hour they were there. I am not excusing the parents in any way, but management should have put their big boy pants on and done something about it. Everyone else was there for an intimate Valentines. Will be back, just not for a special occasion.

We had a wonderful Valentine's dinner with wine pairing. Everything was fantastic.

It was the perfect place to celebrate Valentine's Day. The Food was great, the atmosphere is always perfect, and the staff treat you like royalty!

Valentine night

Very pleased with the food and service. A top end dining experience a place to visit often. Too cold for the grounds but perhaps next time.

We dined on Valentine's Day....their special menu. We have been to Rats several times prior, but not recently, and after the Valentine's Day "experience", we wondered why we hadn't returned earlier. We had an excellent table for two, with a view of the bridge, water, and large sculpture. Our waiter "Joe" was excellent....attentive and just the right "sense of humor". The food was outstanding, the "pace" of the meal perfect....never rushed or, did we feel, we were taking too much time to complete a "course"...
We left there happy, full, completely satisfied with our experience, and the price point.
So satisfied, we in fact made reservations for Easter Brunch prior to leaving. Everyone from the valet parking person, the host, the wait staff were friendly, professional, and a pleasure to deal with. We would highly recommend Rats for any special occasion or just "a treat for ourselves."

Food was incredible! Great staff, very attentive and polite! Ate in the wine room, but would have preferred the main room or upstairs. Highly recommend!

Always a lovely experience

We enjoyed a lovely early Valentine’s dinner and totally enjoyed ourselves! Top notch food, service and ambience! It is always a special treat for us to come here!

Love this restaurant for a nicer dinner, even a fancy date night.

Food was fantastic. Don't skip the deserts. Our server, Marco was attentive but not intrusive, which is the perfect combination. We went around 7 and noise level was low. We had a party of six and the lower noise level made for great conversation.

Everything was very flavorful. Great service and everything was prompt. Ambience was fantastic as well.

Everything was amazing from service to food. Only disappointment was that you ran out of chicken and waffles. We were a large group celebrating my moms birthday, and about 1/2 couldn’t wait to try it. This was unfortunate to run out of an item on such a limited menu.

Absolutely amazing. Excellent service, 5 stars. Food is delicious. Ambience is top of line. Highly recommend, it is pricey, but worth every penny!! Yum!!

Peter was our server and was a fun and delicious evening. He even got us the popover recipe and I bought pan today!

Everything was absolutely amazing. The food,service and atmosphere 5 stars! We can’t wait to go back again ✨

The restaurant was nice. Our seating was not so good. We were seated in the back by a door that led to the outside. Needless to say people were in and out the whole time we were eating . I would have liked to have been seated elsewhere. The food was good but not spectacular I expected more. Our server was excellent. To me she was the best part of the dining experience.

Good food especial bread.

The only problem is that the tables for two were very close together with the neighboring couples. You could overhear conversations very easily.

Winter menu is extremely limited. Still good eats though.

I’ve had many special moments at Rats and we keep coming back to enjoy more.

Met up with my brothers and sisters for a nice meal and conversation. We could actually hear each other when talking in normal tones. Food was tasty.

I have wanted to go to this restaurant forever. What a wonderful find. The most beautiful building, grounds, service, food, and the entire experience was amazing. Can't wait to celebrate our special occasion there!

Cocktails were excellent - a cheese plate before dinner was also very good. Our meals were good, but a little pricey for what you got. Four scallops on a plate with a tablespoon of veggies for $32 is a bit high. Desserts were tasty - the pecan tart was excellent, but the ice cream with it was bland (supposed to be cinnamon).

Lunch was good. Although the plate size was small the beet salad and ravioli were excellent. The turkey croissant was fresh and tasty. Chocolate gluten free beet cake was very moist.

Have dined there previously and was very satisfied. This time service was poor and inattentive. The waiter splashed my wife's drink and never wiped it up. She used her napkin as a placemat. The French dip was terrible and I should have sent it back. Asked for indium rare and hot well done with very little meat on the sandwich. Even the French fries were cool and the dipping sauce terrible. My wife's trout was good. Way overpriced

Exceptional food from a new menu, great service and an ambience that can't be beat. Plus, ice sculpting outside on the Grounds. A great ecperience.

Great location within the Grounds for Sculpture. Food and service is outstanding. Great for family lunch or dinner after visiting the grounds. Food is excellent but a bit on the high side.

The buffet was outstanding. I wish I could have eaten more.

Brunch was wonderful, everything was delicious. The deserts and pastries were fabulous and well worth saving room for!!

I've dined her many times, and with few exceptions, the experience has been fantastic. The only reason the food and service received less than 5 stars was due to it being New Years Eve and they were running behind. I had to wait 1/2 an hour past my reservation time, and they were out of some of their dishes. They had a very nice party afterward for the New Year. This was free to all diners. There were no uncharges on the meal, and no abbreviated menu. I will definitely loo forward to repeating the New Years celebration next year. I do dine here a couple of times a month and recommend it highly.

We were there for the New Year's Eve Dinner, upon arrival we knew the place was heavily booked even with a reservation. We bypassed the valet parking and parked ourselves which was a good thing as we avoided the long lines at the end. Coat check was packed and were no longer accepting any additional coats, so I had to run back to the car and drop off our coats. (remember it was raining that evening-good thing I was able to borrow an umbrella from valet). We were finally seated and selected the tasting menu. Since neither one of us drink we went with sparkling water; that was the last we saw from our waiter until the check was brought over. Each course was brought over one right after the next, there was no ask as to how was the meal, can we get you more sparkling water, no one came around to refill our glasses, we had to ask for coffee to be brought over then what finally killed it for me was the constant foul language used by the bus-boys and waiters. There was a constant barrage of "puta madre" and "cabron" which made my wife feel uncomfortable. This type of behavior is uncalled for especially in a high-end restaurant such as this. I felt the waiters felt entitled and did the minimum to serve their tables. On the other hand, the food and ambiance were excellent but the service just turned me off to this place.

Had the tasting menu. Felt like 4 appetizers and desert. The wine addition was done very poorly. Food came out well before the wine was served. One we had to send back, as it went bad. The wines should have been better.

Enjoyed our five courses and wine pairing dinner then stayed for New Year's Eve after party. Everything was delicious. Fun after party too.

We dined at Rats for New Year's Eve and had a wonderful time. Even though it was a holiday service and food were impeccable. They had a five course tasting menu that one person in our group had and really enjoyed. There was also a regular menu that you could order off of and some specials. Everything that we ordered was perfect and our server Chris was outstanding. It was very busy in the restaurant, but he made us feel like we were his only table. We have dine at Rats many times and have never been disappointed.