Isaac's in Birmingham

I didn't want to leave this review after initial contact with the GM here but after a collapse of communication and never hearing back I feel like I was left with little option. We came here for a family birthday meal, my brothers 40th (7 adults and 2 children), our table we were initially a little early and our table wasn't ready, by no means an issue but we were never collected once the table was ready and had to find a host to ask if our table was now ready and we could be seated. Initially everything was fine, we had a birthday cake which we were told couldn't stored in the kitchen a little unusual but again not an issue. To start, issues with the menu/ordering, whilst I appreciate it does not say on the menu that steaks come with fries/sauces etc it feels like poor service to not draw attention to this fact when ordering. 3 of our party had steaks which was then prompted by the server with “what sauce would you like?” and “what side would you like?” which one would assume suggests it is included rather than, “would you like to add a sauce?” etc. This added to fact that once adding these on your base steaks reaches a whopping £38.50 in price, which I can appreciate paying for a great steak but frankly it was bang average and given the location near at least 3 other steak houses felt a little steep. Added to this was the child’s meal issues, we had an 8 and a 10 year old with us, we enquired how small the child portions were vs the adults to see whether the 10 year old would be better ordering off the main or the child’s. We were informed that the child’s menu was significantly smaller and so would be better ordering off the main, again this in itself not a problem and we appreciated it from our servers. However, both children ended up ordering the hot dog, one from the child’s menu and one from the main. Firstly, the adult one from the main was requested to have no sauerkraut or mustard on (oddly your menu doesn’t actually say it comes with sauerkraut) but regardless, when it came out it had both mustard and sauerkraut on. Again, our server spotted this before we had to say and got it resolved which is good but the fact that it had been missed in the kitchen and not caught at the pass before it came out suggest and issue in the kitchen or at the pass. However, what was more disappointing was that despite paying and extra £5.50 vs the child’s menu, the hot dog itself was in fact the same size as the 8 year olds one off the childrens menu, again whether this is an issue with service, the kitchen or training I do not know but it felt like we were being taken for a ride. I personally had the chicken burger, and again I’m not sure if there was an issue in the kitchen or I just chose a poor-quality item but frankly it was one of the worst chicken burgers I have ever eaten, the buffalo mayo was non-existent, the thing was drowned in coleslaw, the chicken itself had no flavour and had an almost slimy texture to the chicken thigh, just very unpleasant. I would have raised this with the server but between waiting 5 minutes for our (additionally charged) fries to arrive after the steaks, and the forgetting of requested sauces we didn’t actually receive a proper check back. And finally, we get back to the crux of the issue with the night, upon requesting if we could have cake put on a plate for us to sing happy birthday etc we were told that we could pose for pictures with the cake but could not eat it due to allergens issues. Which frankly is a poor excuse, I tried to query this but due to the number of us in the party and having children with us decided to leave it at the time. Especially as (even after querying via email with the manager after this event) your website still states that you can bring your own cake on the menu albeit with a service charge added. The allergens argument felt ridiculous, I trust this means that no external food is ever consumed on site by the team? I also assume as allergens was the given reason that no products are ever bought from an external super market or source other than directly from your suppliers? An impressive feat if is the case. However, as annoying as this was it was made infinitely worse by two factors, one; there is little to no allergen information on your menus, I appreciate this isn’t a requirement but most venues these days have some sort of allergen indicator on dishes or at least ask the table if there are any allergens at the table (we were not asked) and secondly and so much worse, despite your apparent fanatical obsession with allergens having not allowed us to have a cake, you apparently had no issue in subbing a child’s dessert (without informing us) with a different dessert with hazelnut ice cream on it, gee whizz its lucky we didn’t have a nut allergy that you didn’t ask about. I am so disappointed and frankly the whole experience has left somewhat of a sour note for my family on what was meant to be a big birthday celebration. Again I wanted to write this email as it reflects so poorly on Isaacs and The Grand, for what is meant to be a 5 star hotel and a highlight for Birmingham it was very much a 1 star experience. Frankly we’d have likely had a better experience at any chain restaurant, hardly a reflection of the image you’d like to promote the venue as. Now I cannot vouch if things have changed since our meal as I had been in communication with the GM who had recently joined and was hoping to make some changes but after a long period of back and forth communication ceased and I had never heard back to resolve the issue, I appreciate this is a late review vs when we visited but I have ended up feeling like there was no choice but to leave an honest review

Very attentive service. We found the food to be tasty & extremely satisfying portion sizes. Restaurant had a good atmosphere & style.

We recently dined at Isaac’s for the first time and had a mixed experience. The decor and vibe were great, creating a pleasant atmosphere. The cocktails were a highlight; we tried the Cherry Bakewell Sour, Spicy Margarita, Long Island Iced Tea, and Old Fashioned, all of which were excellent. We also enjoyed a reasonably priced glass of Malbec. For starters, we both had scallops. While I found them acceptable, my partner didn’t enjoy the taste, which seemed to be a matter of personal preference. Unfortunately, the scallops were very small ‘queenie’ scallops and slightly overcooked. For the main course, I had ribs with a side of bacon and cheese fries. The rib meat was well-cooked and easy to remove from the bone, but the JD sauce was almost non-existent, more of a rub or marinade. The fries were good. My partner ordered a ribeye steak with fries, requesting it medium. However, the steak arrived closer to rare, with unrendered fat making it difficult to cut and eat. We sent it back, and the waiting staff were apologetic, arranging for a fresh steak. The second steak was cooked correctly, and my partner enjoyed it, though we had to eat our mains separately due to the delay. We didn’t have desserts. Overall, there were too many small issues with the food to tempt us back for another meal, but I would definitely return for the cocktails.

We had the "Restaurant Festival" menu and was very impressed with the quality and quantity of the food. It was definitely the first time I got excited about a Caesar salad! The service was excellent - attentive and professional. Will definitely be going back.

Unsure after seeing some mixed reviews but did not disappoint! Food was really good, best burger for ages. Looking at some of the pictures they have stepped up their game as the ribs and wings were amazing. Parm chicken was top notch too! Wine is expensive but is in most places nowadays 🙄. Service was good, one person was a bit miserable but on the whole a good experience.

We visited as a celebration for my son's graduation. Isaac's were able.to accommodate a change of time on the same day. My son and I had the Ribeye Steak cooked medium rare and we both agreed it was the best we'd ever had. The rest of our family group had the meatballs the short rib burger and the fishcakes and all were impressed with their meals. Cost was slightly above average but in this case you can definitely say you get what you pay for. Couldn't fault the service and a nice little personal touch at the end.

The raw bar is good. The scallop cerviche really impressive. Oysters very creamy tasted good but very much on the small side. The mains. The burger was very good. Well cooked, juicy and lots of flavour. The chicken waffle served with fries however is a pile of bland stodge., really bad. The chicken was dry and tasteless. The service doesnt flow its disjointed and slow. It is a restaurant at the Grand. The food is below par , the menu doesnt suit the location and is confused. Ultimately tried it , would we go back , definately not. Not good enough and too many other quality options in the city

Disappointing. Came for a family birthday celebration and was not impressed. Servers were very nice but the service was so slow! The restaurant was not full and we had to chase up our starters and drinks, ended up being there for 3 hrs due to the food taking so long. Starters were ok, however £9ish for below average nachos with cheese and a little bit of bacon is just ridiculous (you don't get guacamole, salsa and sour cream with these ones.. which was not explained in the menu, basically just a few tortilla chips, bit of melted cheese and small amount of bacon). Then our mains took ages and once they arrived you could tell they had been left on the pass under the heat lamp for some time. I had crab cakes, which were slightly burnt and mushy inside, they were not good. However the people who had the burgers said they were nice. So I would say if you are happy to wait a while for food and want to go for a burger then this place is fine, but don't go if you are expecting a nice meal for a special occasion!

The restaurant itself is very nice, service was excellent. However one wine was served in a dirty glass, my crab cakes did not taste of crab and were quite greasy, filled with paste rather than chunks of crab which I expected. The cookie dessert was uncooked sweet dough with lots of fudge and sugar piled on top, too sweet for either of us to finish ! The other meals were average, not bad but not great. Overall disappointing and by no means cheap !

We were looking forward to our visit to Isaac's after reading the menu. Unfortunately we were mostly disappointed. First impressions were that the decor and ambience was excellent. We went straight for mains - to leave room for a pudding. New York strip was nicely cooked but was at least 40% fat and gristle. Maryland crab cakes were flabby,greasy,measly little cakes that certainly didn't taste of crab. Collard greens and fries were nice. We thought we would save the evening with a decadent pudding! No such luck! Millionaire cookie was undercooked dough ( perhaps it was supposed to be like this?) covered with sauce and ice cream, and the banana knickerbocker glory had only 1 slice of banana and a rather synthetic rum sauce among the cream and sponge. Service was friendly but no acknowledgement of the poor steak was given. Total bill was £108 including service and 2 pints and 2 halves of lager. Save your hard earned cash and go elsewhere for much better food.