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Y! MyWebRestaurant Review
Grub Steak
Relocated eatery's ambiance outshines fare
Friday, May 16, 2008
WEST CARROLLTON — Fans of the Grub Steak have had no problem finding the restaurant after it moved from its North Main Street location of 45 years to its new digs on the south edge of West Carrollton.
The restaurant's parking lot has been packed, and diners may encounter a wait for a table at either lunch or dinner. Most of the restaurant's staff joined the migration southward, and customers will find the new Grub Steak's interior and bar attractive and comfortable.
Extras
Photos
The exterior of the Grub Steak's new location on 2098 S. Alex Rd., West Carrollton.
The dining area at the Grub Steak's new location.
The bar area at the Grub Steak.
Photographed in front of the fireplace is the Chicken Royale, Broasted Potatoes, and Ceaser Salad.Grub Steak
- WHERE: 2098 S. Alex Road, West Carrollton (just north of Ohio 725) [Map]
- HOURS: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday
- COST: Lunches $3.75 to $8.25, dinners $7.95 to $24.95; Early Bird specials available Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m.
- DISHES TO TRY: Chicken "Royale," $8.25 lunch, $11.75/$13.75 dinner; Broasted Potatoes (side dish); Seven-layer Salad (side dish); Caesar Salad ($5.75)
- MORE INFO: (937) 276-4193 or www.thegrubsteak.com
The food, however, doesn't live up to the atmosphere. Dinner entrees were a disappointment.
The restaurant's house specialty is its "Royal Ribs," (three entree sizes ranging from $11.95 to $16.95), which aren't ribs but rather strips of boneless pork loin seasoned and slathered with a choice of tangy barbecue or slightly sweeter Mandarin sauce. Wooden skewers are inserted into the pork to mimic a rack of ribs. The sauce and the seasonings add interest, but the pork itself, from a lean cut, was overcooked and dry.
A cut of Prime Rib of Beef ($16.95-$20.50 depending on size of the cut) came out of the kitchen tough, chewy and bland, with little beefy flavor or seasoning. A Hotel Steak ($14.25-$17.75) and Filet Mignon ($17.95-$24.95) were both more tender and cooked as ordered, but also lacked beefy flavor. The restaurant's Baby Back Pork Ribs ($13.50 half slab, $17.95 full) delivered flavor, but were not particularly meaty.
On a separate and more encouraging lunchtime visit, Chicken Royale ($11.75-$13.75 at dinner, $8.25 for a lunch portion) — boneless chicken breast served on skewers slathered with barbecue sauce, as much as the Royal Ribs are — arrived at the table tender and moist inside. A side dish of Broasted Potatoes was hot and well-seasoned, and a seven-layer salad was creamy and well-accented with bits of bacon.
Salads seem to be one of the Grub Steak's strengths: the restaurant makes its own dressings and sells them by the pint. The house dressing is a creamy garlic that packs a garlic wallop — not to the Dominic's level, but plenty robust nonetheless. A Caesar Salad ($5.75 if ordered a la carte) can be ordered topped with anchovies, and the tangy dressing is applied in just the right amount.
The wine list is very limited, though a spirits-savvy dining companion praised the restaurant's cocktails.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.
