Keens Steak House

It can be argues that Keens hosted the official first meeting of the Steak Club 7 ever. On our prior visit, Keens rated high in every category but the steak. Its possible that the excitement of steak club created too high an expectation. Regardless, the call was made to return and it was one hell of a call!

We were sat upstairs, which if you ever go to Keens, is the only way to go. If youve been there you know their ceilings are covered in churchwarden pipes (made famous by their long stems) and there is a great story about them on Keens website. It makes for a great atmosphere. But back to the food

The blue cheese on my wedge salad was fantastic and had some ingredient I couldnt name that made it all the better. The strip that I was served was a horrible cut, that was covered in fat and even braised improperly. I called the waiter over to send it back and before I could finish my sentence, he sincerley apologized and took my plate. In less than 5 minutes the server returned with one of the best pieces of meat I have ever seen or eaten! It was fantastic and he was very, very apologetic. The sides were delicious, especially the carrots in brown butter. Washed down with a nice Chilean red blend, Keens came back hard and with a massive improvement.

Ill give Keens at 4.5 out of 5 and an A++ for service.

- SC7

First, the good. Keens came highly recommended by a work associate. My wife and I ate there last night, 17 March 2008. The atmosphere is great. It feels like a place that should be serving no nonsense red meat. We loved the old school clear light bulbs with the crazy filament, seemed as if Edison dropped them off that morning.

All of the food was presented well. The porterhouse for two had a giant bone sticking straight up that made my mouth water. My wife's short ribs looked awesome. Prime meat is prime meat, the texture on the slightly overcooked medium rare steak was great.

Now for the not so good. This steak had no flavor. The short ribs had no flavor. The creamed spinach had no flavor. The only thing we ordered that was passable was the Yukon gold mashed potatoes, and we still had to add salt and pepper. I honestly believe that there was no seasoning added to anything other than the mashed potatoes. And as anyone who appreciates good food knows, you can't make the seasoning right at the table. You must salt and pepper before/during cooking. It really ruined our whole meal.

The service was average at best. Our waiter was prone to long disappearances. When the runners came with our mains we had to clear our own appetizer and salad plates. That is unacceptable. No one ever asked us how our meal was. We decided to just deal with it since the meal was being expended anyway.

The bill with 15% tip came to $253. We had gone to Babbo the night before and our bill with 20% tip was $260. Babbo makes Keens look like McDonald's. They are not even in the same league.

I honestly hope that we just had a bad experience. There were many people there on a Monday night and mediocre restaurants charging top dollar don't last long. Keens has been around since 1885.

I have had a lot of great meals in my life. I have eaten at a lot of "fine" restaurants but none have catered to my wants and desires in a "fine" meal like Keens. If you enjoy the best cuts of beef, the best reds, and the best single malts this is the place for you. Oh, and don't forget to pick up a cigar on the way out.

We were at Keens week a go, and the food was good,service was exellent(server was an ex luger with a very lovely accent). The porterhouse at keens seems to be diffrent from the most of the steakhouses we have been before,but it taste good,desserts are huge and not so pricy for a steakhouse.Good steakhouse and i would like to go back any time soon.

The hostess and waiters/waitresses were very pleasant. We stopped for a late lunch and we were not dressed for an "uptown" type meal. The ambiance was interesting. Alot of antique type photos on the walls of people in victorian/colonial times. The ceiling is covered in old smoking pipes...read their website for the history on that. I ordered the Filet and it was "fantastic". I have eaten at many steak places such as Ruth Chris and this was comparable. The dessert we ordered was a butterscotch ice cream sundae....TO DIE FOR(butterscotch I feel is a bit underrated). All was very reasonably priced. I wanted to bring back home some italian pastries and asked the waiter where was a good place to go. He said he would ask the other waiter since he is more familiar with the area. The other waiter came to our table and referred us to Mangenaros on 9th. Excellent service! Will definately visit again on my next train ride to the city.