The Big Texan Steak Ranch

Great spot on the I-​40 as you make your way into Texas. Good sweet tea and steaks that always help make the road trip feel better.
I don’t know if anyone can actually eat the big steak to get it free. You have to eat all the potatoes and sides too which would seem nearly impossible… It’s fun watching people try to stuff themselves with it though…
Definitely worth a stop to feed you inner animal…

Alright, i have some MIXED FEELINGS about this place. It is undoubtedly a loud and fun establishment! Its as Texan as it can be! They definately do BIG around here!
I love strange food so i was happily suprised to see that they served bull testicles here («Rock Mountain Oysters») ! BUT im sad to say that the batter was overpowering that you couldn’t taste the flavor of the meat. You wouldn’t be able to tell whether it was a very tender chicken nugget or, in fact a bull testicle.
We ordered the famous 72oz steak! Fantastic in size of course but the dissappointment sets in rather quickly because the entire steak comes completely unseasoned. Not even salt! And that’s just the way its made to order. «It’s so the customer can enjoy the true flavor of the steak.» I get it but after splurging $ 200 bills… You’d want that steak to at least be made with a little bit of love. The 72 ouncer, I have to say was below par at 2 stars. It wasn’t disgusting but it was lacking. I’d say its strictly a novelty item. Save your money and get a ribeye with the bone in, instead.
The service was amazing, great people will take care of you just right! Compound that with the lively, rambunctious, environment… Its a combination for a good night. Despite the steak, we had an above average nights fun. They brew their own beer, make their own gelato, and have games to play while you wait to get seated. Overall, it was a good night!

Amazing place BUT don’t fall for the 72 ounce. It’s $ 200 if you order it at table, if you do the challenge THEN it’s $ 72 if you don’t succeed, the serve fails to tell you that. They don’t season the steaks but that’s great if you appreciate the taste of meat! The rocky Mountain oysters (aka bull balls) are good, taste like chicken heart. I do recommend the visit, it looks fun and the hotel doesn’t have high rates.

Tourist destination, BUT… they nailed the temperature of my rib eye! Everyone enjoyed their food. We went on a week night so there was no wait, yet the place was packed. Several people tried, to no avail, the 72 Oz steak challenge (they
eat the steak in 1 hour.) I tried a flight of their 10 beers… yum! Food drink and atmosphere were fun and tasty. The pork sampler was good, but the beef is where they excelled. The sides were good, not exceptional. Next time I’m in Amarillo I. will be back!

We went for Father’s Day to check out the famous 72 oz steak challenged. 6hr drive from Dallas was grueling, but the steaks were well worth it. The place is rustic, service was good and the steak and bread are to die for! We couldn’t finished our steak so we have a lot of leftovers. For desert, we tried their fudge and we did like the watermelon one. It did taste like it. A good side trip for the family.

great lunch stop. Had the 9oz ribeye and it was good. Kids meals come served in a cowboy hat that they can take home. Better than I expected for a tourist trap.

I had the lunch special 9 oz rib eye. Wonderful, tender and so juicy. Great baked potato and wonderful hot rolls. A great eating experience.

As we didn’t save room for dessert, we purchased a takeaway piece of cake. The chocolate cake was delicious (not to mention ginormous) and was soooo good.

Be well prepared for the prices. Food is good and we got to watch a guy do the 72oz steak challenge.
Also be prepared to wait.

Back again i really love this place… had a ceaser salad and rocky mountain oysters to start i cant believe how yummy they are… had a 18 oz rib eye everything was great and Charles the server was on point

My family and I stopped here on the way back from vacation in Colorado, I’m wife and i got the fort woth steak, it was delicious, large fresh salad, and steak fries, it was all good, the place is quite an experience, I had never been before, my daughter and son in law got the prime rib and it looked equally good, and my youngest daughter got the ribs, she ate nearly all of them,

This is a ‘tourist trap’. Plain and simple. Now I will say I had a good time here, and I think you will too! While I was there I shopped in the gift store, played a shooting arcade-​like game, listened to a music group go around to different tables singing songs with guitars, and saw a man attempt the famous «72 oz steak challenge» where one attempts to eat a 72 oz steak in an hour to get a free meal.
But if we are talking just food… its average. I got the 8 oz sirloin with steak fries and mac n cheese. Steak was cooked well but super under-​seasoned. Fries were decent. I’ve had better mac n cheese. Don’t come here for the food, especially at their prices (bit expensive), but its an interesting experience.

This place has a lot going on. I would say it is a must see if you’re pulling through. My one regret was that I let my kids spend all my cash on games before we got the table so I didn’t have any cash to tip the incredible guys that come to your table and sing. Service was top notch. Took off a star only because of two things. First, the chicken fried steak was smaller than I expected. Everywhere you go in TX the chicken fried steak takes up your whole plate. It would have been more authentically Texan if it had been bigger. Also, I ordered my steak medium. I like medium rare usually but my sister likes medium well so we met in the middle and cut a deal with her chicken fried steak. My steak was very good but on no planet was it cooked medium. It was barely pushing medium rare. She didn’t want any and I was just a bit disappointed that with it being a steakhouse they didn’t get the steak right. It was still delicious as was the mac & cheese, salad, okra, fried jalapeños, and mashed potatoes. The rolls were literally to die for. Must go again. Would definitely order my steak medium well and hope for medium rare next time. All in all a good time.

My sister suggested coming here because she wanted us to dine somewhere that was totally Texan! And this place definitely did not disappoint! We heard that this place was featured before on the Food Network because of its famous 72 ounce steak that you could get for free if you can finish it in 1 hour. But if you don’t finish it in 1 hour, then you have to pay $ 72.
We are super small eaters, so we just ordered 1 plate of buffalo meat quesadillas, which were enough to fill both of us up! We were not expecting the food to be that delicious because we heard that the Big Texan Steak Ranch can be a tourist trap. And so we figured that perhaps the food might just be mediocre, like it usually is at a a lot of tourist places or theme parks.
I have to admit that we were pretty impressed that the food was pretty delicious, and the service was excellent! Our waitress was very attentive and friendly, and kept checking on us to see how we were doing! An upbeat guitarist came by our table and sang some Johnny Cash classics, which totally felt southern and country! But also made us feel like we were treated with true Southern hospitality!
Besides the steak dishes and other types of food they serve, the restaurant itself is a fun house! There are knickknacks and many different kinds of photo ops all around, like a giant rocking chair on the back patio of the restaurant!
If you are visiting Amarillo, or just happen to be here along your drive on Route 66, this place is totally worth visiting at least once, just to see what it is like!

Visited twice, let me put all the negatives out there first. Saw a picture of the prime rib and passed.
Service sucks. The restaurant employs tip collectors, not waitstaff. Salad was bland one visit and almost wilted on the other. Baked potatoes were mediocre. Texas Amber beer was watered down and tasteless. Stick with name brand or skip altogether.
First visit I ordered the 21 oz sirloin ($ 26), second visit was the 18 oz sirloin with 3 shrimp (Man vs Food dedication plate) ($ 27). For the extra dollar, you get three quarter sized shrimp and three less ounces of beef. Don’t bother. What can you expect when it comes to ordering seafood in Amarillo?
On to the good stuff
Jalapeño (or serrano?) peppers were large, fresh, crisp, and HOT. LOVED THAT!
Steaks were a little under seasoned (I’m not a salt guy, but these needed a little), still delicious, and cooked to perfection! Wish I had room for two!

Been seeing this place on TV. Luckily I had an opportunity to go by the Big Texan. We started with the BBQ Steak Fries. They were tasty. My only problem was I should have not gotten them cause I ordered and 18 oz Ribeye. The fries well covered the plate. Im a ribeye kinda guy, they happend to offer a couple different sizes. This was a very good piece of meat. Like they say, no need for sauces or anything else. I liked it very much. Great taste, easy cuts.
Hostess and waitresses were very friendly. Overall a really nice place, I hope I can make it out there again since I live in Cali.

The Big Texan is a famous place. I have no idea how many times it’s been on tv. The stakes are good. Not bad at all. It’s a place where most people are traveling through and know the name.
The wait staff is always friendly and smiling. It’s a little over the top. I had a hair on my silverware tonight. They replaced it and apologized. This is a 3 – 3 ½ star place. Stop in to see the show, you’ll get a decent stake, burin sure there are better within a 5 min drive.

Driving Route 66 (now 40), you can’t help but see the countdown of the Big Texan signs. I have been here twice, once for a hotel stay and the other for a meal. Best of both worlds.
The first time, I was driving East and went in for dinner. We were given a plate of hot rolls/​bread, so soft. Yum. I then ordered the smallest steak available with a baked potato and a side salad. It was a side salad and baked potato. Now comes the important part, the steak. It’s Texas, beef country, it was good. Hot, juicy, tender and full of flavor– impressed. Now they also gave a few grilled jalapeños. Ok so I have always prided myself in eating over the top spicy food since I was a kid. I can eat jalapeños like popcorn but these jalapeños kicked my you know what! It was a first! Even more impressed and humbled.
The atmosphere itself is what you would stereotype a cowboy Texas steakhouse. All honesty? It was interesting. My eyes just wandered over the western items and animal heads on the wall. There was a couple of older men in cowboy hats walking around playing the fiddle, they came to the table and serenaded. Good times.
Another time we stayed at the hotel. The price was very reasonable and the accommodation comfortable. The rooms were clean and had a western theme to it. There is a Texas shaped pool, so you can swim across Texas.
This place is good for families and a nice place to eat when traveling.
PS In the mornings though, when all the dust settles, Amarillio smells like a cow yard. Just saying.

Great story from this place. To start off — you can’t miss this place from within probably a 100 mile radius. There are signs everywhere asking you to try the 72oz steak challenge and you’ll get on their wall and eat for free. Sounds easy!
We show up and there’s a girl’s name on there twice in the same day (which just happened to be the day that we went). Come to find out, she’s a professional steak gobbler and she ate TWO 72oz steaks in less than 15 minutes. What’s even more amazing than the fact that this steak is a mile thick and falling off both sides of this giant plate is that you need to eat all the sides too — including a potato! It’s on YouTube — you have to check it out.
Anyways — I did NOT try the challenge. My 16oz was plenty. However, we were able to watch people trying the challenge — the big, the old, the young, the Asian guy who spent all his energy slicing the steak into little pieces — nobody came close. There is a stage with a timer where they eat and you eat either above in the balcony or below and can watch. They also have a bunch of old guys running around playing old country/​western songs which is pretty fun.
The food itself was perfectly fine for the price but probably more like 3 stars — my review is mostly for the experience.

We stopped here since we were in the area and were hungry. Our original plan was to eat somewhere else on Sunday, but that restaurant didnt open until noon. So we just settled here. I was not expecting much, but we did beat the lunch rush. The waiter was nice. The kids menu I feel is pricey for $ 8 come on now. Maybe they are charging for the «free» cowboy hat they serve kids meal in?
We ordered the lunch specials $ 14 comes with 2 sides. 9 oz Ribeye and two sides and hubby got the chicken fried steak. My steak was good. The Texas rice was not good to me, I guess i wanted something more garlicky and butter. Mac and cheese was okay. The ribs were good (my daughter’s meal) lol She only eats french fries so I ate her ribs. Overall, it seems like this place is just way over rated and overpriced and the hype has gone down. I do like how they have the gift shop and gelato/​sweets they sell as well in the restaurant. What can you expect it is a touristy spot. So payed about $ 60 for our bill (2 adults and 2 kids).
The atmosphere is very TEXAN, expect animal heads on the walls and staff dressed in cowboy attire. They even have a guy come around and ask if he can play a song with his geee tar.

Bonne ambiance et surtout bonne bouffe! La cuisson du T-​bone saignante a été exécutée parfaitement. Le brisket sandwich aussi bon…à l’américaine. J’ai hâte de revenir… pour essayer le 72 onces … Gratuit.

Un vrai saloon où manger de la très bonne viande rouge ! Attention entrée interdite aux végétariens… Ici on aime la viande et on le montre ! D’ailleurs si on arrive à manger un steak de 72 oz (plus de 2 kg !!) il est gratuit !!! 1000 personnes ont déjà réussi le challenge … Moi j’en suis resté à 12 oz et c’était suffisant et délicieux… Seul bémol, le lieu est très touristique…

Une institution texane essentiellement connue par le fait que si vous mangez un steak de 72 oz soit environ 2 kilos en 1 heure le restaurant vous l’offre. Le record est détenu par un homme (enfin plutôt un extra terrestre selon moi) qui en a mangé deux en 8 minutes… Sinon le lieu est sympa un peu touristique mais bon…, l’interieur est immense et décoré avec des dizaines de têtes d’animaux empaillés. Le ribeye de 12oz que j’ai degusté était parfaitement saignant et comme toujours aux USA exceptionnellement tendre. Les accompagnements étaient corrects. Il y a également un motel qui appartient au restaurant et qui est constitué d’une allée de maison qui semble tout droit sortie de l’époque du far West. Un lieu typiquement américain à né pas louper si vous êtes à amarillo.

Ich war bisher schon drei Mal im Big Texan.
Und habe da sogar schon zwei Mal übernachtet.
Die Zimmer sind (texanisch) groß und verfügen alle über eine Kaffeemaschine.
Bei meinen Road Trips reicht das eigentlich immer als Frühstück.
Aber man bekommt beim Check-​In auch immer einen Gutschein, um vergünstigt im Big Texan zu Frühstücken.
Das Restaurant selbst ist wahnsinnig cool!
Schon am Eingang wird man von einem Cowboy (oder einem Cowgirl) begrüsst und zu einem Tisch geführt.
Ich wähl (t)e immer die Galerie, weil man von da aus wunderbar das Restaurant überblicken kann und auch einen tollen Blick auf die Bühne hat.
Auf dieser Bühne kann jeder Platz nehmen, der den 72oz-​Steak-​Challenge bestreiten möchte.
Ca. 2 kg Steak nebst Beilagen für umme, so man denn alles innerhalb einer Stunde schafft.
Einmal durfte ich dieses Ereignis schon erleben. Leider hat es der Kandidat damals nicht geschafft.
Aber auch die normalen Steaks sind nichts für Weicheier. Einen gscheiden Hunger muss man schon mitbringen.
Vor allem, wenn man vorher auch noch eine Vorspeise möchte.
Hier empfehle ich vor allem die Stierhoden.
Kein Scheiß!
Auf der Karte heissen sie «Mountain Oysters». Und da steht auch, «wenn Du glaubst, das sind Austern, bestelle lieber Seafood»
Die Stierhoden sind paniert und schmecken ungelogen wahnsinnig gut!
Inzwischen haben sie im Big Texan auch eine Hausbrauerei.
Mein Geschmack war das nicht, aber probiert bitte selbst.
Auf jeden Fall bekommt man hier, wenn mein ein großes Bier bestellt, auch ein grosses Bier.
Texas halt. :-)
The Big Texan Steak Ranch. Wer durch Amarillo fährt und hier nicht einkehrt, tut mir fast leid.
Eine Route 66/​American Food/​Steak Institution!

Typisch amerikanisch, aber best Steak ever! Ich hatte ein für die dortigen Verhältnisse sehr kleines Steak, was natürlich völlig ausreichend war. Nicht teuer und beste Qualität. Dazu noch Livemusik, ein perfekter Abend in tollem Ambiente!

Que delicia de lugar e de pessoas, ótima comida, boa diversão. Recomendo uma visita se tiverem oportunidade de visitar a região.

Sehr gutes Steak und die Atmosphäre ist absolut texanisch, natürlich voll Klischee, aber das will man ja als Tourist. Beim Aus– und Eingang ist dann auch gleich ein Souvenirshop angehängt, typisch USA eben. Ich würde jedoch auch beim nächsten Besuch hier anhalten! (Siehe Update)
Update: Wir waren nun nach einigen Jahren mal wieder hier. Die Steaks sind immer noch gut, aber der Service ist sehr unaufmerksam und langsam. Werde nicht nochmal hier her kommen!

Super Steaks in allen Größen immer auf den Punkt gebraten. Der Kunde ist in diesem Service-​Land ohnehin immer König und Sonderwünsche werden jederzeit erfüllt. Das 72 oz. Steak sollten sich nur Profis vornehmen und dann wirklich schnell essen (wenn man dann noch von essen sprechen kann). Leider gibt es keine Salatbar.
Eine Sehenswürdigkeit, die aber nicht unbedingt einen Umweg rechtfertigt. Steakhäuser gibt es ja in Texas mehr als genug.