Stephen’s

I’ve tried Stephens several times over the past couple months. With the caveat that Athens Ohio is not a Mecca for fine food, Stephens offers good quality. The best item on the menu is the side house salad with several choices of homemade dressings. Always fresh romaine lettuce with onion and tomato. There are pasta specials on Monday and Tuesday, but if you go with a traditional spagetti and meatballs, the kitchen is very light on the sauce. The ribs are ok. Very sweet sauce. Like old style spare ribs. The ribeye is good. All and all a simple, but diverse menu that offers consistent quality. That’s about the best you can expect from an Athens, Ohio restaurant.

Somewhere between a *** & ****. Given the situation, I’ll opt up even if my comments are a bit negative.
Not a great bar nor bartender. Missing many top shelfs. Got my very simple gin w/​splash & twist wrong. Twice.
Probably a great college bar tho, so factor that in.
Was with a large group, which always effects service & food.
Server worked her tail off but got a little dicey toward the end of the meal, and as a group, we tend to be friendly, courteous, good tippers. She alone handled 17 of us so kudos to her.
Good, not great appetizers. Nothing stood out, good or bad.
Salmon was slightly over temp but could a result of the group thing. Well seasoned & presented. Sides were very good. Perhaps not as creative as I’d prefer but well done.

I wish I could give half stars. Ate here to carb load for our Warrior Dash. The place is little and eclectic. It has a neat vibe. We started with house salads and they were good. We got a basket of bread. The bread tasted like sour dough bread. It was just alright. I got the green linguini and was able to add some grilled chicken ($ 3 extra). My pasta was good not great but good. I would say solid. Pasta was cooked and the chicken was tender. The asparagus could have been a little more cooked as it was a little hard and tge pasta could have been a little more salted. The bestie got the veggie burger and fries. She thought is was good. She made note that the fries were salty, very salty (she does not mind that though as she loves salt). :) all in all the food was solid and so was the service.

This has to be my favorite restaurant in athens. Always have had great food and service.

Stephen’s used to be notoriously overpriced and mediocre before changing their menu from wannabe fine dining to more casual fare. I’d been reassured that following the change, the food and experience at Stephen’s was a lot better. Last night, I finally tried Stephen’s for the first time. My friend and I started our meal with two pomegranate martinis. They were okay. I ordered the chicken marsala (12.50) and my friend had the chicken and brie pasta (13.00). I was very impressed with the flavor of the marsala sauce. The chicken cutlet was juicy and moist. My friend’s dish was also really good. The creamy brie sauce was a nice change from heavier alfredo sauces. The asparagus and prosciutto were nice additions. Our portions were huge and we both took at least half of our meals home.
Bread came after our entrees arrived, but I didn’t really mind since the seasoned olive oil it was served with was delicious. Service in general was just okay, but that’s pretty typical of Athens. We went to dinner at 6, and I’m not sure I would have wanted to go much later, as this becomes a rather rowdy bar at sundown. It was starting to get a little loud right around the time we finished our meals. All in all, I had a really nice dinner here and I look forward to coming back. I think Stephen’s was wise to recognize that if they couldn’t do fine dining well, it’s better to scale back and simplify.

Cost of the food wasn’t bad. The atmosphere wasn’t bad. The service wasn’t bad. Beer was a good price, liquor based drinks are a little steep but good quality. Some dishes are pretty bland and some (sausage dishes especially) have a good taste and are on par with like restaurants. The fact they accept credit cards but will not split a group into more than three checks is ridiculous. What I mean is, they will not split a check up for a large group unless you are all above the age of 40 like the table behind us. Will dine there again but never with more than three people due to their flexible for special customers policies.

I have been here twice and it has been very good. First time was moms weekend, so very crowded! We squeezed in at the bar after my daughters friends were done and they gave us their seats, we both ordered entrees, they were very generous so we both only had half. Returned in the summer and we were only ones there beside 2 other people, still sat at bar and got great service. We were smart and ordered a salad and the chicken Marsala to share, was plenty for both of us and very good. Will return. More expensive than most Athens restaurants, but very good and you can always split entrees if you get an appetizer or salad first.

Totally going back! What a fabulous experience we had at Stephen’s. Downside is no reservations so we waited at the bar for a booth (darn, twist our arms). The ambiance is fabulous. Quiet and with the right mood lighting. Great bartendars, great staff. We got our Saturday night table in no time.
By the time we got to our table, I could not pick what I wanted in record time like I normally do. I actually struggled. I settled on the crusted haddock with risotto and vegetables. He selected a mediterranean pasta with spinach. TONS of bread with dipping oil came our way. We were so satisified with our meals we actually passed on dessert.
Best part? The price was crazy inexpensive. Just unbelievable. The prices were crazy reasonable and the meal was to die for… you MUST go to Stephen’s in Athens when you visit OU. I can see why it does well.

This is no longer the Stephens that the previous reviewers were talking about. Things have changed. Apparently, in an attempt to make the place more student friendly (why? I saw plenty of students there before) they tried to make the place less fancy. Let’s face it, there’s a lacking of nice places to go out for a nice dinner in Athens anyway, so I’m not sure the logic here.
They held onto a few gems on the menu (WEDDING SOUP) but have mostly changed everything to rather pedestrian choices that you could find done for much less money at somewhere like Ruby Tuesday. The food is still pricy, the proportions are erratic and the food is just ok now.
The worst part of the change is the décor. They’ve added plywood booths that are too small to fit into unless you’re not 1 pound overweight. The construction is flimsy, has plywood texture and looks like it’s straight out of a backroads diner. They cut holes in the plywood (didn’t sand them) and tried to spice them up with multi-​colored lights. You can see all the electrical elements and construction through the holes. It’s just really unattractive in there when you look around at all the mismatched artwork and fabric hung on stretchers again the ceiling.
I can only hope that Stephen opens yet another restaurant in Athens that’s a little more classy and offers good italian food again. I used to din at the old Stephens for lunch at work and dinner frequently, but now I struggle to find much of a reason to go there.

We visit Athens, Ohio once a year. Our last visit to Stephen’s in ’08 was great. We eagerly anticipated our ’09 visit. What a disappointment! I had the Grilled Salmon with pesto sauce and broccoli risotto. The salmon AND the pesto sauce had no flavor. The risotto was cold. I don’t mean slightly cool. It tasted like it just came out of deep refrigeration. It also had NO flavor. My companion had the Yellow Fin Tuna with rice. The tuna was overcooked and the rice was, well, just plain white rice. I gave Stephen’s one star for our waitress. She was friendly and attentive.
About the atmosphere… the previous location around the corner was great! It was large yet cozy. The décor was unique! The floors in the new location are slanted! The décor is… boring. There are Henry Matisse prints on the walls… that’s about it folks. I think it wouldn’t bother me so much if the food made up for!

Athens is one of those tiny little places that surprises you expect might just have gross college bar food and a diner here and there — but I am thrilled to say I am wrong.
Stephens is one of the more «finer dining» choices — but reasonably priced compared to fine dining in big cities.
The bartender (I usually sit at the bar) was friendly, informative, gave great suggestions on the menu, and the owner was around, too — very friendly and appreciative of all the customers that walked through the door. Professional with a caring touch.
One thing that I enjoyed about this place — despite the food being fresh, local and interesting choices on the menu — was the portion size. The portion sizes were perfect. It really bugs me when places bring a humongous plate of pasta, half of it goes to waste. The portion sizes were modest — but perfect. I was full and cleaned my plate — no waste like that tells me they are doing smart business on several levels.
If you’re in Athens and you’re looking for a quaint place with candles, linen tablecloths and excellent food — check this place out for sure.

Eat here! All the way in Athens Ohio, there is still great food to be found.