The Ribeye

Ahh, The Ribeye, a University of Illinois post game tradition. I am assuming it is a post game tradition because most people have imbibed before, during, and after the game and need the Ribeye’s bland food to stay in their stomachs. I am only halfway joking.
My SO and I went to the Ribeye recently on a Saturday night and true to course, it was packed. Even with the full house we did not have a long wait. The clientele was a mixture of older couples and slightly depressed game goers. The interior of the Ribeye is straight up old school steak house, dark and dated.
Like prior reviewers have noted, the Ribeye is famous (or infamous) for its very small menu: ribeye steaks, chicken, and shrimp. They charge you $ 1.50 per ounce after $ 23.99 for a 10 ounce ribeye so it makes it just a little more expensive than going to a chain steakhouse restaurant. They do have a salad bar that is included with your dinner. It is not a huge salad bar and only has the basics for salad toppings. It’s meh … I was impressed to see spiced apple rings on it though. I had not seen those things since the grade school cafeteria!
The server we had was very friendly although she was busy and did not offer a refill or any suggestions to go with the meal. I will chalk it up to being busy although she did take time to chat up the U of I game goers at the next table.
I ordered a 8 oz. ribeye rare with sautéed mushrooms and loaded baked potato. SO ordered the 10 oz. ribeye medium rare with steak fries. It did not take long for the entrees to arrive on sizzling hot on plates like a fajita. The sautéed mushrooms were canned button mushrooms in a weird wine sauce and swimming in oil. They were not bad, but they were not sautéed. My steak was medium rare but it’s hard to cook a steak-​umm rare. Seriously, my steak looked like it belonged on a Philly cheesesteak. I did not mind the fat but the lack of any type of seasoning was ridiculous (salt & pepper should be requisite seasonings!). If you want to be known as THE steakhouse for the Champaign-​Urbana area, maybe you should invest in some quality steaks and not truck stop steaks. My husband enjoyed his steak but he had just recovered from the stomach flu so I am not sure his experience is valid. SO’s steak fries were okay, again no seasoning and my baked potato was a baked potato. Sour cream is fully loaded here and you have to ask if you want extra butter other than the one that comes with the tableside bread. Disappointed in general and completely confused as to how people consider this a great steakhouse.
Pros: Nice service, kind of cool retro atmosphere
Cons: Bland over priced food, over inflated reputation

The steaks are fine, but I love the twice baked potatoes and the salad bar is legit. It’s not terribly budget-​friendly, though, so we don’t make it here very often.

Awesome old school steak house. Danica my server was very attentive and knowledgeable. Ordered a steak rare and she knew not to bring it out on a hot plate, which was the norm. Menu is limited to what they do best. Great salad bar and the twice baked potato was full of flavor. Being from the south I tried their sweet tea, big surprise of flavors and just enough sugar to make a southern boy proud.
Wh

Every now and then, you find a restaurant that does one thing and they do it so well that they never need to change. This is not that kind of place, although it thinks it is. The menu offers three options: ribeye, chicken, or shrimp. Seeing as they specialize in ribeyes, I would think they would know how to cook one. I ordered mine medium, expecting a juicy, pink center. I ended up with a very well done steak that was mostly devoid of flavor. Part of the problem is due to the fact that the steaks are served on a hot skillet-​plate, which obviously continues to cook the steak as it comes out to you. If you plan on ordering a steak here, I recommend asking for it rare so that by the time it arrives at the table, it’s not completely over-​cooked.
I understand that the salad bar is a big draw for some people. There is a huge selections of different «salads» that you might find at a church potluck (i.e., all sorts of salads that involves pasta, mayo, and other things that are not lettuce). If you want a lettuce salad, there is a large bowl of crisp iceberg with tomato slices carefully arranged in a cylinder, stacked like citrusy bricks.
I imagine the baked potato is fine, because you can’t really do a whole lot to mess it up. I ordered the steak fries, which weren’t seasoned at all. One of my dinner companions commented that they tasted a lot like the frozen french fries that you bake in your oven at home.
The décor was hilarious incongruous with the prices. From the look of the place, you’d think you were at a small town seniors restaurant that served plain chicken with a side of canned corn. Then you look at the menu and the three dinners cost between $ 16 – 23. It didn’t bother me a lot, but it was amusingly awful in terms of ambience.
I don’t mean to trash this place too much though. The service was great, and the staff were very accommodating. I was there for a graduation party, and I called in advance to see if they would allow me to bring in cupcakes. I’ve seen other Champaign-​Urbana restaurants add a plating charge for any outside food, if they allow it at all. The Ribeye said it was no problem. I have to give them props for being cool about everything.
Overall, I can’t really recommend this. You can get a mediocre steak for a lot less. If you do end up going, just make sure you either order the steak less done that you want it, or be very clear with the waitress as to what medium or medium rare means to you (and be prepared to send it back). Oh, and don’t order the fries!