Pete Miller’s

This steakhouse was very underwhelming for me, I can’t really say much. The food was bland and had no real taste. I did like the live band, the music they played wasn’t extremely loud and fit the setting of the restaurant. But overall I’ll pass…

Happy to report that Pete Miller’s has gotten their act together. After a rough dinner last year we’ve been back twice for dinner and a couple of times to enjoy the band. Each visit has been better than the prior. Pete Miller’s is back in the rotation. Still the best live music venue in the area.

This Mother’s Day brunch is outstanding! The reviews from the past are not valid anymore. The brunch has the following:
Crab legs
Shrimp
Oysters
Pasta cooked to order
Lamb and prime rib
Smoked salmon and bagels
Tons of desserts
Tater tots
Eggs
Amazing ahi tuna finger food things
The service is outstanding and the food is made with love, diligence and pride. You can taste the high quality ingredients too.

As a longtime customer of Pete Miller’s, I’m sad to say I won’t be going back.
I’m giving it one star for the very poor experience we had on Easter Brunch. It should have been a red flag that when we called to make a reservation, the hostess had no idea what the brunch would feature and was also unclear of the price. I brushed that off and we decided to try brunch for the holiday as we had only dined at the restaurant for dinner.
Food quality. Poor. The star of the brunch, the Prime Rib, was raw — not even rare or medium rare. The servers were offering to take it to re-​cook this in the kitchen. Unacceptable. If I wanted poorly cooked Prime Rib, I would not have gone to a restaurant for brunch and paid money for it. Everything else on the brunch was lackluster as well: ceviche had no flavor, oysters were too salty, food looked like it had been sitting out forever.
The food was so unacceptable I did not eat at all and lost my entire appetite.
I attempted to tell management about our underwhelming experience and they clearly did not care. The GM Terry did not care at all about our relayed experience, not even offering an apology and was actually very rude. I then relayed the experience to the owner and he also did not seem concerned that we have dined at Pete Miller’s for over 12 years and this was the first complaint about the food we have had.
We have spent a lot of money at the restaurant over the years (bringing groups of five and over once a year for a family reunion dinner, each time dropping more than $ 600 a dinner) and have only dined there for dinner. But this brunch was awful — definitely not worth even $ 10 for a piece of raw Prime Rib and tasteless side dishes. I can only surmise that the careless attitude of the management and owners coupled with the poor food quality that day is indicative of Pete Miller’s on the whole now.
During brunch, we even heard a waiter say «the best thing on the brunch was the chicken tenders.» NIce. Speaks volumes about the brunch if the staff is even saying it’s not very good.

This place has really gone down the tubes. Our evening started off on the wrong foot when they tried to seat us at the booth facing the kitchen and water station. 5 minutes later they found another booth (for two). Drinks and salads were fine, but the pork chops and steak — both ordered medium — were raw on the inside. Both were re-​fired… pork was fine afterwards. But they never brought a new steak knife or sauce. After 20 minutes of not a single waiter, much less our waiter, stopping by… I had to flag a bus boy to get the manager. She came 5 minutes later… rectified everything. The people behind us had similar complaints and left early. We will never go there again.

I recall coming here several years ago and this place was hopping even on a week night. Came here on Thursday night and it was pathetically dead except for some holiday function that was booked in one of their party rooms. I ordered the del Monico steak medium rare with side of lobster tail. The steak had to be sent back since it came out medium well. My waitress was gracious enough to redo but I hate doing that in fear of who– knows-​what going on in the kitchen, if you know what I mean. Needless to say, food here has gone way down and I predict this place will shut its doors soon unless the do a restaurant rescue.

This is a good, solid traditional steak and fish house. It’s pure 1980s charm. I love the retro feel, its warmth. That said, it is a bit worn out as well, and begs for a little more diligent upkeep.
The service has lots of personality, uniqueness, and charm. It fits the atmosphere perfectly. The music fits the vibe too.
The food is solid. I get steaks, they aren’t the most tender I’ve ever had, but they’re always well seasoned, cooked just right, and adorned with great sides. I always enjoy my meal. My wife usually eats fish, and the menu is full of a range of choices there, all solidly executed, if not memorably brilliant.
It’s not a destination, just a great neighborhood place to get a solid meal and enjoy a night out.

For the past 5 or 6 years, we’ve enjoyed going to Pete Miller’s for special
occasions. After our last experience, we’re done.
Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version:
We made reservations for a Friday evening and arrived to a mostly empty parking lot and dining room. Looking back, it seems clear why – the word is out that Miller’s isn’t what it used to be.
Our server was friendly, but inexperienced and unknowledgeable. She described the steaks by saying things like «this one looks nice and this one is big,» but didn’t speak to the products as one who’s been trained to do so.
An appetizer of bacon wrapped scallops consisted of only three, which had long sat under a heat lamp as evidenced by the sauce congealing to a dried paste on both them and the plate they were eventually delivered upon.
One of our entrees was the filet trio… But these filets measured barely an inch thick and were encrusted in flavors that were tough to distinguish from one another. When horseradish, Parmesan, and blue cheese can’t be told apart, there’s a problem in the kitchen.
The dining room remained empty throughout the evening, with only the floor being seated at around 60 – 70 percent. The perimeter booth seats remained empty for the duration of our visit. Even the atmosphere was lacking – though there were numerous other places to be seated, we were placed immediately next to a large and loud party of older women wearing party hats and yelling. Seemed more like a Chucky Cheese event for grown-​ups with the noise in the dining room.
So here’s my takeaway– I’m a middle class guy who works hard to make a living. In the grand scheme of things, I know there’s first world problems, and then there’s real ones. Looking at Pete Miller’s declining quality isn’t really a big deal. The bigger issue is that Miller’s isn’t worth the price tag anymore.
There are too many good restaurants in the area to go back for another round of average food, inexperienced servers, and noisy, unrefined atmosphere.

The service itself was good Aytor was our server and he was on top of things. The food was excellent, buttered scallops ⁵⁄₅. I unfortunately forgot to keep my ticket which I required to do my expenses as my I used my company card to pay for the meal. I reached out to them by email and received a prompt response requesting more information which I provided and got no response. I gave Samantha Knapp (general manager) a few days to reply and still no response, I emailed her again and got no response.

I was here for an office holiday party. I thought the venue was okay. It reminded me of 1970, and I’m not always sure that is a bad thing. I don’t think everything needs to be chic and modern.
Overall I thought it was average. There are much worse places to host a party in the Puddle. There are also much nicer places.
Here is what I didn’t like:
–bar tenders were slow as molasses on a cold day
–temp was too hot at first, venue had to turn on the AC, but at that point people were already cranky
Here is what I liked:
–Kobe meatballs
–coffee
–large size and ability to wander through multiple rooms
I can’t comment on food or venue at night. As I have not been there.

For all the comfort we find in our visits to Pete Millers — Evanston, we are then lulled into the torture chamber that is Pete Miller –Wheeling. It is the alter ego of Evanston, and any more, just a warmed up banquet hall.
We went last night to listen to a jazz band we had not heard before. To our dismay, they did not take any reservations last night, unlike Evanston, and when we arrived at 7, it was basically an empty restaurant, except for the party rooms, which is where all the diners, AND, wait staff were. We sat in the bar area to be able to listen to music, and we were just ignored for a half an hour, until I complained. The bar tender yelled across the bar that she could help us, so I got up from our table and went and placed an order.
You know, the food is good, steak salad, burger, shrimp cocktail, all good. The calamari — not so good. It tasted off, and my stomach agreed shortly later.
The music that night, made for the geriatric crowd that is Pete Millers — Wheeling, Paris Jazz Band, lived down to the par of the evening.
Oh, bar food for two at Pete Millers — Wheeling, $ 90 with tip.
We ain’t ever going back.

Great experience!
Wonderful steak and burger
Best blues band around
You will be delighted — free parking, great food, live
Music
Chef is cool

Honestly I am surprised this place is still open. I went there to specifically get shrimp dejonge. The shrimp itself was ok but it was certainly not authentic dejonge. It was shrimp soaked in a garlic sauce. No breadcrumbs! The waiter seemed disinterested. Very disappointing. I went inside to listen to the band and have an after dinner drink. (I didn’t want to «bother» my waiter anymore) If they were going for the «cute, clueless bartender approach» they accomplished it! The female bartender could not get my simple drink request correct (Capt and Diet Coke) and then I could never get her attention again to settle my bill. I just left money on the bar after giving up. This used to be a pretty decent place. Not anymore.

I had a great experience here. I ordered the basic petite filet and baked potato, but it was really well cooked and everything tasted great. Service was excellent.
They have live jazz music, but you can sit in the restaurant away from the music, which I liked. I could have a decent conversation and not have to yell.

I will admit, it’s not the Pete Millers of 10 years ago, but a good experience nonetheless.
Our server was attentive and courteous. He was training another server and seemed to be doing a good job of it.
The calamari was not as tender as previous experiences, and I would not order again. My ribeye was cooked perfectly and had a very good flavor. Her prime rib was also good.
Seems the trend is to compare every nice steakhouse to your ‘all time fav’…this may be the reason for the low ratings.

This is a great date night location, although I am not a fan of jazz so the live music was not a draw for me. They have a bar where you can sit as you wait for your table. They even have a cocktail hour with some really great wines and sparkling wines. I’m partial to Prosecco and white wines.
Their food is phenomenal. I stuck mainly with fish but my friends have loved their steaks. I want to try the Bison steak at some point. It is pricey, especially if you get a couple appetizers but it’s so worth it. The service was great. Well attended.
What I recommend:
Appetizer — firecracker shrimp or the half shell oysters. Or both!!!
Main dish — Alaskan King Crab Legs ($ 50) or Grilled Main Lobster Tail ($ 40)

I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but I wasn’t a huge fan of this place. I came here for a bday dinner years ago and got their steak, but don’t remember being all that impressed. I don’t think I’ll come back here, especially since having Ruth Chris & Morton’s steaks since. I’m not sure specifically why I wasn’t overly impressed, I just wasn’t. Maybe I’ll give them one more try before I give up completely.

Went for the second time. Nice bar area and excellent band, but the service was beyond awful. I had to go to the bar to get my own drinks three times. I feel there is absolutely no excuse for an empty glass, but our waiter disappeared.

Solid service. Pedestrian wine list and mediocre food for the price. I cook a lot and eat at top restaurants all over the world. Not to be pretentious but this just ain’t great.
Oysters — fine. At least fresh.
Bisque — okay.
Sides — okay
Wet aged 20^th anniversary ribeye ordered rare to medium-​rare — arrived overchared, medium + and didn’t seem like prime.
Great ambiance. Cool place. Just not great food and pedestrian wine selection.

Overall I was fairly pleased with this restaurant. The food was good; I had the pork chop and Baked French Onion soup and my husband had the scallops. The service was prompt. It lost some points with me because I thought the prices were very high for what you got. I’ve been to Jameson’s Charhouse quite a bit and the prices are lower and you get more food (at this place you do not get a soup and salad with your steak or chop). Their menu was smaller than at other places of this price range.

I have been here a couple times before, but tonight was simply a ‘bad’ experience.
I’ve taken my wife to several steak places including Capitol Grille and Ruth Chris. She wanted to try Pete Miller’s so it was a date for Saturday night.
The evening started great. Our server was very good. I ordered an Old Old fashioned, one of their signature drinks. It was a bit on the sweet side, but still good.
For an appetizer, we had the mushrooms stuffed with cheese. They were very good. The evening was off to a great start.
This is when it started going a bit off.
My wife ordered the prime rib and I ordered the bone-​in New York strip (Kansas city steak) on the servers recommendation.
I don’t recommend this steak. My wife’s prime rib was served cold to the touch and my medium-​rare-​plus strip came out medium-​well. It was tough.
They came by and checked on us. They offered to redo my steak and heat up my wife’s prime rib.
The second time around was better, but still not great. My steak was done better (medium) but was tough. They rushed.
We finished up and asked them to box up our leftovers.
They brought my wife’s prime rib and my steak. They neglected to box up my wife’s garlic-​mashed potatoes and my asparagus. I barely touched my asparagus.
When we mentioned this, they brought out less than a quarter portion of asparagus. They also up charged us for the item. They lost customers over a half order of asparagus. Why couldn’t they box up my entire plate?
If you check my other reviews, I always give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt, but tonight they really blew it. I doubt my wife would give them another chance.
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this Pete Miller’s.