by Steven Doyle
The first time I ever slammed against a salad bar was at Steak and Ale as a young lad. The thought of the stack of the cold plates chilling to near iceberg levels only to be met with a layer of salad greens and the very first sampling of blue cheese ever still brings a slight moistening to the side of my lips.
I am not sure the last time I ran through that salad bar, or any salad bar for that matter, but it had to be at least five years ago because that was when the very last Steak and Ale closed its doors.
Steak and Ale was part of the Metromedia Restaurant Group along with Bennigan’s. The restaurant legend Norman Brinker started Steak and Ale in 1966 and later launched Bennigan’s before he left the company in the early 1980s to start Chili’s. In 2008, Steak and Ale had 58 company-owned locations, when Metromedia’s lender forced it to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
Last year we announced that Atalaya Capital Management was in the midst of bringing back Bennigan’s (can you say Monte Cristo?) and now they are “incubating” the Steak and Ale concept. Don’t go knocking on the old doors of the decaying buildings just yet, this is very much a 2014 project. But it will be fun to reminisce over an inexpensive steak and a sample of wine for a quarter.
Do you remember when the Steak and Ale menu was written on these giant laminated butcher knives? That probably never caused any trouble. We’ve been saving the coupon below for just such a comeback.
Are there any Bennigan’s or Steak and Ale or Ponderosa or Bonanza’s in the Central New Jersey area? I have a gift card and I just called it in and it says I have $25.00 on it!
Look on their website for Ponderosa. I think it said there was one in Newark.
When? Where? I’m there, no matter the distance…
I live in the Dallas area. We were just talking about how much we missed S & A! Timetable and location for Dallas/Garland area,
We are interested in learning of the anticipated date and location of a re-opening in the Dallas area.
I live in Michigan. Any anticipated opening here.
Anyone know the recipe for the “Ranch” dressing from Steak & Ale? I have been searching for it for years!!!!!
Would like to see Steak n Ale back in Dallas, Texas!
Really? Figured any chain steak in TX would get crushed!
Loved STEAK & ALE : seperate rooms, Salad Bar, Hawaiian Chicken, Honey Brown Bread brought in from Colorado, Steaks to Perfection, Prime Rib, Great Waite Staff !
And You did not have to take out Loan to enjoy your lunch or dinner ! Oh how we miss those days ! Bennigans – you can throw in the trash can – a smoke infested – BAR !
You can tell how GREAT A RESTURANT IS BY THE PATRONS . . . & the HEALTH DEPT . . . HERE IN
Dallas, Fort Worth Texas area you waited for seating &/or made reservations ! No problems with one of the strickest
“Health Dept.”
Please come back “STEAK. &. ALE” !
They had a wonderfully-seasoned steak, the Kensington (I think.) miss it and the frigid salad plates. Dunston’s on Lovers Lane still has a great salad bar like that.
I have fond memories of Steak n Ale. My family would always take my mother there for her birthday. I loved Steak n Ale so much that I was one of their chefs and kitchen manager many years ago. I hope you bring back the restaurant to one of it’s beloved locations at the Little Road landmark in Arlington, Texas. My mother just celebrated her 80th in October.
That was my fav location in DFW!!
I decided to divorced my second after she picked a fight with me at the entrance of a Steak and Ale. That was the last straw…I cant live with someone that get’s between me S&A!!! Come back to Dallas!!!
Loved Steak & Ale back in the 7o’s . lived in Atlanta Ga ,and never had such great upscale food at good prices since/./great drinks,salad bAR . tender steaks and wonderful atmosphere .. would be wonderful if one opened up here in ATLANTA
Portia- I, too, frequented S&A in Atlanta. Stone Mountain on Memorial Drive. Sundays after church or just a nice dinner out with the family back in the 70’s.Can’t wait to see them around again.
Loved the escargot and prime rib. Would love it if they reopened in the Dallas area.
I would absolutely LOVE to see Steak & Ale come back to life. My first job in the restaurant management profession was with S & A, and I spent 8 great years with them (Dallas, Albuquerque and Tulsa). As for the above-mentioned cleaver menus….I still have one. If they build one in the Dallas area I will be first in line to apply for a management position again…
Would you know any way to get in touch with previous manager’s? I’m looking for a Robert aka Robbie, from the downtown Atlanta location 2004, 2005/2006.
We have one now in The Woodlands, TX, and it’s great
Where?
Wish they would put one in League City on 96 where the new shopping center with Krogers super Center is going
I loved it when I lived in New Jersey, Im so disapointed now that Im in Arizona I hope they consider the Phoenix area for a reopening. I want a Kensington Steak!!! They cooked it perfectly. And those ice cold Salad plates.
Please come back to garland tx. My favorite place to eat. Best salad bar. Always good food. Can’t wait to see, coming to garland tx. Soon!!
these restaurants should never have closed there were a lot of establishments that never closed in spite of the crisis and they survived steak and ale could have been one of those you need to leave well enough alone don’t fix it if is not broken people did nothing but cry when you closed .
Closed due to VERY, VERY BAD Management !!!
I happen to have one of those menu cleavers that I “borrowed” about 40 years ago. Shrimp cocktail $1.95. Steak and Lobster $7.95. Duke’s filet $6.25. Great days.
If Steak and Ale ever was brought back, I would gladly give this cleaver menu back to the ownership company…would be great to have on the wall. If this is in the works, email me at licky_201@excite.com.
I really enjoyed the dates and dinner at s&a. Along with my parents special dinner nights. Hurry back to Atlanta. Mike emthom55@GMAIL.COM
While going to undergrad school at SMU I worked first at the number two unit in Dallas, on Shady Brook Ln. in Jan. 1973. Then in Summer of 1973 was head waiter and helped open the first St. Louis unit, located in Creve Cour, Missouri. Marty Dowd was the manager. Then fall of 1973 went back to school in Dallas, and worked at the number one unit on Lemon Ave. Made great money working four nights a week in those days. S&A trained me so that in Dec. 1974, I helped open a restaurant at 75 East Wacker Dr. in Chicago, while I went to MBA night school at Northwestern Graduate School Of Business ( now Kellogg). What a great couple of years.
Bring back Steak and Ale…..I can’t find an Osso Bucco anywhere near as good for the price….. oh how I miss this place.
Steak and ale was one of the best restaurant’s , birmingham Alabama ever had. The food was great and the bar was even better!! Lots of good times!! Bring them back please, Birmingham needs them. Good luck in your comeback !!!!
Which one? The one on Parkway East in Roebuck? Or the one on Crestwood Blvd in Irondale? The Roebuck location had the jumpin’ bar. Do you remember which years you went there?
Great memories of Steak & Ale in Atlanta Ga. back in the 70’s/80’s.great food,atmosphere,,wonderful salad bar/loved the ambience of the place//There have been other good steak houses but nothing like STEAK & ale/
Any chance of S&A reopening in Norfolk Virginia area anytime soon. Have lots of memorys of good meals there.
They had the best Mississippi mud pie for dessert! Was all ice cream not cake. I want it now!
Please bring Steak & Ale back!
I miss the Kensington Club!
And the Bourbon St. Steak !!!
Steak and Ale on the west side of Fort Worth! Over thirty-five years ago my husband & I ate there before our senior prom. Throughout the years we ate there for any and all special family occasion. We met our daughter’s future on-laws there. We had Easter dinners there. After we became empty-nesters we took advantage of the Early Evening Menu – often! Prime Rib was our favorite …. and stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer. We escaped for a WONDERFUL (just the two of us) Thanksgiving dinner at Steak and Ale one year. We miss it SOOOOOOO much. Please bring it back to us!
I just aquuired windows (7) that came from the Steak and Ale building (restaurant) at Almeda Mall which closed in about 2008. I used to work for FOLEYS at the mall. My husband I used to eat there a lot. Am sooooo excited.
I really miss S&A! Don’t understand why they closed! They were the best!
Please open soon in the DC Metro Area. Fairfax, VA would be a great choice!
Sitting here tearing up remembering Steak and Ale and my family.We ate there all the time.As a kid I loved their steaks.I know kid steak huh(i was a burger kid till the magic happened and my Mom said just try this you might like it and gave me a bite off hers),the flavor was to die for.The bread they served and I loved the cold plates at the salad bar.To this day I remember their almost bitter/spicy no sweet 1000 island dressing.Can’t find a substitute ,been trying 20 years.My fear if they bring it back with today’s healthcare labor food costs it would be a $75 per person meal to recreate what I remember being treated to back when !!??
I loved the place. I wish they WOULD come back! They really knew how to do things right! The atmosphere was wonderful! I remember they did lunches from 11-4, and then started dinner 5-11. I know when they DO come back, they will be turning many heads. I really hope this is true and a reality.
What was the brand of ale they served at Steak and Ale? Did It have a hint of molasses?
Heard a Steak and Ale is coming to Maryland, outside of Annapolis??
Would love it – always enjoyed the one in Timonium, MD
Jack – Beaumont, Texas Please bring it back. Beaumont needs another STEAK & ALE!! Best Hamburgers, Prime Rib, and Fillets. Had to be one of the first salad bars. There are more people from this area that still talk about S & A. Ours had live music and 3 for 1 happy hour. People used to park on the side of Interstate Hwy 10.
I so ♡ Steak and Ale. The food was great, but I would really like to find the manager of the downtown Atlanta location. His name was Robert, also went by Robbie. He was tall, dark and handsome with beautiful dreds. Also, he was one of my first loves. He wined & dined my daughter and I many of nights. This was around 04-06??? I lost touch and moved around a bit. But I have always thought about the “comp” food and his warm smile. It would be great to hear from him and for the restaurant to re – open. Best of luck to all you. Kia~OKC
Worked for s&a as a dj in west mifflin PA. near pittsburgh. My favorite job ever! Very upset when they left us! Best everything on the menu! Miss them and all my coworkers and patrons. Please com back to us! Djtj79@comcast.net
Worked for Steak & Ale for 9 years in Richmond, VA and Westminster CO. One of my favorite jobs! Would love to work there again! Matt Tubbs
Indianapolis needs a Steak & Ale when they restart.
Would like ve to see Steak & Ale in Tampa/Brandon area
I miss steak an ale they had the best ranch dressing… In the world
Shawn Simpson
Would love to have a steak n ale back in Tulsa. I remember going there with my parents whenever we wanted to celebrate an event in the 70s. Loved their burgundy mushrooms with a steak.
Sad day because Steak and Ale was profitable but the parent corporation wasn’t . I think there will always be room for a mid level neighborhood steak house like Steak and Ale. Each restaurant had It’s own cosiness that you surely don’t find at the smear of fast food steakhouses like Applebee’s. Pittsburgh One, as it was the first one in Pittsburgh, had fireplaces in each dinning room. Soft rock on the sound system gave it yet a contemporary feel. It may have been cold and snowy outside but not with your friends and acquaintances inside. And the great smells of the food coming out of the kitchen made it a great place to be.
Will you be opening a steak n ale in Oklahoma City in the near future.
Steak and ale the best steakhouse of all time. I can smell the fresh pumpernickel bread allready
Steak and ale is more than a restaurant to me it was the first job I have ever got. As a busboy and I remember the general manager Terry whether he was in charge of the branch I worked at in Georgia. He taught me how to be clean how to be on time and how to be good at customer service and many other stuff that he taught me and the other employees that worked for him. My favorite entrée was the Bourbon Street steak my favorite appetizer was stuffed mushroom with cheese. And of course my favorite soup was lobster bisque and the favorite dessert was the mud pie. I am not a busboy anymore I want several hotels and I’m a very successful businessman if given the opportunity I would love to be a share holder or part owner of steak and ale if they open up again. It will truly be a privilege.
I think it was Cork and Cleaver that had the menus printed on knives or “cleavers” rather – I don’t remember Steak and Ale having anything other than regular menus.
I am fortunate to have 7 windows that were taken out of the Steak and Ale in Alemada in south Houston. They are awesome 4 different patterns. Many happy memories when I worked at the Almeda Foleys. The best salad bar and steaks ever wistful they would come back and re open.
We have one!
I think you are right. IF S&A ever had cleaver menus, it was BEFORE 1980. By then, they were using really nice embossed leather “binders.” In the mid 80’s, they switched to tall, heavy paper-board menus.
I own one
Very cool. Then you have something and need to hold onto it. Do you remember when and where you got it?
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1097&bih=542&ei=5kgSXab_AtnctQbU3LaQDQ&q=steak+and+ale+cleaver+menu&oq=steak+and+ale+cleaver+menu&gs_l=img.12…805.7400..11175…0.0..0.399.4831.0j20j4j3……0….1..gws-wiz-img…..0..35i39j0j0i24.UP413_9V4mE
Steak & Ale had menus on cleavers in the 70’s, in the 80’s they switched to leather cover dinner menus and laminated one page lunch menus
Looking for a phone for the Birmingham location that is closed
The Kensington Club marinade is pineapple juice and soy sauce. You’re welcome.
There’s a little sherry in the marinade, too.
There’s also a little sherry in the marinade.
Pineapple juice, soy sauce, sherry wine, brown sugar, granulated garlic and white pepper. I worked for S&A as a ser/Bartender/Manager in Chicago, Houston, College Station and DFW
You nailed it, Aftab!
We loved Steak and Ale in Little Rock Arkansas. We had a very romantic dinner there in a small room with a fireplace. It was winter and very cold. I wish so much they would come back.