Kennedy's Steakhouse — Attraction in Eugene

I emailed the restaurant about our experience but never received a reply, so I’m sharing this here in hopes it’s taken seriously.

My husband and I were visiting from out of town and chose this restaurant for my birthday dinner on 7/14/2025. Unfortunately, the experience left us disappointed — and more importantly, physically unwell.

About 30–45 minutes after finishing our meal, we both developed severe stomach pain and diarrhea. This hit during a 3-hour drive back to Bend on the 126 to the 20 — not exactly a stretch with many rest stops. The timing and what we ate (specifically the seafood tower and beef tartare) make it hard not to suspect something we were served caused the symptoms. I also want to note that the beef tartare arrived not cold, which I didn’t question in the moment but now realize is a serious food safety concern.

As for the meal itself: the beef tartare was bland and looked oxidized, with very few crostini. The bread service was forgettable. The seafood tower was the biggest disappointment — gritty oysters, watery crab, and a horseradish-heavy sauce that overpowered everything. Oddly enough, the plain shrimp was the best part. The steak was cooked slightly on the rare side of medium rare, and was the best dish overall, though it still lacked depth. The optional steak sauce wasn’t worth the upcharge. We did enjoy the beet salad, but it wasn't anything too exciting.

Service was friendly but inconsistent . Ice for water and our appetizer took close to 30 minutes (plus the ice came only after a second request, after food was already on the table). Dessert wasn’t offered until the check was already being brought — possibly a mistake, but still a miss. The pacing of the meal was slow and off, especially for a Monday night when the restaurant didn’t seem particularly busy. Our 8pm reservation stretched until 10pm without desert, which wasn’t by choice.

Other small details added up — for example, no sanitary products in the restroom and staff unable to help a guest who asked. That seems like a basic amenity for a restaurant at this level.

Finally, I had mentioned it was my birthday when making the reservation, when we arrived, and again to our server. Aside from a quick “happy birthday,” it went entirely unacknowledged. I wasn’t expecting a production, but something more thoughtful would’ve made the evening feel less impersonal.

We skipped dessert and left feeling disappointed — especially for a special occasion and at this price point. (No drinks, 1 appetizer, 1 2-person seafood tower, 1 salad, and 1 steak ($160).

I shared all of this privately first, hoping for a response or at least acknowledgment. I haven’t received one. I’m writing this review not to tear down, but in the hope that feedback like this helps improve the experience for future guests, and that the food safety concerns are...

I made reservations for a very special occasion on Sunday Oct13 at 6. I asked for a quiet table for 2 ( quiet table means not next to a large reserved table of people trying to talk loud enough to hear each other from one end to the other and not by busy doorways ) because it was my birthday week too and I wanted to be able to have a romantic dinner and conversation with my husband. The server put us in the very back by the kitchen door. I could clearly hear all the necessary banging, voices and the normal kitchen noises. So I asked for another table, several looked available. I tried to calmly tell her, she was obviously very young and probably inexperienced, that a table back by the kitchen door is not a quiet table. Of course… It was downhill from then. My husband said the he didn’t think he could enjoy the 100+ dollar steak dinner he planned to order with the penetrating thumping bass sound system minus melody as background music. You know, like the sound when someone pulls up behind you in a vehicle and you can hear only their bass in your chest, heart and throat as it also tries to reset your heart beat. It’s not relaxing to dine with. Perhaps some people are acclimated to this from hanging out in bars and dance venues but I find it inappropriate for a fine dining restaurant. There is great non intrusive background music available that most people can tolerate. We can tell you what that is being avid music lovers and professional musicians. We were completely ignored after asking and waiting if the vibrating thumping could be turned down. A nice lady looking concerned and confused did come and pour us water. But my husband said they were probably just waiting for us to go away. So we did. I was really looking forward to eating here, booked over a week ago. . It smelled good and the decor was clean and adequate with pleasant lighting except for a big tacky TV very visible to the dining room from the bar. I’m only writing this save someone else from this kind of disappointment who needs a more peaceful vibe and still has good hearing. I know other people are bothered by this kind of throbbing sound play. It’s apparently a common complaint nowadays in modern culture articles that talk of how loud restaurants have become. If I hear you have changed the loud low register vibrations to pleasant music, I would love to give you a second chance….Because Eugene REALLY needs another fine dining, reliable quality , more upscale restaurant for grown ups. Fortunately Marche had a quieter table and seemed happy to accommodate us, so our evening...

I went here with a friend after hearing about the ass that dined and dashed the homeless woman and them being upstanding and comping her meal. I wanted a nice elegant night out with a friend and I was not in the least bit disappointed. From the delightful staff (every single one of them was stellar, polite, helpful, smiling) especially Connor who sat us and chatted some while we waited, and our server, Savannah, to the well blended cocktails (I had a fantastic sidecar that was strong like a sidecar should be, as well as delectably sweet and sour) the unfathomably delicious food, and the light and flavorful dessert. My friend and I were in a sharing mood and slit their French fry with trio of dips (dill ketchup, bacon aioli, and a spicy dip I did not catch the name of but was yummy still) the dill ketchup surprised me the most as I do not like ketchup normally, but the dill forward taste and lack of sweetness to the ketchup was exactly what I wanted with the fries. We also shared the pork belly starter, the chicken breast stuffed with cheese and herbs, and brussel sprouts with bacon and goat cheese. I was stopped mid thought when biting into the pork belly which was teaming with flavors of the pork fat and char in such perfect harmony I think I moaned out loud. The chicken was perfectly cooked, the cheese and herbs inside were a fused with the chicken so seamlessly a long with a perfect texture of not too runny and not too hard. The brussel sprouts were roasted to a point of almost soft, but with just enough of the brussel sprout crunch and had absorbed a hint of the bacon fat from the roasting process to cut its bitterness making the slight sweetness of the goat cheese paired with it shine in such magnificent dance of flavors. Finishing off our meal with beignets that were light and fluffy with what I believe was a custard dipping sauce along with a fruit compote that I'm not positive, but I believe was blackberry. They looked so good, I went in immediately despite them still be very warm, but worth the slight heat of that first bite when the lightness of the beignet met the mingled flavors of the custard and fruit. I hope I am able to return soon to try more of their amazing food! The only part that wasn't as enjoyable, was the check, but let me not be at all misunderstood, the prices were not outside of the purview of the stellar food and impeccable service we received, we both left quite full, and in a larger city we would have paid triple this for as fine a meal, I just don't like to part...