Malone's Hamburg — Attraction in Lexington

Love Malones!! But be prepared for price shock!

There were 6 of us, and it was a busy Saturday evening. Luckily, we were able to find a table outside in Harry's Bar. I'm not the biggest fan of sitting outside to eat, but the weather was nice, so it wasn't so bad. The only reason the atmosphere is a 4 is it is loud in an outside bar area. Maybe not the restaurants fault, but it made conversion difficult. On to the good stuff. Since moving out of state, we don't get the chance to eat here often. And I had missed the Lexintonian Salad so much!! The homemade ranch is so good! The greens are always crisp and fresh, the tomatoe is diced nicely, never mushed. It is so simple, but incredibly good. I don't eat ranch dressing, except for this salad! I honestly considered only getting this salad as my meal, it is that good. But, I didn't, lol. Ill start out saying all our food was hot, and cooked correctly. I ordered the Cals Chicken in lemon butter sauce over pasta. A lightly breaded chicken breast that is flattened, and fried to a golden brown. Highly recommend if your on the lighter side of the dinner offerings. My daughter and spouse both got filets. They were cooked perfectly, and were so tender. My daughter got the potato cakes. While there were brown and crispy on the outside, the center was still mash potato. But the taste was on point! If they had maybe been a little thinner, they would have been perfect. My daughter in law got Mac and cheese as her side. This was a little disappointing as it looked like Velveeta shells and cheese, but she said it was really good, and was happy with it. My wife got the Salmon, and she loved it!! Tender and flakey, there was nothing left. Lol. My youngest daughter got chicken straps, I mean it's what she wanted, and she did say that they were really good. And they did look good, large, plump pieces of chicken, with a golden brown outside. My granddaughter got the Teriyaki bowl. And it looked amazing. There were good sized chunks of chicken and the rice was fluffy. I sampled it, and the sauce was spectacular!! A pleasant surprise for a place known for their steak. The service was excellent!! Empty dishware never stayed on our table, drink refills never had to be requested, and our orders were correct. The staff were friendly, and although you could tell they were in a rush, they never rushed you to finish. Always asked if we were finished before taking a plate and very considerate. Just outstanding!! Now the sticker shock, it averaged just over $40 per person. Only one alcoholic beverage was drank, a glass of Jeffersons Reserve Bourbon. Like I started with, this isn't something we get to do often. But, if you get a chance and have the time, I highly recommend you treat yourself to a dinner at Malones. Call early and get...

What I ordered - mix and match 4.5 ounce fillets, blue cheese and apple salad, creamed spinach, creme brulee.

This is my second trip to Malones, my first experience was nothing great as my steak was extremely over cooked. Wanting to give them another shot I decided to visit again.

The sides are great. They are exactly what I would expect for this price point.

I have had the Lexingtonian Salad it is ok but, I think that's my personal preference as I am not a huge fan of ranch. The apple blue cheese salad was fantastic.

Now for the steak. Both times I have visited my steaks are always cooked to well done despite ordering medium rare and I have gotten two separate cuts for each visit. For the price point and this being a steak restaurant, you would think this is one thing they could get right. I have had far better steaks in the area. I ordered medium rare, one (not pictured because it was cut and eaten first) was great. The other two pictures were well done which I did not even eat since they were so overcooked the meat was too tough.

Creme Brulee was good but, for the other person at my table it was not as theirs was curddled but we agreed the flavor was good.

For the service, this is no way an issue with the wait staff but, what I see as an overall management problem. My waiter was very nice and courteous. For such a supposedly high end steak house you would think they would have people dedicated to filling water, boxing food up to go at your table. People coming with desert spoons etc. that support the wait staff. Nope not here, they do however have people taking plates and clearing tables which I can only expect the reasoning for at this point is too quickly move people in and out of the restaurant. Also for the price and hype isnt too big a deal but, someone ordered a san pellegrino at my table and while usually for this type of establishment it would come in a glass bottle nope not here you get a 20 ounce plast bottle like you pick up the gas station. So there were no attention to detail to the little things.

Save your time and your money and just go somewhere else. This place is way too hyped for what it is. The parking lot will be packed but, trust me every time I have visited I have buyers remorse. Unfortunately, I dont think I will ever give Malones another try despite wanting it to work out.

With the above order, I also had two glasses of wine with tip my...

Update: My family and I returned to this steakhouse. Honestly, we were so much more impressed the second time around. We order the filet and sushi combo. Our steaks were cooked perfectly. After reading through some of the other reviews, I decided to order mine medium rare and lightly seasoned (VERY IMPORTANT). The steak was not overly salty and it was very tender. So overall, I recommend going at a time they are not overly busy because it seems as though the quality suffers greatly when they are fully packed. If ordering a steak, ask for lightly seasoned so that it isn't coated it salt. Enjoy!

Original: Sadly, I'm disappointed with this restaurant, especially with the steak. My family and I ordered 3 steaks all cooked to medium. It took an hour for the main entree to arrive even though other tables who were seated after us were already leaving. The steaks were very inconsistent. One was medium rare, another closer to medium well, and mine was overcooked past medium well and inedible. I brought this to the attention of the server who was so kind. She offered to have the kitchen remake it. It took another 25 minutes for it to come. My family had finished eating and the other waitstaff had already brought boxes. When the new steak arrived, it was perfectly cooked to medium but it was extremely salty. The steak before was perfectly seasoned. Again, major inconsistencies that are hard to look past.

There were some very great positives though! The sides were amazing. We had the potato crochets, mac and cheese, and the Lexitonian salad. Because of the long wait, our waitress (who was absolutely wonderful) offered us a free desert. We had their chocolate chip cookie which was perfect (honestly, the best part of the meal).

Overall, maybe don't go here for the $35 steaks and instead enjoy great service and some wonderful...