The Chop House Ann Arbor — Restaurant in Ann Arbor

It's one of my favorite haunts. I love this place....except for my last visit. I was shopping at Art Fair and was strolling by and saw that the place was not at all crowded.I couldn't figure out for the life of me why it was not filled to the gills as there were thousands of people walking the streets of Ann Arbor. I'm a townie and frequent the place often. I'm a physician at UMich hospital...and I love eating here.

So I popped in and sat at the bar. The bartender "S" came over and greeted me and I ordered an iced tea. There were only 3 other people in the entire bar area. Wait staff were all standing around. Place was eerily quiet. I was surprised when I did not get a glass of water or any utensils. My tea took about 10 minutes...no lemon...no napkins? I was never offered a drink menu? Glass of wine? Crickets!

I thought perhaps I was not at the Chop House. The service is normally impeccable. It seemed off...everything seemed off. I ordered the cheese plate for starters. The pâtissier behind the bar made me an amazing platter. She and I bantered back and forth. She was lovely and very good at her job. I always enjoy talking to her. She is wonderful. As was the platter.

The bartender could have cared less. Never came over to see if I needed anything or how anything was. Ignored me and everyone else at the bar. Half way through my appetizer he brings over the bill. Never even asked if I wanted anything else. He looked surprised when I ordered the Berkshire chops, mashed potatoes & asparagus. I was hungry. Had to ask twice for an iced tea refill...and a water. Water never came. Asked for a lemon, they must have been out because that never came either. Neither did any sweetener. The pâtissier finally heard me ask again and delivered the lemon and some sweetener.

My Berkshire chops took forever to arrive. Chops and potatoes were cold. Like room temperature cold. Even worse the pork chops were "rubbery" and overly grilled and dry. No flavor, no seasoning...very bland and dry as the Sahara. Over done...way overdone...and small. Not the usual Berkshire chops...these were just awful. The potatoes were cold, hard, and I think were frozen, not fresh. NO butter, no salt, no pepper. No beignet with butter? They must have been out of bread & butter? Asparagus was mush. Way overcooked and cold. Like it was left sitting in the fridge...plate was cold. Could have at least nuked it for 30 seconds? Never offered a salt shaker or fresh ground pepper. Still no ice tea refill. I flagged a waiter down for more iced tea?

Never saw the bartender until he came back with the check. They put it in the shot glass in front of you. Never offered dessert? I felt I was in some obscure bad restaurant universe. Food wasn't bad...it was baddddddd. Not up to par for a chain or mediocre restaurant... let alone the Choppy. I was comforted by the fact that the other people at the bar were also complaining how awful the service was.

I get it, everyone has a bad night, but food...service...food quality...lack of attention and detail....everything was bad??? My bill was $120. I tip...normally obnoxiously well. I felt bad leaving him a 30% tip...$36 for barely a nod. I get better service at the cafeteria at the hospital. However I slipped the pâtissier a crisp $20. She was great.

I'm leaving this review because I believe they know better and should do better. This was abysmal and they should be alarmed by how bad things were on a Friday evening. Perhaps this is why the place was so empty. I will inveterately be back...I hope my next...

The wife and I tried “Chop House” Ann Arbor for the first time last week for our anniversary dinner. We made reservations for 6pm on a Thursday, and were seated as soon as we walked in. The atmosphere was nice, not too dark, but had some “ambience,” with candles on each table in little steampunk style lamps, and paintings across all the walls. We felt a little underdressed, as many people were there in suits, and we were much more casual; but when I commented on this to our waiter (Sean) he put my mind at ease, assuring me that they get all types of attire through there, even some as comfortable as to wear basketball shorts. Sean was quite friendly and knowledgeable about the restaurant and the menu, and answered all our questions honestly, which is important to us. Sometimes wait-staff feel the need to suggest that everything on the menu is the absolute greatest, and then leave you disappointed to find out that what you ordered is crap. He steered us towards the crab cakes as an appetizer, and we couldn’t have been happier with them. We don’t eat seafood often, but these crab cakes were delicious; served with crispy fried onions, and a sauce that paired perfectly. For entrée, the wife ordered the fillet mignon, and I was going to order the NY strip as I normally go for a ribeye, but there was none to be found on the menu. To my chagrin however, there were two items available, not listed on the menu, and one happened to be the Wagyu Delmonico… sold! All sides are served a-la-carte, and so we got the cheesy noodle bake, and the au gratin potatoes. The steaks were cooked perfectly (medium as requested), and the filet was delicious, the Delmonico was good, but not befitting the price tag in my opinion. I did not care for the noodle dish, but the wife enjoyed it, and the potatoes came out almost like a potato lasagna, and was very good. I offer 4 stars because the food, atmosphere, and service were all superb. The price tag however is quite high. Nobody here has really offered a ballpark estimate for others considering this place as a dining option, so allow me: Appetizers: $15-20 Drinks: $10-20 Entrée: $40-100 Accompaniments: $15-20 Dessert: $5-15 So for the two of us it’s easy to see how we racked up a $200 bill pretty easily. Overall, we will likely be back, but at that price tag, it’ll only be for very...

Phenomenal as always! Hadn’t been since prior to COVID, but everything that makes The Chop House a superb dining experience is still intact.

I took my mother out for her birthday last night and it was a great night. The food was amazing, the service top notch (Luke D was awesome), and you simply can’t beat the overall vibe of The Chop House for a special occasion outside of restaurants in major cities like NYC or Chicago.

The crab stuffed shrimp appetizer was great. Lobster bisque is also on point; the addition of sherry at the table provides a subtle sweetness to the bisque and I recommend not skipping it when offered.

For our mains we had the Wagyu Ribeye and the Beef Wellington. Both were prepared perfectly. The Wagyu basically melts in your mouth due to the marbling of the meat – if you’re balking at the price, know it is completely worth it! Everyone who enjoys a good steak should try a Wagyu steak prepared at a reputable steakhouse at least once in their life. As our server, Luke, said: “those cows live better lives than us.” I’d strongly recommend getting the lobster gnocchi as a side to share, it was, to put it lightly, amazingly rich and decadent. The sautéed wild mushrooms and sautéed spinach were also excellent.

We finished with the crème brûlée, and the staff was thoughtful enough to write an unprompted birthday message to my mom on the plate (props to the pastry chef and their prep team/platters who have some very impressive chocolate sauce calligraphy skills); they also included a cute miniature cupcake with a candle in it. I wish I had thought to grab a picture of it before we dug in!

Thank you all for a wonderful night! Looking forward to returning soon.

Side note: the table next to us was shocked by their bill when it came which seems to be something I’ve seen every single time I’ve been to The Chop House. Fair warning, if you have a multi-course meal and drinks, do not expect to spend less than $200/person (at minimum) when dining here. This is on a whole other level from other upscale dining options in Ann Arbor (Knight’s, Gandy Dancer, Spencer, West End...