Lewnes' Steakhouse — Restaurant in Annapolis

Would I recommend? no. Sorry to say.

I will start off by saying, if you have difficulty going up and down stairs, be advised, you have to go up about 1 flight (maybe more, I didn't count) of stairs to get to the main dining hall. It didnt bother my husband or I. I only bring it up because we saw an elderly couple struggling.

I will begin with the pros. The restaurant itself is beautiful, inside and out. Very clean. The hostess was kind and friendly. The jumbo lump crab balls had chunks of crab even though the balls were small and they were seasoned perfectly. The onion bread was soft on the inside, had some crunch on the outside and has the most delicious onion flavor. Kinda like French onion soup. The mashed potatoes were smooth, creamy, and flavorful.

Now for the cons. When my husband made the reservation, he told them it was our anniversary, yet they decided to sit us next to a party of children. Not necessarily romantic. We could have asked to move, we just weren't trying to make a big fuss. I guess that's our bad. The hostess asks us if we'd like some water but then never comes back with them. Maybe about 6 minutes later, another young lady comes by and asks if we'd like some water. The waiter was obviously busy considering he had a party of 3 adults and 4 young children so I'm not entirely sure why we were sat in that section to begin with. Our waiter walked by our table at least 6 times without a simple, "hello, I'll be right with you." About 12 minutes after receiving our water, our waiter comes by to get our order. Time for the food, the Greek salad and house salad are both on tiny plates that are filled up so it gets pretty messy. The Greek salad has about 3/4 cup if Feta cheese piled on top of the salad. Way too much for that tiny plate. All of the vegetables come whole so I had to chop them up which was messy and not entirely fun for me. Example, whole pepperoncini and round onion slices. The baked potato I recieved was surprisingly not hot. It was served with cold butter that wouldn't melt inside potato because it wasn't warm enough. Now for the part I was most excited about, the steak. I normally get my steaks medium rare. I have learned with any steakhouse, you always go up a doneness. I ordered it medium. It came out rare. The waiter did not come check on us, the hostess did. I asked her if the steak was cooked medium for the restaurants standards, she said she didn't know. I thought that was strange considering where she works. I would have kept my steak if that was considered "medium." The next steak was overcooked so I figured it just wasn't my night to get a well cooked steak. The steaks are not seasoned, which I did not enjoy. I find that to be common with "upscale" restaurants. They want you to be able to "taste the meat" I filled up on potatoes, so by the time I got my steak I wasn't hungry. I ate a piece and I was finished. The waiter packed up our food and we went home. When I got home, I realized one of the boxes was not closed all the way so sour cream got everywhere. When I opened my steak box there was only a tiny piece of steak inside. (About 3 inches long) I don't know what happened to the rest. That was the cherry on top of a mediocre...

Absolutely top-notch steakhouse, with a friendly, comfortable atmosphere and excellent service.

We visited Lewnes for Restaurant Week this year in the hopes of (finally) finding a good steakhouse in this area. It's a sad state of affairs when some websites list Fogo de Chao as Maryland's best steakhouse, but I digress...

Immediately upon arriving, we were met with friendly, conversative employees at the front door. Our table was actually available for seating on time (seems to be abnormal in this area?), and we were whisked away after checking our coats - another nice touch I enjoy.

The interior is warm and comforting, with a more classic appearance with good lighting. Definitely a solid, romantic getaway should you desire this, but equally as good for a decent group of friends to enjoy fun conversation in private. On that note, noise was surprisingly quiet, considering how busy it was at the time. You might get the initial impression that this might come off as a bit of a stuffy place with a pompous attitude from the servers, but it is precisely the opposite.

On the note of being busy, you wouldn't have known it from our server's performance. You'd have thought we were his only table that night, but we know for a fact it wasn't. My compatriots in a better position to see, would catch him peeking around corners to check our status frequently. Water glasses never broke half empty. His recommendations were honest and spot on when we needed some advice on the menu. Quite honestly one of the best servers I have ever had.

The menu is wonderfully simplistic. There is no confusing this place for some quasi-modern steakhouse. No salt-bomb bloomin' onions or other items that simply don't fit the simplistic nature of this restaurant. You maybe pick an appetizer. You pick your protein. You pick your salad or sides (should you desire any, there are none by default...but the portions themselves almost don't need it). And maybe you pick desert, if you even have room. The (massive) wine menu is probably triple the size of the food menu, and that is ok.

And the food. Oh, the food. I have never had a better NY strip (medium rare for the curious). The attention to detail in trimming the fat cap, preserving it's flavor while eliminating the tough portions, was excellent. The seasoning, perfect. The finish, immaculate. The size, HUGE! - 16oz if I recall correctly. You'd think the sides might be boring just by looking at them on the list, but they were the most perfect variant of whatever you can imagine. Not a single item ordered at our table of four was not top notch.

If all of this wasnt enough, two in my party had been to their neighbor, Ruth's Chris, just days prior. They said it was more expensive, more pompous, less comfortable, and a stuffy atmosphere in general. Worst part? Their steak had to be sent back; apparently it's ok to mess up a $50 steak and send it out to their customer.

Many excuses were formulated in an attempt to figure out when we needed to come back. All I know is, it wont be...

Lewnes is a family owned joint and it is a true gem.. They don’t come better than this! The traditional decor and cozy and quiet atmosphere take me back to an old school NY steakhouse. Friendly staff, great service, and an owner who takes the time to check in on guests and converse and share stories for a few moments is what separates this place from the others. And well, the stellar food of course. We took the servers recs for appetizers; oysters Rockefeller and crab balls. Both were great. The oysters were a good size, packed with flavor from the caramelized spinach. The cowboy ribeye was hands down one of the best steaks I’ve ever had and the star of the show. Great crust, flavorful, juicy, it just melted like butter in my mouth. Order it medium rare+ and it was done perfectly! My wife’s petite filet was cooked perfectly as well. Was a great tasting filet that she had Oscar style with crabmeat and the sauce on the side. The sides were all solid and big enough to be shared amongst a few people. Mushrooms and asparagus were done simple, yet good. The cream of spinach was delicious, our favorite side! Creamy but yet not overly indulgent, and not salty. The “fries”, which are more like chips were great as well. Thin, crunchy, and perfectly salted. Make sure to leave room for dessert, you will be glad you did. The double fudge brownie sundae was a prefect end to this meal! The brownie was warm and gooey, but it was the top layer that did it for me. The crisp and crunchy top layer added a layer of textural contrast that made it perfect! I also had to try the Greek cheesecake after hearing it had feta in it, it intrigued me and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Was I glad I did, because it was just as good as the brownie sundae if not better. It was rich with a great cheesecake consistency, and could sense the feta in a way because the cheesecake itself wasn’t as sweet, balanced it well. The ginger snap crust was a bit dense and chewy in the best way and brought those warm spices that went so well with the cheesecake. Lewnes has a great family backstory, and Annapolis is fortunate to have an establishment like this. Looking forward to our...