The Lonely Pine Steakhouse — Restaurant in Cincinnati

This was the worst dining experience I have had in my seven years living in Cincinnati.

Overview: Food mediocre, just go to Ruby’s Service highly unprofessional Drinks had mixed reviews Vibe and decor cool Follow-up from management at the end.

We arrived for our 6:30 weeknight reservation to a half-full restaurant. The bartender greeted us warmly and showed us to our table. Since it was my birthday, she provided us with two glasses of cava on the house. The cava was quite good. Our waitress came and promptly provided us with menus, and everything proceeded normally. Our drinks arrived to mixed reviews. I’m a big martini fan and a little bit of a purist, so the mezcal martini was a risk. I was not disappointed—it was a great drink! The pepper brine was not at all overpowering, and the balance was excellent.

We then waited nearly an hour for any food to arrive while watching other tables receive their food. The first course to arrive was the bone marrow, which was overcooked such that the marrow was no longer soft and gelatinous but stringy and rubbery; the toast that came with it was burnt completely black on one side.

The waitress then informed us there’d been a confusion in the kitchen about the order in which we’d like our meal coursed, which led us to believe our next course and the steak and side might come all at once. This was welcome news, as it was now nearly 8, and we were both starving.

This is not what happened. The next course, broccolini, arrived alone. It was a pretty small portion, which was disappointing given how hungry we were, and poorly executed. Any home chef could achieve the same with ingredients from Kroger.

While we waited for the steak, we watched several tables we’d walked in with check out. At this point, it felt like the wait staff began avoiding us. I don’t believe we had done or said anything offensive in either tone or meaning, but our waitress tried very hard to avoid looking our direction. As a result, our plates weren’t cleared, and my water glass sat empty for a long time.

The steak and side arrived around 8:20 and was at various parts badly burned and completely raw. I got the sense the kitchen had the cook surface cranked way too hot. Moreover, for a dry aged cut of ribeye, it lacked the intense flavor I’ve enjoyed elsewhere. The macaroni and cheese was decent.

The best dish was the complementary s’mores dessert which they provided for my birthday. It was a rich brownie dessert with cinnamon graham cracker dust and a dollop of torched meringue.

We finished around 8:45, and I expected based on my experience that something would be comped, although I hadn’t expressed any dissatisfaction with any part of the meal. The wait staff clearly knew something was wrong, as they kept glancing at our table when they thought we weren’t looking and avoiding us when they walked by. I was surprised to see that I was charged full price for the entire meal.

While the food disappointed me (I had been looking forward to trying this place for months), the most frustrating part of the experience was the way we were treated. When the restaurant made a mistake, the wait staff began to treat us like we were the problem and avoiding us, and they made no effort to acknowledge or apologize for a problem they clearly knew had occurred. It felt insulting.

Follow-up: After posting this review, the owner reached out with an apology and gave us our money back. I added a star to the review and to the service section based on the thoughtful and respectful interaction...

BLOWN AWAY! GREAT FOOD! BEST SERVICE!

A little back story on this steakhouse. This restaurant is made to model after a 1960's steakhouse on route 66. From the pictures to the old floor model tv. The manager Jacob paints a great picture of the glory days of a steakhouse when the working man was able to afford a great steak.

It's a small place and I like that they do not do reservations. So first come first serve. When you get to the restaurant they get your cell phone number so if you have to wait you can go to the bar next door. ( that they own ). The best part about that is that if you want any drink they don't have they will go next door for you and get it.

Because it is small I did have to wait 30 minutes or so. The manager keeps apologizing to us and offered to buy us a drink. Every single waiter asks us if we needed anything while waiting. I felt totally comfortable waiting for a table.

The food was wonderful from the beginning salad to the desert. The salad was amazing. The potatoes are excellent. We ended up doing the butcher special of the week for two and got a Tomahawk steak. Amazing! The meal came with the salad bread and one side making it a great value for $90. I go to steakhouses whenever I can in many different cities. This Tomahawk was probably the best I ever had. 40ozs of heaven. Although it was almost perfect I added garlic butter and blue cheese crumbles for a bigger bang.

Desert was great. I had the strawberry chocolate chip ice cream. Very good. My girl had something like small rolls but she ate it so fast I didn't get a chance to try it.

This place hands down was better than The Precinct and probably any of Jeff Ruby other two locations. I know that's a bold statement but as a steak guy, I stand behind this place.

I look forward to coming back to this place talking to the staff and trying the menu out. (Side note ask about the pictures hanging by the meat gallery)

Only negative I have is that the menu is small but I see nothing but growth from this place.

Secrets out! Best working man steakhouse or any steakhouse in Cincinnati with...

TLDR: This was the best meal we've had anywhere in Cincinnati. Friendly service. Cozy atmosphere. Come hungry. Pricey, but worth every penny. (...and probably the best Angel's Envy Old Fashioned I've had.)

Two Tips:

First, on finding it, there's a door with white numbering, above it, that says "6085" that's the address. Look for that first. The restaurant is SUPER easy to miss. The actual entrance and signage are recessed a bit off the street. Look for the numbers and you'll be good.

Second, MAKE A RESERVATION. This is a pretty small space and it fills up QUICK. I would not expect to just randomly walk in and get a table on a Friday/Saturday night.

There were four of us. We had 4 drinks, 1 butter board appetizer, 1 8oz filet steak, 1 chef's cut bone-in NY Strip, 1 dozen oysters, 1 burger (which the person who ate it said was 'glorious'), 4 sides and 3 desserts. Total with an appropriate tip was about $430. If you're good with about $80-100 (with tip)/person for a wonderful meal (drinks, appetizers, dinner, dessert) you must give this place a try. There's definitely something special going on here.

(I don't mention the following as a sleight, but more of an way to put some context around the type of place this seems to be...)

We had one small issue with a side dish being a bit less than warm. There was a quick apology and it was fixed in about 5 minutes. The waiter didn't make a face, roll his eyes or any of the typical nonsense you might get. We even got the impression that he was a little embarrassed that it had even happened. If you've dined out a 'nice' restaurants you know that how they handle/react to the small things (like this) speaks VOLUMES about the place.

Thanks for such a great experience while we were back visiting in Cincy. See...