Pine Club — Restaurant in Dayton

I've grown up hearing about this place and was afraid it wouldn't live up to the decades of hype. Man did it surpass it! We got there about 5:30pm and it was already almost a full dining room. Everyone was super friendly, helpful, and delightful.

Our drinks came immediately. The water glasses were legit never empty and the moment our alcohol drinks were finished; we were kindly being asked if we'd like another.

We often like to try more of the menu so will split things so we can do so. This will at times bring judgement; we didn't get this at all here and they went so far as to plate everything split and the presentation was still very nice.

We ordered a cold appetizer of the half and half. The shrimp was served already detailed which was an awesome touch. The oysters were HUGE. The cocktail sauce was very mild (my date LOVED this as he does NOT like horseradish and very rarely likes cocktail sauces as a result). I simply mixed in the provides horseradish to bring it to my desired level. We were very happy we choose this appetizer.

The bread is different but very good. My personal favorite was the salt sticks. Very salty as the name implies but delicious with the butter.

Our main we selected was the surf and turf, ranch dressing for the salad, hash browns for the potato, and substituted asparagus for the vegetable (neither of us wanted stewed tomatoes or Lima beans).

Their homemade ranch is light on the ranch flavor but not bad. Our dinner was served already split; even the Lobster tail. Our filet Mignon was rare and came out perfectly so. It was flavorful, soft, and quite delicious. The Lobster tail was perfectly cooked as well; soft, moist, and beautiful. The hash browns came out crispy on either side while still soft and golden on the inside. The asparagus was plain and not mushy but crisp.

The service was literally perfect. We never wanted for a thing. Our waters were always full. We often would notice the glass was suddenly filled but never saw it being filled. They were true ninjas. Filling waters, leaving dishes, and removing the completely unnoticed. All beverages were served with impeccable timing. You so much as glanced up with a need someone was magically by your side asking how thy could help. And all of this was with a full dining room and a bar two deep of people waiting. Yet we were never rushed or felt as if we were being a bother. They are the true and undeniable standard of what service in a restaurant should be. I've always heard the reason they don't take a reservations is because everyone who walks through the doors is treated exactly the same. If this is indeed their belief; I saw it in action during this visit.

Heads up though they DO NOT take...

To be fair, I would rate this place around a 2, but I feel like I need to rate it lower to help balance out the unreasonably positive reviews. I took my wife here for her birthday and expected to pay a premium for an amazing meal. I grew up in Ohio (my wife is from St Louis) so when I bring her back home I want her to have a great experience here. Be that the food, or the Reds beating the Cardinals.

Sadly, The Pine Club disappointed all around. The restaurant and ambiance were nice. The service was just ok. The food was less than mediocre, and the bill was high, though not quite as high as I was expecting. That said, I would have gladly paid (significantly) more for food of better quality. For a steakhouse (one of the best steakhouses in America according to Food Network, side note, who did Pine Club pay off for that?) I was expecting to have a few premium options, and was really hoping for a dry aged ribeye. I got a ribeye though they do not offer ANY aged steaks, and not only was it nothing special, it was one of the most bland steaks I have ever consumed. I have cooked better steaks on my own electric stove top. The house salad was literally a bowl of iceberg drizzled with ranch and topped with grated carrots. I joked that, "I hear the carrots really make it," expecting an amazing steak to counter the sub par salad. Unfortunately, that amazing steak never arrived. I received a bland, mostly unseasoned ribeye that was slightly overcooked. I would have gotten a better steak at Texas Roadhouse! Seriously, no exaggeration. Steak at Texas Roadhouse, or off my own grill would have been MUCH better. The "house special" stewed tomatoes were basically Campbell's chunky tomato with honey stirred in. My wife received a very disappointing order of scallops that were literally dripping with grease from the fryer. The vegetable of the day was corn. In case they haven't been told, corn is not actually a vegetable...

Overall, I was incredibly disappointed with this place considering the lofty reviews it has received. It is most definitely not as good as the ratings would suggest. In contrast, the Golden Lamb in Lebanon had excellent food (and lower prices!) when we treated my mom to dinner a few days later. And if you ever make it to St Louis, try Annie Gunn's in Chesterfield for an amazing steak. They will...

BRING CASH

Extra long wait for extra delicious steaks!

There are a lot of tables crammed into a small space, which means it can get pretty loud, so if you don't do well with crammed in with a lot of people in a confined space give this a miss or go really early or really late during service.

This place is cash only so make sure you're prepared ahead of time. There is also an option to open some sort of club account where you pay monthly. We were, luckily, warned in advance and hit up an ATM on the way to dinner.

Drinks: While waiting for a table elbow in at the bar for some libations. My partner got a Hennessy on the rocks which happened to be the bottom of the bottle. The bar tender sat the bottle down alongside his drink which we thought odd. As it turns out, when your drink finishes the bottle it's traditional to take home the bottle. My mom had the house Cabernet Sauvignon which she liked.

At the table... Bread: beware the salt sticks, those things are no joke! We found them pretty inedible. The bread comes to the table cold so that was surprising.

Salad: very basic with just lettuce & a few carrot curls on top.

The sides: Stewed tomatoes come as the default side and I can see why. They are delicious. They are very sweet though.

Creamed spinach was a little bland, lacking salt, and simultaneously a little bitter which I found not unpleasant, but certainly odd. I would oder it again. It was better when topped with the onion straws

Asparagus was pricey for the serving size, about five stalks. We would not order again

Fries were just ok.

Onion straws come with every steak, be prepared if you don't like onions. We found them to be a really tasty addition.

The steaks: The double porterhouse was flavorful and so tender. There was a nice char from the grill on the meat closer to the bone. It comes to the table already cut away from the bone on it's own plate. The server cuts the strip and filet into portions table side and divvies it up between diners.

The extra heavy filet was a good portion. My partner eats his steak well done, but this time opted for medium well & butterflied. He was happy with the temp when it came to the table.

This is a great place for a special occasion or a random Friday night...