Doe's Eat Place — Restaurant in Fort Smith

I gave it a three but for the right situation with a steak lover it is a five for the novelty. The steaks are good quality and huge, in that a ribeye could feed a third world family for a week. It is a very nice cozy historical building. However the appetizers and sides are very limited and somewhat boring, potatoes, green beans, and a salad. The chowder is good. The tamales are great and well priced to buy a dozen or so to go. Prices for steaks start at 32 per pound for a porterhouse. The beer and wine selection are proly the best in fort smith. Service is very slow even allowing for the fact that huge steaks take a long time to cook. All in all a good place if you are in no hurry and like a good steak and the novelty of a huge $52 ribeye. To make this place the same price as any other steak place order the ribeye and split it. Half a huge ribeye for $25 including a salad and side is no higher priced than any other steak place. You will get an extra side for free (for example order green beans and potatoes), with proly the best wine, beer, and port selection in fort smith. Very good place for a date. Historical location and slow leisurely service European or Latin style. It isn't the place you go to every week but it would be a perfect first date. If you want to impress a steak lover who is a duscriminating wine, beer, spirits, or port drinker this is the place. Many good quality spirits, wines, beets, and ports by the glass. Prices are very reasonable for what you get by glass or bottle. If you like reds but aren't sure what to order you can rarely go wrong with a Shiraz or zinfandel with a steak. The staff is very knowledgeable so don't be afraid to ask. Cocktails also often at $5. If you are splurging and going all out (but never act like it. Always underplay it) this is definitely the place for a date that can appreciate the quality and breadth of the alcohol selection. You can expect beverages appetizer, dinner, a botyle of wine, dessert and a glass of port at the end to set you back $180 for two, which includes tip. You can have a nice meal for $90 for two including tip but that is without many frills. Splitting a steak with no alcohol sets you back no more than any other steak place. I definitely recommend it for a first or second date. I don't recommend it for a weekly hangout just because the food selections while very good are a bit limited, conventional, and it is a bit slow. It is a great weekly hangout for drinks and appetizers though, if you are the discriminating drinker. The IPA selection alone is impressive and they do have the best IPA available in Arkansas. Sangria is good and...

June 21 2019 was our 20th anniversary. We had been in Fayetteville earlier in the day and could have eaten at the Doe's there but I wanted to support local business so we opted for the Ft. Smith Doe's. On our arrival we were told that they were very busy but were given our choice of several tables. After being seated the waitress swiftly came and took our order. So far so good. I felt a bit hot but thought it was just me and that I had just not cooled down yet after coming inside from the 93 degree heat of the day. Turns out that was not the problem. Our food arrived swiftly. Our waitress never made comment on the heat but I overheard a woman at the next table saying that she had been told by her waiter that the A/C was out. Since our dinner had already been served to us we did not feel that we could walk away without being responsible for paying for the meal. The rest of the meal was hellish as we shared the dining area with an additional 20 people and a babe in arms as I am fairly certain that the temperature in the dining room was at least as high if not higher than it was outside. The mother of the baby was wiping the child's head with a damp napkin in an attempt to cool it down but she eventually had to go outside to accomplish this goal. The waitress crazily asked us if we had left room for dessert as if there were nothing wrong and my husband and I were not drenched in sweat. I could not disguise my desire to be out of the Doe's hotbox in my reply to her. As we left we could see that the staff continued to bring more customers into the restaurant which they knew to be uncomfortably hot. A local Vietnamese restaurant we frequent had their A/C go out and at least that owner had the good grace to post a notice on her door so that her customers could make and informed decision. If profit is so important to the management of Doe's that they would not give their patrons the opportunity to know that they will be eating in intense heat then I very much wonder what other corners and economies they are willing to make. When you are dropping nearly a hundred dollars for a meal for two one would expect not to eat that meal in temperatures you could expect at the local drive through Sonic. I know that this will be our last trip to the Ft. Smith Doe's as Fayetteville is not that far. Listening to the comments of other diners leaving at the same time we were I think that we will not be...

THE FOOD: Here's the thing. They do steak beautifully. But a culinary adventure or extraordinary food? Overall, it just isn't that. Aside from the steak, there isn't much that distinguishes the food from some chain steak place. And given that that is the meal, the price points aren't quite justified because there just isn't that much effort, thought, or work involved.

How hard is it to sear or reverse sear an aged steak to perfection? Well, if you are reasonably trained cook or you do some small amount of reading and practice, it just isn't that hard. That kind of steak should be a basic skill and so, if that is all you do, your restaurant is kind of dull. Don't get me wrong--the steaks are great. But, the sides are boring, and there's no indication that any of the ingredients are local or special or that any extra thought went into the food. Example: The drop biscuits come with prepackaged squares of butter. Example: The salad is iceberg and looks like it came from a pre-mixed bag. Example: They're boiling/steaming most of the vegetables that you eat that are not potatoes, although boiled/steamed potatoes are an option. Example: The fries are adequate hand-cut fries, and the mushrooms are sauted with salt and pepper. Example: I challenge you to find a fresh cut herb.

THE SERVICE: Totally fine.

THE DECOR: This is a renovated brewery dating from the 1840s wholly unadorned by anything noticeable other than the fact that it is a renovated brewery from the 1840s. The napkins are paper. The tables appear to be wood laminate. The plates, serving-ware, and cutlery are indistinguishable from anything in the kitchen of a local who shopped at K-mart in the nineties. Decoration or flourishes of any kind appear to be pretty sparse.

Want to know how to decorate a stone brewery from two centuries ago so that it feels homey? You need only go to Germany, the UK, or even Indianapolis to find a fine example.

OVERALL: There are a million steak places, especially in Arkansas. I admit that not all of them know how to cook a steak and not all of them bother to ask me how I want it. Here, I hoped someone in the kitchen would bother to take a risk or do anything unique or interesting. They didn't. Ultimately, there isn't anything to distinguish this place from the house of your aunt who is a pretty good cook, for what she can do, given how hard she works and how few...