Old Gas House Restaurant — Restaurant in Fort Wayne

Our visit to the Gas House last night was lovely. My expectations were high due to the fact the restaurant carries the Hall's family name. I would like to go on official record and say that my expectations were exceeded. The ambiance and elegant industrial dining environment downtown made for a lovely late evening dinner. The shrimp was HUGE and slightly sweet which paired nicely with the subtle heat from the cocktail sauce. The driver bread was a delightful snack in between courses a well. It was warm, airy, flakey, and we'll seasoned with garlic and herbs. The whipped butter made it hard to stop eating slice after slice of bread. The salad was light and fresh and a great segway to the main course. The buffalo wings were darn near perfect. They were crispy on the outside, juicy in the middle, and tossed with just the right amount of buffalo sauce. They came served with celery and a huge portion of ranch and blue cheese dressing for the dip lovers out there. My wife ordered the tuna with chili mango salsa and a side of baked mac and cheese. The tuna was cooked exactly to order. The mango salsa was bold in flavor but it didn't overpower the delicate tuna. The hearty portion of macaroni was both rich and tasty. Everything up to this point had me close to giving the Gas House 5 stars. The following is why I had to deduct a star.

I got the Dano's ribeye with crispy onion rings and andouilli sausage hash. I ordered my steak medium rare and it came out medium. The steak was still edible, however it was a little drier and tougher than what I would've liked. The Dano's seasoning was nice, but I felt like the flavor of the dish was very monotone. The hash was cooked well but tasted like it was just covered in the same Dano's seasoning as the steak. This may be intentional, however I would've preferred a different seasoning on the hash to help maintain the taste of the corn and sausage. The onion rings were crispy and delicious, however the fried onions on top of the steak tasted just like Dano's too. My only regret through the evening was eating so much that I didn't save room for dessert. I will happily revisit to see if they can earn the 5th star and so I can taste some items off of their...

Updating my review as of 9/3/23 Halls has always been a wonderful place to eat and as stated below, the crab cakes were my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. My husband and I went there July 8th, 2023 and like usual I got the crab cakes. 2 bites in and I thought I broke a tooth. My crab cakes were full of shells but with the low lighting I wasn't sure if it was a plate chip or shells. Waitress got me another order to go since my husband was almost done with his steak and we had the kids with us. I got home, put the kids to bed and wanted to finally enjoy the crab cakes. 1st bite in, more shells. I called as a courtesy and talked to the manager Grant. He said he had a similar issue about a year ago and said he would go and pull them so nobody else would have the same experience. I called wanting them to know I was upset but also didn't want another customer to have the same experience. He was very nice on the phone and told me to come back in when I had a chance and the next meal would be on the house. Went back a few weeks later, this time with just my husband and just dying to have my favorite meal again. My husband about died when I looked up at him and pulled more shell from my crab cakes. I asked our waitress to get Grant please and she blew off my request and while halfed turned away from me told me he wasn't there that night. The waitress that evening ( I don't remember her name) barely recognized I was there. Never refilled my beer or asked if I wanted another one. Refilled my husbands beer and only looked at him when asking us questions. She brought me another meal but still never filling my beer. Her service was subpar before I found more shells. As we were leaving I was told " enjoy your evening" by the hostesses and I stopped. She looked very concerned and then 3 others joined in. So I now had 4 employees listening to my story. Multiple times saying how I just loved the crab cakes and I just wanted to enjoy my favorite meal. They took down my name and number and assured me someone would be in contact with me to help resolve the issue. September 3rd and I have yet to receive a call from them. I am extremely disappointed

Love it here! The crab cake appetizer is my...

I don't have the time to go rate the other steak houses lower, but if you're reading this and if I've given any others 5 stars...I was lying. Gas House is the only place I've been to that made a steak correctly. The closest any other has been, that I've been to, is Le Cellier. They got the crisp on the outside, the tenderness and the doneness, but left a TON of chewy, inedible white fat. Gas House rendered the fat so as to be so soft and good, at least on the ribeye I got. The ribeye came resting on a bed of andouille hash, topped with fried onions and with two sides. I got German potatoes and soup of the day (chili). The chili was... chili. Can you really perfect that? Some say you should never try. The potatoes, though, actually upset me a bit. I've been trying to cook German food for a while now, and these potatoes were better than every attempt I ever made at using red cabbage in any dish. My girl got jambalaya risotto, which came with a few big shrimp on top. She got sautéed mushrooms and onion rings as a side. I'm not a fan of shrimp or mushroom but can concur that whatever good things you're thinking the risotto tastes like, you're right. For dessert I tried Crème brûlée for the first time...I didn't like it, though I believe, from what I know of the dish, it was cooked properly. So I add this dish to the same category as mushrooms and shrimp. She got carrot cake, which was dense and good and, like the chili, it was carrot cake. Probably best not to get too creative.

All that, a Mountain Dew, Texas Mule and Kentucky Mule (the Markers Mark was a little heavy here, but you do mostly pay for the booze after all) the bill was a hair over $100. It was worth it enough for me that I will go again and try their other dishes, even some ingredients I'd be loathe to try at other places.

My only real criticism is how out of place the branches with the lights on them are. I'd say either plant those in a smaller room, so the amount of available ceiling doesn't dwarf the decoration, or just go all out. But it really doesn't fit in, regardless, as cool of an idea as it...