St. Elmo Steak House — Restaurant in Indianapolis

This was our first time here. Likely will be the last. It was our anniversary and we wanted to see what the hype was all about. It didn't live up to it. When we arrived, quite early, we were greeted by very friendly and courteous hostesses. Since we were early, we went upstairs to 1933 and had a drink. They were ok. Nothing to write home about. A bit pricey. Upon check in, my husband asked if we could be seated at a table not in the middle of people and he explained about my anxiety. They were kind and said they could accommodate us. Well, that didn't happen. They have a long booth along one wall and several tables placed just far enough apart for someone to get to the booth with chairs on the other side. This means you're mere feet away from the people on either side of you. It makes you feel like you're in a very small space and you can hear every word of everyone's conversations. This made me extremely uncomfortable. Looking back, I wish we would have left. I was very uncomfortable the entire evening. He wanted the experience so I stayed for him. The waiter came (I wish I could remember his name) and was extremely nice and courteous. He explained everything very thoroughly and answered all of our questions. He was prompt and attentive. Kinda funny too which we enjoyed. He made an average meal into a fun experience. Hubby ordered the filet mignon, mashed potatoes with the navy bean soup. I ordered the ribeye oscar style, mashed potatoes, lobster bisque and of course, the shrimp cocktail. Let me tell you, the cocktail sauce will light you up. It's very over the top spicy. So much so, you can't taste anything else. I ended up with the "mild" and it's still on the spicy side. It's not really mild. It's more of a medium. You also only get 4 jumbo shrimp. It was good but not great. I must say, it certainly didn't live up to the hype. It wasn't bad but definitely not worth the price. Don't go out of your way. If you like the spicy sauce, just get it at the grocery store. The soups came almost immediately. The navy bean soup was fabulous (I had a few bites of his). Very flavorful. The lobster bisque, not so much. Don't waste your upgrade on it. The meals came out quickly. The presentation was sorely lacking. For being an "upscale" restaurant, I would have thought presentation would be on point. It was more like the average steakhouse. Just thrown on the plate. His steak was overcooked bordering on burnt (not want you want for filet mignon)and mine was a touch undercooked. Flavor was ok. Again, not bad by any means, but disappointing for such an upscale restaurant. They were also not as tender as I would have thought either. Oscar style was an additional $30. There was very little crab and very little béarnaise sauce. It had a good flavor but not worth the high additional cost. I will say the asparagus was cooked perfectly. Just the right amount of crunch and not soggy at all. My ribeye also had a lot of fat on the edges. It was 14 oz but I felt like I paid for 3 oz of fat. The redskin mashed potatoes were on point. Great flavor and perfectly mashed. Not overdone. Now on to the atmosphere. It's not at all what we expected. The seating style really needs to be rethought. To seat people so close, diner style, in an upscale steakhouse really leaves something to be desired. We would like single tables and not on top of each other. It was very crowded and OMG loud. It was so loud you couldn't hear yourself think, let alone have a conversation. The atmosphere was sorely lacking. Total cost for 2...$250. Not worth it. It was a mere average meal. It's not upscale. It's not even close to being worth the high cost and definitely didn't live up to the hype. It's just one step above say, a Texas Roadhouse or a Logan's. Cooper's Hawk is a far superior option. Price does not equal quality. I'm still extremely upset about the seating. I was so uncomfortable the entire evening. Don't tell your guests you can accommodate them...

This is an extensive review of St. Elmo Steak House coming from someone who has worked in the fine dining industry. The review will be laid out in four sections: building, service, food, and extra, if you just want to know about one part.

Building/layout We walked in with a reservation and were greeted by two hostesses that directed us to the back of bar seating area to be seated by another set of hostesses. Something I noticed is that there are multiple different rooms and based on how you are dressed will determine which room you are sat in. There was one room that all of the guests were in full suits and nice dresses, one room had people in slacks, jeans, and spots jackets, and then downstairs (which is where we sat) was for everyone who was not wearing “nice enough” clothes. I actually believe this is a good set up as it allows all guests to feel comfortable with whatever they are wearing. The kitchen is located on the top floor, however, the dishroom is located in the basement, so if you are sitting downstairs there is a chance you will be able to hear the dishes being cleaned.

Service Hostess were pleasant but nothing special. As a host myself, I did as if there was some lacking in the realm of general pleasantries you would expect at this type of restaurant but nothing I would be mad over. However, our server Glen, was nothing short of exceptional. I genuinely have never had the privilege of meeting someone so knowledgeable about the menu and the restaurant. He had this was of not just telling you what the food was, but curating a story/tale around the food. Truly amazing.

Food The spicy shrimp cocktail lives up to the hype when it comes to the spicy factor. I do not believe anyone will be able to hold back tears eating this, so enjoy it. However, the steaks were subpar at best. I had the filet mignon and I was disappointed by how basic it was. When I order a filet mignon, I except it to nearly melt in my mouth and for the flavor to speak for itself. I am sad to report that I had to add more salt then I ever want to add to such a dish just to make it taste okay. My father ordered the “Bone-in (Cowboy) Ribeye,” which was recommended to us by our server. However, it did not live up to the hype, while better than the filet mignon, it was not worth it. We also ordered the green beans as our side, but again, they were just okay. The presentation of the food was also significantly lacking. The steaks were just layed on the plate, the green beans were thrown on, and there was nothing bringing the plate together as I would expect from a medium to higher end restaurant. Safe to say, the price for the food does not actually match the food nor presentation of it.

Extra In every review I do, I like to mention how the bathrooms are. I believe that the bathroom represent a lot of the status quo of a restaurant. The bathroom room was clean. I could tell that the bathroom was old and the toilet paper mount was drilled into another door which I found odd. They do have a valet parking and they clearly (as you would expect) show the nicest cars in front of the (I believe three) parking spots in front of the restaurant. However, there are plenty of parking garages located close to the restaurant that are for the public, and I had no problems...

I’ve worked in fine dining. I don’t expect perfection—but I do expect a little class. St. Elmo used to deliver that. Lately, it doesn’t. And by lately, I mean for the past few years it has been dramatically declining. Is it new management? Loss of quality employees? IDK....

Last visit, I got seated in the basement and it wasn't some elegant speakeasy lower-level dining room. Think brown tile, cold air, and locker room traffic. It was giving fast-casual kitchen instead of fine dining. I half expected to see a mop bucket in the corner. Is it overflow seating? Have they always had this room? Kinda felt like it was supposed to be a hallway that they stuck some tables in it and thought, "Let's get more money!"

We got an up close and personal view of servers clocking out, tip cash in hand brushing past us with duffle bags. Bread came after the shrimp cocktail. Shrimp with sand veins. Silverware had food stuck on it. Steak was undercooked. Again. Things I've come to expect at Huse Culinary downtown locations.

When our server asked if we’d been there before, a few polite answers for the table weren’t enough. I guess it was more of a crowd participation thing where we needed to shout YES! or NO! individually. He audibly scoffed and never returned. Odd and robotic question to begin with and something we hear EVERY time we go. Somehow, we ended up with a different server. I doubt our lack of crowd participation was why but still strange. I never caught any of their names so we didn't get a chance to look them up on the theatre program of a menu.

Anyway, our new server was fine. Attentive even. Nothing special but maybe we were just a hard table to interact with judging by how off-putting we were to the original server.

Also, the bathrooms down there are basically airplane bathrooms. Dated, tiny and closet-like. Low key kind of humiliating to use when you compare them to the nice bathrooms upstairs. It certainly doesn't help when you have a busser cutting in front of a guest to use the bathroom especially since it seemed like the locker rooms were literally right there.

I’m tired of pretending it’s still worth it. Tired of paying premium prices for subpar food and service and still expected to tip 20% just to be decent. If I didn't feel like I was putting out a hard working person by withholding my tip, I would not have tipped. Tipping culture is messed up but that's a larger issue for another time. Perhaps Huse Culinary could pay better wages given the type of service they deem acceptable.

At this point, St. Elmo feels like a case study in what happens when a restaurant runs on reputation instead of quality. Although, where else do you go in Indy? Every place has the same type of service since covid happened. I thought this could be the exception given the name brand nostalgia but...