Louie's Steak & Seafood — Restaurant in Kenai

We live in Palmer but vacation to Kenai quite often. Decided to give Louie's a shot for the first time, but left feeling nothing but buyers remorse even 48 hrs after the meal. (Just got back to cell service) We should have trusted our gut feelings to walk out when the waitress seemed a little snooty and we seen the menu prices, but after hearing the on floor manager loudly boast about how great the food was, we decided to "treat" ourselves. The only treat we really had that night were the $21 mozzarella sticks. Their ranch tasted house made and had great flavor to it, but the mozzarellas sticks did look like they could have come from the Costco freezer section. My fiance ordered the $32 Chicken with Diablo Shrimp. The chicken, though incredibly bland, surprisingly wasn't over cooked. The shrimp, however, suffered a different fate. The sauce could have saved the show, but it tasted like watered down canned crushed tomatoes with some kind of sweet and slightly spicy sauce. There was no depth to the plate. The dry wild rice pilaf had absolutely no flavor to it and the overcooked green beans were swimming in the bacon grease they were cooked in. I order the $33 Chicken Fried Steak with Turkey Gravy. The New York strip they claim to have used wasn't over cooked, but the meat and breading alone lacked seasoning entirely. The slop of so called "turkey gravy," that also smothered the bland mashed potatoes, ruined the entire meal for me. The gravy was tacky, clumpy and like everything else, lacked flavor. The only reason I took it to-go was to feed it to my dogs after a long day of walking, and even then, I've served them better scraps. I don't leave too many reviews, but considering this place has over 1.4k reviews and how confident the manager sounded, I feel like people should at least be warned before they spend over $100 on what should have been a VERY nice meal for two. At least we left with painful, but laughable memories....

Ordered: Chop Chop scramble with eggs and Uncle … country omelette. Pros: *Food was good- a basic breakfasts made well with fresh ingredients. Price was reasonable for what we ordered. *Laurie our waitress was great— friendly, maintained her professionalism and didn’t seemed bothered by the rush of people or composure of those around her. Cons: *They didn’t have sourdough pancakes and haven’t for weeks. They should say so from the beginning. We waited a moment to be seated and again to order and it would have been helpful to know they weren’t an option. Especially since they say on the menu that they are made from scratch in house and they are a specialty— it’s obviously a selling point. Don’t sell me on something I can’t have. *Biggest Con: The manager has an extremely frantic and stressed composure which bleeds onto the staff. From the outside it looked like he was micromanaging, overwhelmed, and not enjoying his job. There was lots of under the breathe mumbling as he moved through the restaurant and the staff obviously is trying their best despite his attitude. Leadership should uplift and encourage— in any setting. He seemed much more comfortable dealing with locals whom he could talk a bit more curtly to, allow to wipe their own table and seat themselves, and write down their own names on the list, etc. His customer service style of code-switching and faking the smile isn’t working— no matter how well he dresses or how many tasks he takes on. Train your head staff well, give everyone valuable feedback, and move out of the way. You’re there to support the team as needed, not step on their toes and suck the joy out of their job/livelihood. I hope you find something that makes you happy, because Sunday breakfast during tourist...

So impressed with this place. Don't let the outdated decor and building fool you... the food is amazing! We had the coconut salmon to start- outstanding! Huge chunks! This appetizer alone could easily be a meal. My daughter and I ordered the seafood alfredo (scallops, halibut, salmon and shrimp with fettuccine noodles in an alfredo sauce). The waitress offered to serve on two plates. We chose the clam chowder to share (you choose soup or salad with this entrée). You also get a large pre sliced warm sourdough roll with butter squares. The chowder came before the entrée and it was perfect! Chunky and generous amount of clams and potatoes. Great creamy taste! My husband also ordered the clam chowder with his entrée. His entrée: The King Louie, 44oz blackened Prime Rib, loaded baked potatoe and asparagus. Wow- biggest prime rib cut I've ever seen in Alaska. Very flavorful, nice bark and cooked exactly how he asked, medium rare. We would've been completely full and satisfied with the coconut salmon and cup of chowder- because we had no idea the portions would be huge. The service was wonderful. Attentive staff and food and beverage/restaurant mgr was on point, checking on everyone. I loved that. This is a perfect place to take out of town guest to show them a true Alaskan restaurant. Lots of taxidermy to view. As soon as you walk in, there's a black bear on a soda machine. We will definitely be back! Everything...