Misty's Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Lincoln

We got the buy $100 get $60 deal, so we felt like it was a good time to give them a try.

First, the front person was a bit unprofessional, but not rude, just young...it was fine, we got to our seat just fine.

Second, our waitress was amazing. I feel bad, because I never caught her name, but she a lady, with light bow legs and a light limp. She was sprinting up and down the restaurant, and it was never more than a few minutes until we saw her again. Our glasses were never empty, and she always checked in on us. Overall wonderful waitress. She deserves a raise, a big one.

Third...the overall atmosphere and feel of the place was great. Old but not outdated, elegant in places but also playful. Loved the booth. Having Halloween decorations up in early August was interesting. We couldn't decide if they were still up from last year or longer, or if they went up already because it's the next holiday. Either way, it was an interesting and unexpected talking point, quite charming actually.

Fourth, let's get to the food.

It took us a while to figure out what we wanted, but our waitress took great care of us. First we ordered the bruschetta, but it turned out they were out of bread, so we had to switch, our waitress recommended the calamari, so that's what we got. They were decent, and different, the sauce (maybe cocktail sauce) was tasty. Overall good.

For our dinner we decided on a 6oz prime rib and an 11oz ribeye with scallops, both medium rare. They come out timely, and initially they looked great on the outside. Nice sear lines on the ribeye, but a little charred/burned on the underside in places, the prime rib was very medium rare, but the prime rib was medium well on one half, and the super marbled side was medium rare. The ribeye seasoning was fine, the prime rib was pretty bland. Overall, the steaks were 5/10, and I feel like I'd at least expect an 8/10 for the price. Sides were fine (rice and veggies). The scallops were very disappointing, especially when I get 3 for $42, they smelled fresh, but they weren't cooked right, all overcooked quiet a bit, lots of butter. I got the seafood bisque, which was very tasty, and my wife did the Caesar salad, which was also good.

We took some cheesecake home, and initial verdict on that is pretty bland.

So... verdict. The side dishes were all pretty decent, but the mains (steaks and scallops) didn't impress. In the end we spend $160 on just the food above, and I don't feel like I've gotten a premium meal for that. Overall maybe a 6/10 if we consider all the parts of the meal, but just judging the steaks/scallops 4/10, which to me is what a steakhouse should be about, hence the 2 star rating for the food, and 3 overall since the rest was great.

Again, our waitress was amazing, get her a raise please (I know that's not how restaurants work, just trying to make a point).

You're maybe asking "why didn't I say all this to our waitress, who would have surely compted/fixed everything"? Because, I don't want to judge a place at their best, that they miss 9/10 times, I want to judge a place with they normal performance, because when I come back, that's what I want to expect. You know... first impression matters, not the best impression. Is that fair? Well...it allows me to have a short list of places that I know what to expect, which...

Expensive, but worth it, even though the service isn't fantastic.

I had the lobster & seafood bisque, calamari, house salad, mashed potatoes, and a 7-ounce sirloin. The bisque was rich and delicious, though I never met a lobster bisque I didn't like so take that opinion with a grain of salt. The calamari was some of the most tender I've ever had, not rubbery from being frozen and/or overcooked like you get at most places, although maybe a little greasier than it needed to be. House salad was nothing special, like you'd get at a diner. Potatoes were served without gravy but didn't really need it because they were so buttery; also left the skins in for a nice strong russet flavor. The sirloin was pretty much perfect: cooked exactly to the doneness I ordered, with just enough of a Montreal-style seasoning.

The waitress was kind of... distant or lackadaisical, and was a late in asking what I wanted for my entree until after the appetizers were already out, so it ended up coming a little later than it would have otherwise.

The atmosphere is really something else. Right now restaurants generally go for bright, open, simple, and modern, and Misty's decor is right in the opposite direction each way. Soft light from brass fixtures far below the high, shadowed popcorn ceilings, long wooden beams, tinted glass separators, Chesterfield leather chairs and booths... it reminds me of the giant antique store a block away. I've got a thing for that warm old-school aesthetic and it's appropriate for what might be Lincoln's most historic district, where a lot of the businesses are throwbacks in one...

So disappointing! I remember going to Misty’s in Havelock 30 years ago while attending UNL. It was the first time my parents met my boyfriend, now husband of 25 years. It was the best steak we’ve ever had and the experience was simply the best. Tonight we visited our son, a student at Nebraska Wesleyan, and took him to the Misty’s location downtown. We thought it would be a treat, but it was so underwhelming! Honestly it was terrible. I called to see if we needed a reservation and the hostess made seem like they were booked but if we rushed, he could get us in. When we arrived, we only saw 9 seated tables. The restaurant was only at about 30% occupancy. We were worried about the dress code because my son had shorts on, but honestly, he looked better than most of the patrons in the joint! The restaurant seemed old and dirty. The floors were stained, the bathrooms dark and dingy, and they had multiple temporary air-conditioners placed around the restaurant. Our waiter was nice but uneducated. When we asked about available spirits, he directed us to the menu and said he wasn’t sure because it was only his second day. The food was extremely subpar! My son’s 14 ounce ribeye was all fat. Wish I would have taken a picture. It looked uneatable! I ordered a French dip with onions and peppers for $2.00 more and couldn’t even see or taste a hint of them, the sandwich was soggy and disappointing. The manager did take my son’s steak off the bill, but never apologized or offered him an alternative. Sad, I thought it would be the Misty’s...