Republic of Fredonia Steakhouse — Restaurant in Nacogdoches

We made a reservation at 7:30 P.M. on July 16th, 2022. When we got there we were arranged to sit at a table close by to the bar. We started off by drinking water. My brother tried the Manhattan, it had Vermouth, Bourbon and not sure what else, but when it came in the glass it was literally smoking in the glass and came around $12-$13. I got the New Orleans BBQ Shrimp Appetizer which was $19, which came with around 5-6 shrimp garnished with 4 pieces of garlic bread. The sauce the shrimp and garlic bread were put in had some kind of wine that really accentuated the flavor of the shrimp. It paired quite nicely. My brother got the Lobster Bisque and it was definitely worth the price for it. It would probably be nice to go back just to enjoy the soup to be honest. We then had a main course of 8 oz Center Steak Filets that came at around $48 each; I got it medium well, and my brother got it medium, and it was one of the tenderest steaks I've ever tried in my life. Finally to finish off, even though we stayed a little past closing time, we ate a Luxardo Cheesecake that was very well presented. My brother and I enjoyed every minute of it. The atmosphere of the place wafted with the hints of classy jazz you could take a special someone to. A great place to talk business, for a 3rd date (to take it up a notch), or to get your wife in the mood. Our waitress was wonderful, had an exciting and positive vibe, and knew what she was doing. Because my brother and I work a lot, it is very hard for us to find time for vacations (he has PTO and I don't), so we felt this was the best way to spend our time this year for the summer. It is definitely a beautiful experience and hopefully I get to enjoy something similar to it again before I meet my heavenly maker. I want to thank the Fredonia Hotel and the Republic of Fredonia Steakhouse for a great night out of the house and for taking the time to care. Hope everyone has a...

As we planned our trip to Nacogdoches and The Fredonia Hotel, I made a reservation at the Republic Steakhouse over the phone. Two days before our arrival I received an email reminder of the restaurant reservation. The day before our arrival another reminder email showed up. (Both emails listed the dress code, the dos & don'ts, and the fees that would be charged if we failed to show-up, or if we cancelled less than 24 hours before the reservation)!! After our long drive we arrived and checked-in to the hotel. Taking a quick nap, I had just fallen asleep in our room, and my phone rang. It was the Republic Steakhouse wanting to know if we were going to be there at the designated time! UNBELIEVEABLE! I gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed they must be very busy on this Saturday night. We arrived at the exact time (didn't want to incur a charge for being late) and were seated promptly. The restaurant is decorated nicely and has great music playing in the background. The waiter was knowledgeable and polite, but not very attentive. The wine was good, along with the salad and the French-onion soup, but the bread never made it to our table. Had to ask another server for it. My wife's filet was very good, along with the sides, but my ribeye left a lot to be desired. There is proper marbling in steaks, and then there is just a lot of fat. Mine was the later! Could only eat about half. By now our waiter had all but disappeared. We finally flagged down another server to get our check. Remember my earlier comment that the restaurant must have been booked solid to keep reminding me of our reservation? Well...there were two booths and one table that sat empty during the entire time we were there! We love the hotel, but won't return to the Republic. Not a great value for...

I'll mention some other things that are not steak, but I'm giving this place five stars for the steak itself and top notch service. Have I had better steaks for less? Yes I have. But still... First out was high quality sourdough bread served with room temperature real butter, thank God! The bread reminded me of the amazing sourdough bread that is sold at the real time bread store in Lufkin. Top notch! I got the lobster bisque. The bisque was very thick and had pretty good flavor with a fair amount of what tasted like grilled chunks of lobster meat. It was the cup and costed $13. It was a small but filling portion. The wife got French onion soup that had about a 1/4 of an inch thick cheese and tomato cap. No worries, it came with a small pair of scissors to cut through it. The flavor was good to very good but had a lot of bread stuffed inside. Maybe that's how the French do it? 🤷‍♂️ Served with our steak was a family-sized/style Caesar salad with Fredonia's awesome cornbread croutons. Salad was pretty good and fresh. We shared the 16oz. ribeye which, due to the fat content, was MORE than enough. I ordered medium rare and believe it or not, that's how it was served. That is the most important part of all this. The fat was extremely flavorful and rendered perfectly as we ate. The meat flavor was high quality, just not quite as high as, say, a Hassell Cattle Company steak. Was it worth $60? I dunno. Either way, zero complaints about the steak itself. Service was on point and you even get to choose your own Laguiole...