Chuck's Steak House — Restaurant in Rocky Hill

Summary before a long review:

1. food quality is good
2. execution and communication not good
3. prices are higher than other steakhouses I have been to and not worth the extra price.

I was very excited to try Chuck's for the first time. Myself, my wife, and friends do a monthly Friday night dinner and are always looking for different places to try.

Chuck's opened in 1970 according to their menu. I can say they are still set in the ways of the 70's and I don't think they have changed anything. This is good in some ways and bad in others.

When we arrived I was surprised at how slow it was for a Friday night. We drove by several restaurants on our way there that had packed parking lots, not chucks.

Server came to take our drink order and someone in our party asked if they had sangria and she said yes. 2 people order sangrias. Server comes back to say they no longer have sangrias but she can do a spritz. No problem, they ask for a peach spritz. She then comes back to say they can't do peach and lists off the flavors they can do.

3rd time is a charm right? And they now pick a flavor that she gave as an option! Only for her to come back and say they can't do that flavor! They can't do the flavor she just offered, that blew my mind.

I felt bad for the server because she had to keep coming back.

I did the salad bar which was decent. The bread was the best part (which is free at most every steak house I have been to). It definitely wasn't worth the extra almost $8. Most restaurants with a salad bar include it as an option for a side, or change a little extra for it. This salad bar was not any better than Ruby Tuesday. Not saying it was bad but it wasn't worth the extra charge. Clearly this is a huge revenue source for them because they say to every guest, "and you want the salad bar?"

I got the sirloin with mashed potatoes. Sirloin was ordered medium. The cook was so inconsistent. When I cut the steak the top 1/3 was well done, while the rest was a combination of medium and medium rare. Not how I would expect it from a steakhouse. Part of it was tough and some was tender. Mashed potatoes were heavy on pepper.

What also surprised me in 2025 at a restaurant that was slow for a Friday night. They won't split checks. They also won't run cards for different amounts. They do make sure to add the gratuity of course. We have done monthly dinners for about 2 years and restaurants all of the state and EVERYONE has been happy to split the check. Typically we have 12+ people in our party, this time was only 7. It's like they don't want larger parties.

Overall not a place I would visit again. I understand why they were not busy on a Friday night.

Also they had a sprinkler on their roof watering their HVAC units. Is that something...

When making the reservation, I stressed that it was for a birthday dinner and I stated to the person taking the call that I would put the reservation under the birthday boys name. I presumed that they would then pass this on as part of the reservation.

When our waitress appeared, she began with the person next to my husband, whose birthday it was. I commented ‘oh you’re not going to start with the birthday boy’, in my mind, reiterating the fact that this was a birthday party. At any rate, she took our orders, and we had our dinner and our salad bar, which were all prepared nicely and enjoyed.

However, NOT ONCE did she stop back to see if if our food was cooked properly or if we needed water refills, which was only thing three in our party were drinking. So, once the food was placed on our table we were apparently on our own. When we done with our meals she dropped off the check. I was surprised and miffed that a slice of birthday cake with a candle had not appeared. My husband signed the bill, which was extensive for five people and I wrote on it that I was disappointed because it was a birthday party that was not recognized.

The waitress acted like this was the first she heard of it, although I had said clearly that it was the birthday boy in the very beginning, when we sat down and the reservation was clearly made for a birthday celebration. Anyway, all of the food was reasonably good, however I would not come back again for a celebration, because they did not celebrate with me, and made me look like the angry old woman, when I was mad (disappointed) at the waitress for not recognizing that it was a birthday dinner. I wasn’t the bad guy, but my guests seemed embarrassed that I wasn’t happy.

This was both the managements and waitress’s fault. The information should have been written down and communicated, number 1. The waitress should have listened, 2. Someone should have checked on us during the two hours that we were there.

A good meal all I all, but I was expecting something much more...

This evening was my first time ever trying this place in general and I must say Nicole by far is one of the greatest servers I have ever come across in my life and i mean that whole heartedly. The Buffalo Shrimp was an impressive combination of the natural sweet and saltiness of the shrimp following up is a nice zing of heat to compliment the flavor. My wife and I were both in the mood for a good steak, sowe ordered their Top Sirloin which on the menu is a fan favorite due to special preparation and aging. We ordered the same sides, mashed potatoes which on the menu state clearly "While they last" and Sauteed Mushrooms. I also ordered a Guinness Extra stout. The results were mediocre at best the steak while cooked perfectly medium rare, tasted like it was simply removed from whatever package it came in and was cooked, while the mashed potatoes while not the best looking potatoes were quite good, I completely our server understand the need for this disclaimer. The Guinness to my disappointment arrived in what seemed to be mere seconds from ordering arrived flat with a hint of staleness. If you have read this far you are probably wondering why I am rating this facility as high as I am with not too many positive things to say and I appreciate you staying with me up to this point. The answer is our server Nicole. Her recommendation for the Buffalo Shrimp, and going over the menu and giving her personal opinion really helped us with ordering. She didn't just come to the table to check in she actually stopped by and engaged in real conversation that by the end, my wife and I felt like we made a new friend. Her recommendations of the desserts were amazing as well. While that was not on the top of my list, it is in fact on the list to give it another go because of the hostility, and with many many more things on the menu I'm sure this place will prove it's worth. 5 Stars. Oh yeah and the Sauteed Mushrooms were...