Joseph's Italian Steakhouse — Restaurant in Town of Hyde Park

Four of us went here last night for our daughters birthday expecting what their website describes as a “Manhattan Style Steakhouse”. I’m sure that’s what they’d LIKE to be but it didn’t even come close. We were warmly greeted and things started well enough with drinks and appetizers. Each time our server came to the table she’d mention she’d be coming back with bread which never came until we asked about it later on - a minor issue compared to what was to come. That said, if it never came we wouldn’t have missed anything.

Three of us ordered steaks with the other ordering the sliced steak with mushroom gravy entree. That entree was supposed to come with a vegetable. We had to remind the waitress about it. When the steaks came they were announced as to how they were cooked. I had ordered mine medium. They said it was medium rare and told me to try it and if it was too rare they’d put it back on the fire. I had already decided I wasn’t going to do that as I’d only to have to eat it while everyone else was finished. It was rare, and tough because of it. Good thing I made that decision as no one ever came back to ask how it was. The steak ordered medium was well done and tough and the one ordered rare was cooked to medium. (These we’re different cuts so we couldn’t even switch plates.)

One steak was to have Bearnaise sauce, another Bordelaise. Neither did. These sauces were brought out in tiny cups, again, after we brought it to their attention. The Bordelaise had more in common with with a Knorr powdered gravy mix than what it should have been.

At one point we were asked how we were for drinks and a member of our party ordered a beer. It simply never came. On to dessert.

“Ask your server for seasonal fruit topping” was the tagline to the cheesecake. They had no fruit topping to offer. I doubt it would have helped the freezer burned taste of what was brought. The Apple Crisp a la mode and the Chocolate Brownie a la mode came with no ice cream. Each item was pushed to one side of its plate to make room for it yet no one deemed it necessary to actually put it there. So again we had to remind them how they were supposed to serve their offerings. At this point we were asked about drinks again. The person who never got their beer asked for water. Guess what never came.

The food was bland and was diner quality at best. First time here....

I must have driven by this place thousand times and finally decided to stop in with a friend of mine. We were greeted by a friendly waiter who allowed us to pick our table on the patio as it was not that crowded yet. The patio is done very nicely and my only complaint would have to be the noise from the traffic going by... However that tiny inconvenience would be more than over come when the food came. I started out with the onion strings with ranch dressing. Normally you expect a dish like this to be quite greasy however this was anything but. The onion strings were crispy not greasy and went perfectly with the dipping dressing.

Next I had the mushroom risotto and mind you it took a bit of courage to order such a dish at a steakhouse but it is Joseph's "Italian" steakhouse... Needless to say the risotto was delicious.

Now for the main course as I was hungry I decided to go with the big cut of prime rib. When it arrived at the table I took a moment to awe in the size and perfection of the meat... The coloring was perfect it was juicy and just the right amount of fat. First bite literally melted in my mouth... I don't know what type of rub they use on this prime rib but it is absolutely phenomenal. I kept saying to myself there's no possible way I will be able to finish this... However as I put the last bite in my mouth I happily stood very much corrected.

For dessert I ordered the brownie à la mode and it was all I hoped it would be. The ice cream was delicious and the medley of hot cold ice cream and brownie were perfect end to a perfect meal. The owner came over to make sure everything was OK and since I had a big hunk of meat in my mouth all I could do is motion with thumbs up. I will summarize by saying Joseph's Italian steakhouse does not disappoint... You must give it a try if you're in the market for a good steak, Or prime rib. By the way my accompaniment had the shrimp scampi and was raving about it as well and there's no doubt in my mind I'm sure it was just as good as my prime rib.

I will definitely be back to Joseph's...

I had been dying to try Joseph's since my brother mentioned he had taken his girlfriend there for Valentine's Day last year. Over the summer, a close family friend rented the banquet hall for their baby's Christening. The service and the food were both EXCELLENT. Joseph himself was involved in everything from making the drinks to serving seconds of the delicious steak. This experience combined with the many good things i had heard about Josephs prompted me to get most of my family, and my boss gift certificates for Christmas.

The whole family, about 10 of us, decided that we would get together on New Years day to try out Josephs...and we were VERY disappointed. We got there at around 6pm, the restaurant was almost empty and Joseph after having a brief conversation with our group, was leaving for the day. I can only assume from my experience that an untrained prep cook was manning the kitchen and the chef was given the holiday off. I got the 12oz Ribeye and about a quarter of a scoop of mashed potatoes. The steak was flavorless, and it was served on a skillet-- which by the time the 10 of us were served, turned my med rare steak into a med well steak. Most of the family had the same complaints, flavorless rice and steak, roast duck with orange sauce that had no orange sauce, such a small portion of grilled swordfish that everyone was giving that person scraps of their food so he wouldn't walk away hungry. At the end of the day we ended up spending over $500 for a meal that was less than mediocre. The service was excellent but i have serious reservations about going back and quite frankly i feel like i was jipped. I spent a lot of money at Josephs and spoke highly of the restaurant and honestly don't know that i would ever return.

All that being said, Joseph's is a beautiful restaurant and Joseph and his staff are warm and inviting. Maybe if i hadn't spent $500 when i had this experience, i would consider returning. Unfortunately, the experience on New Years Day has left a bad taste...