The Walker Roadhouse — Restaurant in Walker

At first, we miss the restaurant entirely. I have to turn around and go back, then we spy it. The signage isn’t really that noticeable. Since we’re having an early dinner, we have no problems finding a spot to park. Still, there are plenty of customers, so that’s a good sign. Our friends—I, T, and K—are finishing up drinks at the bar so I check with the hostess to arrange a large table. Soon enough, we are shown to the dining room.

I order a beer from our friendly and efficient waitress because I notice they serve draught brew in chilled pint glasses. The ice forms on the outside of the glass like weird sculptures; it’s pretty cool (pun intended). Everyone is in the mood for appetizers so we dig into the thick menu. Wow, the offerings are expansive! It makes me wonder if the cook might be spread too thin, since there are so many different cuisines represented? Undaunted, we plow ahead, stomachs first.

We order the Buffalo Chicken dip, which is creamy and slightly spicy. I’m not a fan of tortilla chips, so I use the celery sticks to scoop out the dip. Although I have high hopes for the Fried Cheese Curds made of white cheddar, they’re pretty standard. Not standard, however, are the Bang Thai Shrimp. They are spicy, sweet, and succulent, and would give Bone Fish Grill a run for their money. It’s tough to cook shrimp exactly right; a little too much time on the heat and they’ll curl into tough little O’s. These are perfect. Another highlight is the Smoked Gouda Flatbread. Again, if you use the wrong kind of Gouda, you end up with a fake-tasting cheese dish. This one hits all the right notes, and nobody complains about the crispy pancetta sprinkled on top.

For my main, I go with the Chili Rubbed Bistro Steak. Ordinarily, I’m pretty picky about what kind of beef I order. About 99% of the time, I’ll get a small medium rare filet. I just don’t like the nodules and weird bits in some other cuts of meat. This is a grilled ten ounce cut of hanger steak, which Juliet and I have used in past at home, mostly for southwestern food (fajitas, tacos). It can be very tender if marinated properly. Walker Roadhouse’s bistro steak is seasoned, cooked, and topped exactly right. Sauteed peppers and onions smother the meat, and I even opt for the cajun bleu cheese option (only $1.50!!!). I hardly speak to my fellow diners as I demolish the steak. Fantastic! Sweet potato fries, cooked up crunchy, and crisp coleslaw accompany my meal, but I only have eyes (and taste buds) for the beef.

Dessert is not an option after all this food. We finish our drinks and chat away with our friends until the check comes. Both of us are pleasantly surprised at the quality of food we found out here on the west side, and there is no doubt we’ll be back...

Have to be honest.. I used to LOVE this place, it's the local spot. We've lived close by for 13 years and have always been happy. We probably ordered twice a week. This is not a steakhouse, it's a roadhouse, recognize this and stop it. I just ordered takeout for the first time in a good long while... I got the beer cheese dip (with soft pretzels). ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!? I literally thought it was a joke. I got 8 little pretzels with a "to go" container of this cheese dip... I get 2x the ranch in one of your tiny little plastic sauce containers than I did of this cheese dip, absolutely ridiculous for $10. Applebees gives you 6x that amount of cheese dip, with 4 huge pretzels for $10.29. You could 8x the amount of cheese and double the pretzels, it still wouldn't be worth $10. Not to mention, Applebees cheese dip isn't just plain microwave from a jar cheese with seasoning. Also, the quesadilla appetizer.. was $16! You cannot be serious. You have entrees cheaper than that on your menu! The crab rangoon dip was just simply disgusting. One tiny taste, and we threw away a $15 appetizer. It tasted like fish bowl water smells. Sick. I'm severely disappointed in this place lately. Extremely expensive, tiny servings, and honestly... I'm embarrassed that I've recommended it to people. I hope they tried it back when they were fair with their servings and had good menu items. I can get two times the fried perch I can get here, anywhere in town for $5 less. Get it together guys, really.

I spent $46 dollars tonight and got one quesadilla that was "decent" with some overfried chips that had no salt on them, crab dip that was inedible with fried wontons (absolutely worthless without dip) and a 1/4 order of pretzels, with enough cheese to dip two of them in, if I'm being generous. I pulled out some mustard from the fridge for the remaining tiny 6 pretzels. Laughable, really. I'll go elsewhere until they get their prices/servings figured out, which I hope they do. We aren't in covid times anymore..... Fix it or lose...

I'll start with I've eaten here many times and enjoyed the food and service. My rating is a direct reaction to our group of 4 being treated completely different this time around.

I'll chalk this one up to a sign off the times. This evening a restuarant we go to regularly is out of many items on the menu. We order, waiter comes back and tells us they're out of an item. We order again, waiter goes back with the order and comes back with they're out again. We change the order. Waiterr goes back comes back to tell us they're out again. One person in our party ask for a substitution since they are out of several side items. Waiter says that will be $3 extra for the substitution. Our friend ask to see the manager. Manager comes out and ask some in a disgusted tone, what is the problem here? She informs our guest there will be no substitutions, as she will not be giving away free food. I had already agreed to substitute and pay more for a different side. The other three people in our party were at their fourth attempt at sides as stated above.

With two entrees, 3 sides and baked potatoes sold out it would seem substitution of a garden salad would have been a reasonable request. After an attempt to get a friendly conversation with the manager the owner comes out and brushes us off. Our friends cancel their order as do we.

I've never experienced this at this restuarant before. Hopefully they are out of things because sales are off the charts. And thus a carefree disposition toward customers is easily affordable.

Tonight we left hungry and disapointed after paying for our drinks.

Hopefully your experience...