Eric's Porter Haus — Restaurant in Waukesha

I am going to reserve some of my judgment and give this place the benefit of the doubt because I visited on a work trip, had a spending limit that was less than their steaks, and ordered pasta. Prices here are on the high side.

First thing!! If you go, you need to enter the parking lot from the back. The drive from the front going past the house is apparently a one lane one direction exit only which did not appear to be marked. I had to back out and go around when I met another vehicle trying to leave.

The place is basically an old colonial style house with big white pillars in the front converted to a restaurant. The outside could use some touch ups and a little TLC but the inside appeared to be renovated and kept up well enough. There was a fire place going in the room I was seated which was very cozy and nice since the weather has been cold, windy, and rainy for the two weeks I’ve been here.

I want to say that this place appeared to be very popular, filling up very fast! Had the place been empty and not seemed so popular amongst the locals, I probably would have gone with 1-2 stars. Since that was not the case, I will assume some of the blame for ordering pasta at a steakhouse.

Since I was limited on what I could order, I decided to go with the chicken Marsala. Unfortunately, I was not a fan. The spaghetti (not linguine?) noodles were way beyond over cooked and mushy. The chicken flavor was ok and the sauce had mushrooms but not what I expected for a Marsala I guess. The texture of the chicken was a bit off too, kind of mushy also. I can’t quite put my finger on it… maybe cooked too long in the sauce, kind of a boiled chicken texture?

Being as busy as it was the waitress was very busy but not frantic, understandably food and service was a little on the slow side, but not bad.

I think I will visit here again next time I’m out this way and actually order the porterhouse. I am definitely intrigued by the popularity of this place. I don’t think it’s a bad place, I think I may have just ordered the wrong thing. I think It’s definitely worth giving them...

Don’t let the older building fool you- the chef is not out of it. I started at the bar with a delicious(southern comfort) old fashioned. They set us up in the northeast dining room, which had a nice hotel from the 1800s feel to it. We had a larger group and as such, started with multiple appetizers. The bruschetta is perfectly crispy, not a hard crunch at all. The champagne sauce for the scallops tasted like homemade by grandma in the best way. It was just a happy yummy. The shrimp cocktail had a great flavor, especially for being such huge shrimp! One friend said it was the best shrimp cocktail he’s ever had.The marinara for the fried mozzarella was also quite tasty. I had the ribeye and crab legs for dinner. I’m struggling to remember a time I had a ribeye that was so perfect. It was seasoned beautifully, temped to perfection, and it was tender enough to skip the steak knife. The chef rendered the fat marbling to be as soft as butter. I’m impressed- which says a lot. I ate all of my mushrooms and some of my husband’s. The garlic mashed potatoes were not overly garlicky- which can be a problem for many restaurants. Eric’s gets it right. My dinner salad was a generous size of nice, crispy vegetables. And no worrying about having a dressing you like- they probably have you covered with lots of options. The crab legs were very large and meaty. However- a crab fork would’ve been good to have for the parts still within the shell. King crab is ouchy to grab to crack by hand 😅 Though this might’ve been our specific server that specific night, not the standard for the restaurant. The staff was very happy to help any of us with anything we requested, excellent attitudes. Everyone in the group seemed to really enjoy their meals and between us, we covered a lot of the menu. The wine list was a mild disappointment, especially for a steak house. I would’ve liked to see a couple Cabernet, Merlot, and Pino Noir options, but they have only one option per...

My family's experience was a lot like the food: bland. One family member ordered a glass of wine and got some free hair along with it. Either from the kitchen staff or the bartender. I noticed it as soon as it was placed on the table by the waiter.

We all ordered different entrees but the same sides. The garlic mashed potatoes were lukewarm, had the texture as if they were sitting in the pan or under a heat lamp for a long time, and felt crusty. The buttered garlic pasta was also not a big hit. Overbearing pepper taste. This was the general consensus at the table.

I ordered the porterhouse of pork and could immediately tell it was overcooked. The second I cut into it I could tell it was dry to the bone. It was very tough and from what I could taste, it was quite bland and lacked flavor. Those who ordered it could not finish it due to it's dryness and absence of flavor.

The french fries were crispy and tasted just "okay." It was quite apparent they used the same oil for the fries as they did the fish. There was a distinct fishy taste to the fries.

There were only a few other people in the dining room during the 90 minutes we were there. Kind of surprising since it was prime dinner time. The atmosphere is pretty cool from a historical point of view but that's about it. This place give me the impression it should be on one of Gordon Ramsay's shows. It's in need of some help. Whoever is working the grill and running the line needs to learn to cook.

The only positive thing I can say is that our server, Arthur, was polite and courteous towards us. We had high expectations for this place given the reviews posted here. Take your money and palates to a different...