McGraw's Steak Chop & Fish House — Restaurant in West Lafayette

Outstanding food, solid service, and a pleasant, if dated, atmosphere make a great dining experience, easily one of the best in Lafayette or West Lafayette.

I'll start with the food. It's the best meal I've had since I moved to Indiana. We began with the firecracker shrimp. They had only the lightest batter or breading and a delicate touch with the fryer so that they were perfectly cooked but still tender. The sauce, listed as "sweet and spicy" was spicier than sweet, but with just enough sweetness to add depth to the spicy flavor without competing with it. My wife and I each had soup before our meals. She had the broccoli cheddar and I had the French onion. She said it was the best broccoli cheddar soup she's ever had, and she orders it everywhere she goes, so that's quite a compliment. My French onion soup was great. The onion flavor was strong but not overpowering and the cheese had been melted until it was gooey and thick.

For our entrees, I had the prime rib and she had the chicken McGraw. As prime rib goes, this was quite good. A very generous serving size that presented a problem in which it was a bit too much to eat at once, but not quite enough to take home and have more than a few bites. My wife reported that the chicken was juicy and fresh, and the accompanying sauce and vegetables were great. Hers came with a side of shoestring onions. We were both curious that these should be an option as a side dish while also appearing as an appetizer. After one bite it was clear -- they're absurdly delicious and incredibly addictive. They came with a sauce that was totally unnecessary; the onions are fantastic on their own and well worth paying for as an appetizer. My burgundy mushrooms were nice, though a bit understated surrounded by so many other rich tastes and textures.

For dessert we shared a slice of Italian lemon cream cake. It was a perfect finish to the meal -- light, bright, delicate, and sweet. It was served with a raspberry drizzle that I was skeptical about at first, but one taste won me over. It added one last layer of complexity that punctuated the flavor of the cake.

Our service was just right. Unobtrusive but attentive. We never went long between refills or courses, and those were spaced so well that the time it took to prepare our entrees flew by without notice.

I have a single fault, and it's incredibly trivial. The interior and exterior of the restaurant seem to be two completely different concepts. From the outdoors, it resembles a campsite with cabins and a dining hall -- somewhat rustic, unassuming, and unrefined. The interior summons memories of late-90s/early-00s fine dining establishments. The seats overlooking the river offer a lovely, peaceful view which aligns with the building's exterior, but again contrasts in a disjointed way from the fine dining experience and the refined menu. It's a curious combination, but not one that in any way diminishes the meal.

It's not a cheap meal, but you will get what you pay for in quality and attention to detail. The wine menu is terrific, by the way, with something for all tastes, pairings,...

Started dinner at our 8:30 reservation. We were not seated until 8:45. In the mean time we looked at drinks. Thier wine list had less then 12 options. Wife got a cocktail that she enjoyed. I asked for a rum and coke with silver bacardi. Staff was so confused they had to bring me the bottle of rum to make sure that's what I meant- even Applebee's knows what silver rum is.

We shared the crab cake that was ok. Flavor was good, but a pan seared crab cake should have a crunch. This was cool in the center, and had no crust.

I went to order the prime rib. They were out of all the prime rib. Ordered the rare ribeye and baked potatoe. Waiter came back- they were out of potatoes. Yup, steak house out of both prime rib and potatoes on a Friday night. Ended up going with the mushrooms. The wife ordered the chicken dish. My wife got a salad, she said the cucumbers were really great, full of flavor. I got the French onion soup. Now I'm not an expert- but I've never had French onion soup with a yellow broth. The cheese was good- but whatever it was- it was not french onion soup. Wife was happy with the chicken. My steak arrived- it is the first time I have added pepper and salt to a piece of meat at a table in a long long time. No seasoning from the kitchen at all. The Burgandy mushrooms didn't really have any flavors of wine or butter. Sort of odd. Yup, the best part of dinner was the two cucumber slices in the salad. We skipped desert at this point.

The couple things we did notice during our date, the floor in the dining room literally felt as if it were about to give way and collapse as the wait staff walked back and forth. The ceiling tiles were heavily stained from water leaks. The decorations are very dated, many of them hearken to 20 years ago when they were rated by wine spectator.

The staff was moderate. In fact, if anything over staffed but not enthused. I saw staff on more than one occasion socializing with each other as if they were on breaks- but doing so in view of the guests. Not once did a manager come past to check on how the evening was.

The owners (I believe) were seated at the bar drinking with some friends the entire evening. While that is fine and not bad in and of itself, the rock music and loud conversations with loud obsenities do not say fine dining. The fact that it was coming from the crowd seated with the owner (?) made us feel like they didn't even care that we dropped over $120 on a mediocre meal on our date night.

This resturaunt is a long term standard of the area. Sadly, I think it stopped aspiring to greatness about 15 years ago. It's a shame. It's a matter of time before it becomes a faded memory. Next time we will go to Mountain Jack's (because while it's dated- the staff is very professional and the food has always been flawless) or 8eleven on campus which is always amazing in every way, though decidedly...

McGraw's has an excellent view, as it sits directly on the Wabash River. I ordered the charcuterie board for an appetizer and the sesame-crusted ahi tuna with asparagus as my main dish—both of which were excellent! They all had amazing flavor, and I was pleasantly surprised by the more-than-adequate portion of fish. The side salad was meh, and I only ate one bite of the rolls which were literally swimming in what looked like melted butter but tasted more like melted margarine. The establishment supplied each table with hand sanitizer, which I greatly appreciated, the tables were spaced well, and all the workers wore masks. However, our waiter didn't wear his mask over his nose, which kind of bothered my husband and me, since you might as well not wear a mask if you're going to keep your nose sticking out. He also picked up my glass to refill it with water, and I did not see him sanitize between tables, so that made me a little uncomfortable to drink from my glass. Fortunately there was that bottle of hand sanitizer on the table, so I just used that to solve the problem, but I preferred the approach of one of the other waiters who simply poured the water from the pitcher into my glass without actually touching my glass. Another issue I had with a couple of the waiters was that two separate ones tried to take away our salad plates before we had even started eating our salads and were still finishing our charcuterie board! I guess they were just doing their job, but it seems odd to try to take away untouched salads when guests are still finishing their appetizer. It made me feel rushed. Anyway, in brief, my food overall was excellent (aside from the salad and rolls), but the service had somewhat to be desired. Perhaps it was just this time (my husband has been before for business dinners and had good experiences), and I would still come here...