My father has been coming to Oaklawn in Hot Springs, AR for 50 years. He is a creature of habit, and frequents the local restaurants that he’s had the best experiences with.

Every year we come, we venture out for dinner in a group. I suggested last night that we try Steinhaus-Keller for some authentic German cuisine. Our group was excited for something new, and to say the experience was a disaster is putting it mildly; sadly, when the topic of dinner came up tonight, everyone was afraid of a repeat of our horrible night last night.

We spent our day at the horse track making new friends and enjoying the sunshine. At the end of the day we decided we had made new friends, and we would take the leap and try a steak place that a fellow Embassy Suites patron had highly suggested. This place was called The Porterhouse.

I called and made a reservation for 8 people at 7:00pm, and we quickly gathered to walk to dinner from the hotel. I’m very nervous at this point, as we had invited our new friends in hopes of no repeat of the night before.

When we arrived, our table was waiting for us. Every staff member in the establishment greeted us as we walked to our table, and we immediately felt welcome. Water was filled and wine and beer was passed around within minutes. The bread came hot and fresh, and appetizers and salads were even better!

Our waitress Kaylee was witty, fun, and treated us like family. I’ve never seen someone more eager to please a group as she was to ours. Between Kaylee and Griffin, our glasses were always full, plates never empty, and they kept the table cleared faster than we could blink an eye!

When we mentioned our disaster at the previous restaurant the night before, the waitress agreed to ask the owner of The Porterhouse to come to our table to allow us to properly appreciate them and the establishment.

Penny and Joe, the owners of The Porterhouse, gladly came over and had a lengthy conversation with everyone at our table. We learned a little bit about their history, and come to find out, Joe is from Italy where my fiancé’s cousin is stationed with the military.

When our main courses arrived, we could hardly wait to cut into everything. The filet was cooked to perfection, the crab with asparagus and hollandaise sauce (ala Oscar) absolutely made my mouth water it was so fantastic, the vegetable medley was bursting with flavor, the crab and lobster melted in your mouth it was so good, and a server even came with toppings to sprinkle on our baked potatoes! I have never been more delighted with myself for wearing stretchy pants so that I could enjoy my evening to the fullest!

Joe told us a little about how he prepares the food and even offered to share a sampler platter of his desserts with our entire table just to make up for the bad experience we had at another restaurant the night before...now THAT is making your patrons feel welcome and want to come back!

By the time our evening ended, we left a hefty tip for the staff, a personal note in a coloring book for our wonderful waitress Kaylee, and thanked everyone we came in contact with on our way out...especially Joe and his wife Penny!

We will be coming back as long as Joe and Penny are in business! This evening with my family and new friends could not have been more enjoyable, and we have everyone at The Porterhouse to thank for salvaging our less than stellar weekend where dining was involved!

Saved from Misery...and we’re from Missouri!

It was Tuesday evening, rite before restaurant opens, my wife & I celebrating our 50th WAV. Nice & not crowded, my wife adored the decor, really nice and romantic. The food was really good and we will back. Rib eye steak was delicious. Hot Springs, AR.

We always eat at the Porterhouse whenever we are in Hot Springs. Great steaks and excellent service. We love the atmosphere in the Porterhouse, Try the brownie ala mode for dessert!

Fined with 14 business colleagues and we really enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere. I had the chicken fried chicken and it was excellent. Others enjoyed salmon and several cuts of steak. In the end, we all enjoyed the food and our evening together. Worth repeating!!

When we first walked in we were greeted by pretty much everyone. We were promptly seated (it was a Sunday so there wasn’t that big a crowd) and our server was there to address us soon after. We ordered a bottle of wine and it came out, was presented in a lovely way, and it was great. We then ordered the Porterhouse for 2 that came with a salad and an appetizer and more than enough food for us. Steaks were cooked perfectly and the seasoning on them was just the icing on the cake. Amazing atmosphere and very friendly staff. Will be going back!