spencer's for steaks and chops

way overrated. as part of a foursome that was seated near the front door in "cat's" section, we were coming with 2 of us having a wonderful previous dining experience here.
in order to save face, several of the wait staff tried to help out. ordering was a bit foggy; got the wrong soup; the brussels were so tough i could not even chew them and the sauce on them was disgusting. the lamb was near room temp. the prime was tough; the steak was adequate; the tuna was flavorless. asparagus was non-remarkably ok.
we felt robbed and will not return.

not perfect. i eat at spencers in spokane several times a year while visiting my son at gonzaga and have thoroughly enjoyed my experience, especially at a restaurant that i don't have at home. i must say that my omaha experience was not the same. medium rare + was not an option as i was shown on the menu and the ribeye was not of the quality you would expect. hopefully this was a one off experience and i will try again as my youngest will be attending creighton.

raw chicken; poor service and food overall. we went to spencer's for our anniversary and had a horrible experience. my wife's chicken was not cooked and had to be sent back which the manager agreed (pink and bloody), but it took a very long time to replace. my steak ordered medium rare was very much on the rare side which is fine with me, but the meat was not very good (very tough and chewy). the au gratin potatoes served were cold, undercooked and tasted very much like they came out of a box. to top the night off we were charged for the complimentary champagne given to us being our anniversary which the server did not apologize for but instead told me "nice catch" since what they gave us was so cheap!

still going strong. hungry for spencer's, but dressed in shorts, we dined in their attractive lounge. the bartender knew how to carry on a conversation, without overdoing it. i wish more bartenders could master that skill.
even in the lounge prices aren't exactly cheap, but there is a selection of appetizers, sandwiches and burgers that won't break your bank. while the two out-of-town businessmen dining next to us up at the bar raved about their burgers, we opted for the bbq beef sandwich and the steamed mussels. the sandwich was basically a fancy bbq sloppy joe. it was delicious, and came with nearly a pound of skin-on french fries. the mussels came in a large bowl, accompanied by a delicious thai style broth and a handful of small slices of crusty bread. there were maybe 15 mussels, several of which had not opened. overall i liked the dish. we also ordered calamari as our appetizer. it was fine, and came with both a seasoned tartar sauce and a smoked chipotle style cocktail sauce. i only wish that the calamari portion size had been larger, as we ran out of calamari long before we had exhausted the sauces.
we noticed the dining room was about 3/4 full, and the lounge about half full during our visit. spencer's remains one of omaha's better high end steakhouses, with a near perfect pairing of ambiance, service and food.


-----10 dec, 2011-----

still good. we enjoyed a friday evening dinner in the main dining room. while the place was bustling we were still seated promptly.
the menu leans heavily on beef, befitting the restaurant's name, but there are a few seafood, poultry and pasta dishes as well. prices have crept up, and average in the $30s for a main course and salad. sides are served family style, and are enough for three or four to share. they are all $8, but if you ask you can get two half portions for the same $8. the next table had fries and an absolutely loaded baked potato that looked out of this world. we opted for the mashed potatoes and green beens. they were both just "okay."
my rib eye steak was absolutely delicious, although slightly undercooked. my husband's prime rib was cooked to perfection.
the wine list is decent, with numerous offerings by the glass, mostly in the $10-20 range. several half bottles are also offered. full bottle prices start around $30 and go up, up and away from there.
service was generally professional, and the food was delivered at perfect intervals.
the atmosphere is attractive, with stone and dark woods predominating. it is a great place to leave behind the troubles of your world for an hour or two.
my only wish would be for the return of more inventive menu offerings. this is now pretty much just a steak and chop house, so don't expect to be surprised by anything on the menu.
food: a-
atmosphere: a
service: a-
menu sophistication: b-
value: b


-----22 may, 2010-----

worth the splurge. spencer's is one of omaha's best places for steak, chops and other high quality american foods. the main dining room is semi formal, with the attractive adjoining lounge a bit more relaxed. we dined at the bar, where both the full menu and an abbreviated bar menu are offered. prices on the regular dinner menu average in the $30 range for an entree with side. appetizers are from $8-$16. you can enjoy a full meal in the bar from around $20 on up.
the food is excellent. the steaks are prime grade, the appetizers inventive and well proportioned, and the service is both pleasant and punctual. chef glen wheeler has been working his magic at many omaha area restaurants for years, and he clearly knows his stuff.

...while the service was pretty impeccable the food wasn't firing on all cylinders. burgers were the reason we were here to begin with and those shone through, with cabernet caramelized onions, white cheddar, applewood smoked bacon, roasted garlic aioli and house pickles on a pretzel bun. burger time. decent, juicy, killer onions. the accompanying fries i could've done without. and the truffle mac & cheese was unfortunately soupy. calamari 'fries' were squishy and the onion ring breading was almost sweet. misses on those items as far as i was concerned. so while the burger was tasty, it wasn't enough to make up for the other food items - which were honestly a bit of a bummer. again, this is just for bar hh - but it didn't inspire me to explore the rest of the menu.   mac & cheese... a little too watery for me. spencers for steaks and c

perfect meal. the food and service were both amazing. our server was heather. she was incredibly attentive and timed everything just right.

they have a great bartender. i've had the margaritas here twice and they were memorable both times. the complimentary salad is also delicious. the steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned. i've never had better. the creamed spinach was my favorite side. i had the mashed potatoes on another visit and can also recommend those. jim (the manager) came by to check on us and convinced us to take some of their chocolate cake home, it was delectable. i cannot say enough good things about the staff and food at spencer's. i'll definitely be back and recommend it to people i know.

ordered the 8oz ribeye, looked more like a filet, cut more like shoe leather. none of the marbling i'd expect from ribeye. so, i guess i either got a really bad filet, or a really bad ribeye. either way, a really bad steak. ate at the bar, excellent service from suzzanne (i think that was her name) the bartender.

censored. this restaurant has a careless kitchen and is unworthy of your trust. my original review of this establishment is so dreadful it is being suppressed by the website!

terrible experience. ate there for my brothers birthday. there were four of us and we all ordered wine and filets. we ordered the filets medium and all four came out well done. when we told the server, she responded with "well done, right?" and just walked away. we were completely taken back by the fact the server could care less about our $35 filets that were all practically charred. service was horrible. food unedible. will not return

underwhelmed. the experience started downhill within a minute of entering spencer's. the hostess seemed clueless and unable to find our reservation even though we were to be seated at the chef's table - their prime location. no one offered to check our coats. our server was a tall, large guy with bad theatrical training. he recited his lines just like he'd memorized them with no consideration to the group of diners seated at his table. he spent the first two minutes telling us what a superior steakhouse they were, citing newspaper reviews, etc. it was irritating! we were already seated in their restaurant...we didn't need an advertisement to convince us to eat there...just tell us about the menu. this guy loves the place. that's fine...but we didn't care about that. we want to be served!
i ordered a wedge salad. it was giant in size, too big, and cut from a yellowed and slightly wilted head of iceberg. it was unimpressive. my steak, a new york strip, was cut nicely thick, seasoned appropriately, flavorful, but lacked aging and thus tenderness to the degree one would expect for a $40+ piece of grilled beef.
the one bright spot of the evening was a visit to our table by a talented sommelier who recommended a wonderful wine - schweiger vineyards, 2007 cabernet sauvignon, spring mountain district, napa valley. we enjoyed two bottles of this fine wine.
however, with the exception of the wine the evening was disappointing and underwhelming. i cannot recommend spencer's given the many other fine steakhouses (801 chophouse, sullivan's, mahoghany, etc) in omaha.

salt, anyone. i still taste the salt from the recent dinner i had at spencer's. why do chefs need to destroy a perfectly good dish with a pound of salt? i have a bias against steak places, so i usually go and order chicken or something like that. well, the chicken was cooked nicely, but all of the food had a layer of salt that i think i'll be tasting for days. and an $8 baked potato? that no one could finish? my son had bread for dinner, basically, because there are so few vegetables on the menu. and i'm sorry, but a piece of meat is not dinner. where's the vegetables and sides? way too much money for little satisfaction in food. nice atmosphere.

great value happy hour. i took a trip over to spencer's for the happy hour but couldn't get in because the main doors were locked. apparently sometimes they forget to unlocked them; you may go through the hotel instead. of course, i didn't learn this until the next day when i showed up an hour later.

i wanted a quick meal and a pint so i sat a the bar and picked the steak house burger and a pint of local brew. the happy hour called "prime time" has a menu of items that are $6 between 4 and 6pm. the burger is normally around $15.

once you get the burger you'll quickly determine that is might be the best value in town at the bargain basement price of $6. this burger is said to be prime beef, covered in gruyere cheese with house pickles, cabernet onions, bacon, garlic sauce all on a pretzel bun. it is mouthwatering and you get it with truffle fries.

for my money, a fantastic meal and the value is practically unbeatable.

aside from all that, the atmosphere is particularly upscale: lots of dark woods, low lighting and wait staff is snazzy white smocks. the bar was noticeably well-stocked with two levels of booze packed to the max including like campari.

there is bike parking is across the street by nosh.

pleasant experience. spencer's has one of the most attractive dining rooms i've seen. something about the dark woods, stone, and lighting make it the perfect environment to eat. met two business associates for dinner tonight and between us we sampled various menu items.

the soups were top notch, we enjoyed the french onion and the lobster bisque. my lobster bisque was rich and creamy with large chunks of lobster. we were fighting over the bread. loved the hearty crust and they kept refilling the plate as we devoured each portion. its not every day that i get excited about a house salad, but a lot of small details made this one memorable. perfectly chilled plates, thin shavings of apple, walnuts and small chunks of cheese added interest and texture to the romaine lettuce and vinagrette dressing.

for entrees, we had the filet, the pork chop, and the prime steakhouse burger. though we all agreed the entrees were good, they weren't as excting or memorable as the first courses. service was excellent throughout the evening rounding out a pleasant evening.

i've traveled the world. with all my world travels. i have never exprienced finer dinning. everything was prefect chef glen was a superstar in his meals creations. you would be a fool to pass at a chance to dine here.

slow service but food was pretty good. we were in town for the ncaa tourney and stopped here after the mu game. the service was slow!! not sure if it was our chatty waitress or if they weren't staffed appropriately. steak was good, not great but the truffle mac was very good. sullivan's has a better steak.