steakhouse 85

the best upscale steak in central jersey. when a fellow steak-belly recommended that the 4 of us go to new brunswick for steaks to celebrate my wife's 40th birthday i laughed. 'arthur's is a good steak, but it's not really the atmosphere i'm looking for... and by the way that's north brunswick not new brunswick'...

'not arthur's, steakhouse 85, a ny style steakhouse', he replied. i laughed again... ny style steakhouse in new brunswick? ha! riiiight! but we decided to give it a go.

and i am very pleased that we did.

the atmosphere is what you would expect from a classic beef house. well dressed and mannered staff, nice cozy dark corners, quiet live jazz music, candle lit tables and a more than adequate bar display worthy of a grunt-n-growl as you pass by and see your favorite bourbons, and scotches surrounded by intriguing labels not as familiar but equally as tempting.

the menu has all the ny staples, as well as some interesting additions. the tableside beef presentation is ala morton's with the waiter pointing to the different cuts of beef and the supplier where they get them from.

we started with a round of bourbons for the boys, and cocktails for the ladies.
(4) appetizers:
fried calamari - tasty, cooked perfect and the red sauce while simple, was surprisingly good.
warm mozzarella with prosciutto and tomatoes - very good.
roasted oysters - very tasty and fresh.
jumbo lump crab cake - excellent - all crab, all flavor and all gone really fast.

a $25 bottle of hahns estate meirtage from the short list. 2 glasses of house chianti and dinner is served.

(2) 24oz tomahawk chops - 28day dry aged prime rib served on the bone encrusted in blue cheese and garlic with a nice redwine reduction. both cooked to perfection and extremely tasty and filling.
a petite fillet and a cowboy ribeye for the ladies both cooked to perfect temperature and taste.

(4) sides - mac and cheese was the rave in the star ledger review... it's good, maybe even real good but the broccoli au gratin trumped the table's side dishes which also included creamed spinach and potatoes au gratin - both good but no match for the cheesy lightly brown-crusted broccoli au gratin.

full bellies all the way around so dessert was liquid.
3 espresso and one double. a wild turkey and a frangelica both on the rocks. while the owner stopped by twice and wished a happy birthday, there was not an offer to buy a drink or a dessert. not a disappointment but overhearing him buy appetizers for the table next to us begged the question - "are they special?"

steakhouse 85 offers outside dining below street level as well as a much lighter menu including burgers, salads and fish options. all of which would have reduced the overall expense.

the pace was perfect without a rush and the food all around was above everyone's expectations. a bargain at just over a hundred per person w/gratuity?? not exactly... but a good value overall when considering the food experience and atmosphere.

add it to your list of places to try... it's on mine to go back.

bad steaks with an attitude. i travel a lot for business and am always looking for a great steakhouse. i had heard that there were a number of good reviews for steakhouse 85, so i went in with high expectations. accompanying me on the trip was a co-worker who has gone through culinary school and has a highly trained palate, and another friend who lives locally. we were excited about having some good steaks, but were in for a bad experience.

highlights of the evening: i ordered a bottle of cabernet, and was very clear in my order. the waiter came up and spent several minutes trying to talk me into a different, more expensively priced cabernet, and apparently was going to go through his spiel on the other wine regardless of which wine i picked. we asked him if he had even tried the bottle we ordered and he had not. so, strike one.

second, my co-worker got a dry aged delmonico and the waiter tried to talk her out of ordering it. he asked in a condescending way if she had ever had a dry aged steak. which of course she had, and explained this. i told her she should tell him of her culinary school experience, but i believe she thought that was a waste of time given the preceding wine episode. when the steak came out it had a rancid flavor, and when i tried it, i had to agree. we both have a lot of steak experience, and we both felt we got a bad cut of meat. strike two.

finally, another man came up to us (apparently a manager or some other higher function -- but he never identified himself or his title). guess we were supposed to be impressed by the fact that he had a nice white shirt on, or that he probably was only a few years past drinking age. he took an attitude right from the start and said that's how dry aged beef tastes at this time of year, or some other lame excuse. he then said "i'm not trying to get in an argument," which was the first time anyone had mentioned an argument. in fact, my co-worker was extremely polite (much more so than i would have been if it had been my steak). she told him she'd like a rib eye, and then he just kept talking right over her. he then asked if he could get a different steak, and named off several including a rib eye. bottom line: he was more interested in being pedantic and condescending and less interested in listening to the customer. strike three.

i should add that there should have been a comping of the whole steak. that's what good restaurants do. i've seen similar types of things happen at morton's, donovan's, ringside in portland, etc. and the attitude is that the customer is right. at steakhouse 85, it seemed like they were more interested in making money, and it would be easier if they could just figure out how to stop having to satisfy "the pesky customers."

i can safely say that i won't be going back, and i'd suggest the same for discerning diners. if you want to go to a place where they insult you, i'd suggest ed debevic's in chicago, since the insults are part of the fun and dining experience rather than just bad service.

this is my third visit. the stakes are excellent and through the expect, but the seafood here is also very good. i am from florida and very picky, but the grouper is to die for.

went for lunch 2.25.14. good burger. good service.

first time. private party room 16 people. warm greeting and seated promptly...scallops w/ bacon, plump and moist, cowboy rib complemented with tangy sauce, all excellent finished with warm apple cobbler, vanilla ice cream..birthday cake just ordinary...service excellent, owner or manager stopped by to thank us for choosing steakhouse 85, and asked about food and service...

this place is definitely overrated. went there on 12/20/13 for the date night special and it was more like fright night. most of the staff was friendly and attentive except for our waiter t. once t. found out we were having the date night special he was short with us. at at $90 per couple is not cheap by any means. i ordered the grouper which was pretty tasty but my husband ordered the pork chop which was dry. the sides that we had were pretty bad as well. we had the broccoli au gratin which was made with frozen broccoli and the brussel sprouts special which they tried to cover up the bad taste with a whole bunch of bacon. other staff besides the waiter would come and pour more wine and water but the waiter never came and asked us how was the food. this was the 5th time i went there and the first time i had a horrible experience. i don't know if if was a different chef or what but this will be the last time.

our experience was not great. our experience was not a great one. made reservations for 8:15 and got there a bit early and had drinks at the bar. we were not seated until 9:15 after repeated trips to the hostess and the manager for the evening. if your the type of person that likes talking to a manager who puts his hands in his pockets while speaking to you, i found your spot. the food was ok and overpriced. the waiter was nice. we received our dinner at 10:20 that evening. my second encounter with the manager was the same as the first. unhelpful, hands in pocket, and pretty arrogant.
in a nutshell, the manager and staff are in no way old enough to work at a restaurant so expensive. when i say expensive i mean $16 drinks. the owner needs to clean house!

that manager is horrible

expensive but awesome food and service. had a party of seven and everyone was happy.

the password is pretentious. 11/12/12....i have frequented this restaurant since matty opened it some
time ago, and i am disappointed to have to report that its quickly losing its once deserved allure. note that the steaks are still very good here, not excellent, not nyc quality, but prime. on a scale of 1-5 stars, the beef here is a solid 4. problem at this establishment is the service, (or complete lack of),
and the pretense. on a semi crowded sunday night, with plenty of empty tables, our reserved table was not available. got the "5 or 10 miinutes" line, i suppose that's their way of getiing you to spend additional $$$ beforehand in the bar, at this already pricey "$200.00 per couple meal" establishment. upon sitting down, our waiter anthony was unattentive as it took over 10 minutes to get cocktails from the bar, which was just steps away. i was tempted to just walk over and do things myself, but finally anthony showed up. pretense?
don't order the "colossal" shrimp cocktail, they are jumbo but you
are given 3 shrimp for $18.00!!!! down the shore, even at those pricey
tourist traps, ( shipwreck/riverhouse/709), a "colossal" shrimp cocktail=
6 shrimp for the same $18.00. when i am forced to pay such ridiculous prices,
sorry, but i feel like my intelligence is being insulted.
matty, this is church street in new brunswick, nj, not sparks, the strip,lugars @ nyc no need for the pretense. you guys are good enough, why try and appear to be something you are not?
back to the service- our sides of onion rings/fries and some bernaise
sauce for our beef was presented along side our appetizers when they were served. of course i sent it all back, and when i asked the manager if this is how they did business at this "$200.00" per couple establishment, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "it's a mistake", (at this $200.00 per couple
establishment). to his credit, the mgr did make the first round of 2 $11
vodka cocktails on the house, but that was not enough to quell my disappointment over the entire experience at this once surperb restaurant, which is now simply "very good". if you are really interested in a superior
steak dinner i suggest you stick with the establishments in nyc or lugars,
and while in nj, go to a good diner instead. on a scale or 1-5 stars,
overall this restaurant rates a "not so solid" 4. i won't be returning any time soon.

love this place!

went here for our anniversary and was very happy that we did, food was excellent and service was amazing, i would highly recommend this place to everyone!

first time out at this new brunswick steakhouse. first out, the ambiance was phenomenal. dark woods, great bar. delmonico steak was fantastic, my wife's stuffed whole lobster looked great, although she wouldn't share! ha! everything was absolutely perfect at this point... then the older maitre d started spraying cinnamon scented air freshener all over the place... my wife almost choked on the fumes! we then decided to skip dessert and bail out.. maybe next time we will bring a gas mask and enjoy dessert! the dessert menu looked great.

steakhouse 85. went with a table of 9. we ordered a little of everything. i had a french onion soup which was good , served piping hot and alot of cheese. i had a porterhouse ordered medium and it was an exact medium and was really good, wouldve liked it a little more tender but no big deal. i tried oysters that someone else ordered, they were great but totally overpriced. everyone seemed to like the food. during our dinner allysa milano came into the restaurant and from that moment on we were invisible, to the point we couldve just got up and left without paying. the entire staff and half of the patrons literally disappeared. we waited an ungodly amount of time just to pay our check. if your gonna charge that much dont leave people hanging like that. food=great service=not

perfect dinner. my wife and i celebrated our 10th anniversary last night at steakhouse 85 - everything was excellent - the service was perfect the food was cooked how we requested, we had two of the specials and they were both unique and tasty. i had the filet and it was excellent - altough their steak 85 sause was not much to talk about- it was not cheap - with drinks, appitizers and desert and coffee we dropped a little over $200 for the two of us - but it was worth it - i will definitely go back.

well worth it.. it is not cheap, but if you are looking for a first class steak house in central jersey, look no further.

i will not bore you with the unimportant:

it is a beautiful restaurant.

the service was impeccable.

the steaks were truly excellent.

i went their with my wife and daughter. i had the delmonico, my wife the rib eye and my daughter the porterhouse. all three were outstanding.

they say that in life you get what you pay for. my dinner was worth every penny it cost.

it was a truly memorable experience.