Let me start by saying that I live in an area where there are no Steak and Shakes so we were excited to go for once. The service was absolutely terrible. The restaurant felt like the freezer it was so cold and we should have walked out the first time they told us they couldn’t adjust the temperature, but we didn’t. We saw our food sit in the food window for at least 10 minutes while the waitress(Sam) counted her tips up by the register. Our food came out cold, my husbands burger came without any toppings and he didn’t receive his chili and my mother in law didn’t get her dinner salad. I should mention that there was only one other table in the entire restaurant. The waitress actually argued with my husband and said the menu was wrong and that his burger actually comes plain instead of just going to get the lettuce and tomato. We wanted shakes but the waitress never followed up with us after we had told her we wanted shakes so we paid and left. If there was a manager on site then they didn’t seem to care about the happiness of their customers because they never showed face. Two tables actually left before their food came. I’m not sure if this company actually cares about the happiness of their customers considering the amount of bad reviews this place gets. I hope someone does something about the giant issue it has with its poor management and overall lack of customer service.
Jeff B.
Place rating: 4 Pisgah, OH
Manager made our day. After a long day out with the family we needed sustenance. We just left a restaurant where we had waited nearly an hour for food before finding out that they never gave the kitchen our order. Grrr. The manager at steak n shake recognized that her server was double sat so she jumped on our table, welcomed us and fed us quickly. Food was good and hot. Restrooms were clean and staff was friendly. That’s how you run a restaurant. Treat people right, respect their time and give them what they want.
Arthur K.
Place rating: 1 Los Angeles, CA
After much thought about what to eat this evening I stumbled upon a Steak ‘n Shake, something I haven’t seen in several years, and I couldn’t pass it up. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a big mistake. I decided to sit at the counter, as the dining room was full of students and this position seemed easier than waiting. While sitting here I watched the employees prepare various orders and, sadly, witnessed some unsanitary actions happening on the grill line. I watched employees scrape/scrub/and clean the counter near and under the grill with one of the cooking spatulas; naturally I thought they would replace it with a clean one prior to preparing the next order, but this couldn’t be farther from the case. I also watched two double burgers be cooked and then placed aside and left alone for an extended amount of time while they took the chance to sweep the area and continue cleaning. After some time passes an order comes through the system and the line cook proceeds to take the meat that had been left aside and warms the burgers up and plates the order. After watching the food go out to the customer with no remorse, I asked to speak with the manager. I was pleased to be introduced to the general Manager, until his response compelled me to post this review. After listening to me explain what I witnessed he replied«that is a training issue, and he is still new. I would prefer them not to waste any food at all, but of course we want to serve hot food». He chose not to address the issues where clean utensils were not used and found a way to avoid the concern of the old food being warmed and reused for the next order. After witnessing what I saw and the disrespect and lack of care from the general manager, I will not be back and would caution you from going to this location as well. «That was a good observation, I’ll talk to him. Come back and dine with us again, the food will be hot and fresh» …not likely… and ironic that he chose this statement as his final words to me after the general lack of care he showed.
Denise H.
Place rating: 2 Virginia Beach, VA
This was by far our worst Steak and Shake experience to date. We were seated promptly, but that was the last thing that occurred with any sense of urgency. Waitress got to our table and introduced herself as Shana and took drink orders. Came back with drinks and we told her we needed about one minute to decide what we wanted to order. Ten minutes later after ignoring our closed menus and attempts to wave her down, she came back and made an excuse about how busy it was. In that ten minute time, other waitresses had seated tables, gotten drinks, and taken food orders for their sections. It was not a full house by any means, and the fact that Shana had to stop and chat with her coworkers before doing anything is probably what increased the wait time. Meanwhile, the man appearing to be the manager on duty was cleaning up a spilled milkshake for a single mom with three children, running forgotten food out to customers in the parking lot before they left, and wearing the drive thru headset. He was clearly working hard to make up for the«lack of focus» problem his staff was having. I work in the service industry, and in my opinion, this man needs the means to develop a dedicated staff who are willing to put customers first, he shouldn’t be the one picking up all the slack. The food was mediocre, nothing fantastic and not quite as good as we expect from s&s. It’s worth noting that even though both our drinks(water/soda) we empty by the time she took our food order, we didn’t get refills until our food was coming out an additional 7 – 8 minutes later. I would highly recommend this business spend some time and effort training their staff in customer service and how to operate efficiently.
Chad A.
Place rating: 2 Fairfield, OH
This may be the slowest restaurant service wise this side of the Milky Way. Often times we stop in and the wait to sit is 5 minutes. 4 – 6 minutes to order drinks, 5 – 10 minutes to order food. Food usually comes quick but don’t order a milkshake if you have someplace to be in the next day or two. Finally, the staff here appear to hate their jobs. We come here about once a month just because for the price, it’s hard to beat, but we have never been here when the staff seemed to enjoy their jobs. Other than that, the food is good and the place seems cleaner than most restaurants of this caliber.
Courtney A.
Place rating: 1 Hamilton, OH
Never going there again. The service gets worse and worse. The only thing right in that place is the kitchen. The servers have no concept of how to be a server. We waited 20 minutes just for a refill to learn our waitress decided to go on break. During this time two other tables got sat and one of them eventually decided just to leave. The table behind us had the same waitress as us and most of their food was wrong. The only waitress left didn’t do anything at all except wait at the expo while three trays needed to be ran. Finally the manager came out and smelled a little Like weed, but not trying to assume anything. Eventually we got our check and everything got taken off but I’m definitely not returning. I’m a server and I know how hard it can be but it definitely should not have been that bad.
Betty V.
Place rating: 1 Cincinnati, OH
This review is based on the service. The food was actually good. It was 3PM on a Saturday. The place was somewhat full because kids eat free on weekends. But there were empty tables that had not been cleared. We waited almost 10 minutes before getting seated. We were discussing just leaving but the wait person came up and we were seated. It took almost another 10 minutes before we met our server — Stephanie. She was friendly, but the first words out of her mouth were how she had been on duty since 10 without a break. By then, I should have followed my instincts which said — Get out of here — NOW! The menu that I had in my hand stated that my double cheese steakburger came with catsup. I asked to have it without and have some mustard on the side. She explained that the sandwiches came with mustard and the cook would put it on. I asked again for mustard on the side. She said it came on the sandwich. I then asked that the mustard be very light and I didn’t want tomato. My son ordered the patty melt without incident. Our sandwiches came. Stephanie asked us if we wanted utensils. We said no because, hey!, it’s just a hamburger and french fries. My sandwich had tomato, mayonnaise and no mustard. I left the bottom of the bun open and she eventually came by with our drinks. We discussed the mayo. She said all sandwiches come with catsup, mayo and mustard.(All the other times, I’ve been to Steak and Shake, the server asked what I wanted on it.) She said she could get me a fresh bottom for the bun and finally agreed to bring me mustard on the side. Which she did. What she did not bring was something to spread the mustard with, or a napkin for either one of us. She passed by a few minutes later and I requested something to spread the mustard with and a napkin. She brought me an iced tea spoon and one napkin(I thought it was two) and asked in a somewhat sarcastic voice if there was anything else I wanted. I said«no». After she left, we discovered that she gave us one napkin. Because I did not want to disturb Stepanie again, I tore it in half so we could share. We didn’t have any catsup on our table for the french fries but I did steal some from another table. I didn’t want to get a reputation as a difficult customer. She never came by to ask if I wanted a refill on my coffee. When we left is when the fun began. I went to the register. And I waited. And waited. The restaurant was only half full by this time. Some guy who was really dressed up(the manager??) was at the grill and occasionally glanced my way. But he couldn’t have been the manager because, surely, he would have someone come to take my bill. Right? Anyway, after I cleared my throat rather loudly another server came to take my money. I explained to her what a wonderful experience we had had at the restaurant. Her response was that Stephanie was new. I explained that if someone is new, I generally laugh off the rookie mistakes. Stephanie truly believes that the customer is always wrong and cannot have it their way. She has zero customer service skills. Anyway, she told me to contact corporate, which I did. I haven’t had a response yet, but don’t really care. While I was waiting another customer came in to order carry out. She was still there when I left. Good luck to her. My son was in the car and he said one guy came in while I was at the register, stayed about two minutes and left. I would like to reiterate, though, the food was good. It was hot and well prepared. I feel my experience might have been better if I had been seated elsewhere. I watched some of the other servers really going out of their way to make sure everyone was accommodated. I’m hoping this was a one-off, but I don’t think so.
Amy K.
Place rating: 3 Fairfield, OH
This is your average steak and shake. I like the burgers here and the fact I can get it how in want it. Also kids love the hotdogs and shakes. For the fall it lookalike they have a Carmel Apple and a smores shake. Sounds yummy.
Beth F.
Place rating: 4 Cincinnati, OH
I’ve been to this location several times over the years, and I would agree with the majority of the reviews. However, the 4 star review I’m giving is solely based on one woman named Anita. We arrived and waited only a moment before being seated by a man, and it didn’t take long to notice that something seemed wrong. Anita came up to us, in a bit of a rush, and as I watched her, realized she had been triple sat. The man seating people must not have been paying attention or something, and I honestly think she was the only one who was working. I didn’t see another server out there on the floor and it was getting increasingly busy. Our order was taken quickly, and with a smile. Food came out in a timely manner and was delicious. We tried the burger with the egg cooked on it, and man it was awesome. I had never tried it, and I’m glad that I ventured out of my normal comfort zone of just a regular ol cheeseburger. Anita kept getting sat over and over, and although there were two other servers, she was the ONLY one doing any work. That lady was running her butt off, and she continued to smile, and I didn’t hear one complaint. She was an older woman, and could have ran circles around a teenager. When her orders were taking a bit longer than necessary, she was at that window asking about the food. She checked on us every time she made a round, refills were plentiful, and we even got a shake before we left. If there were more servers like her, this place would have plenty of stars from satisfied customers. She made this visit a great experience, and if I go back soon, I hope she is still working there and that I’m lucky enough to be in her section again. Maybe I’ll even try something else different this time. :)
Mike H.
Place rating: 4 Hamilton, OH
I normally just use the drive thru at this location, the service it good and they haven’t messedup my order yet.
Karla V.
Place rating: 1 Cocoa Beach, FL
I was here on Friday evening. I came in and the sign said please wait to be seated, I did but too long, while all the employees just crowded in a cycle to giggle and talk and stare at me. Next, the place was out of cheese! How does a burger place run out of cheese??? Crazy. Also took forever for our food. And it wasn’t very good. I did notice the cooks kept screwing up and this place is very unorganized and hectic. Even the manager had no idea what she was doing and she had to help in the kitchen. It was gross, and a hot mess.
Michael C.
Place rating: 1 Florence, KY
Be prepared to wait, if you stay. 3pm on Saturday. 30% crowd. After 15 mins, our waiter showed. I had to repeat the order 3 times. On the 3rd repeat, wife saw drop of snot fall from server’s nose onto tray. We cancelled the order and left. I hope they let the server go home and get some sleep.
Dewey S.
Place rating: 1 Cincinnati, OH
Took wife in for lunch, I went to restroom to find urinal appeared to not have been cleaned in a month and no hand soap. We left immediately without ordering and server acted surprised. I explained and she only stood with her mouth open.
Errienna M.
Place rating: 1 Cincinnati, OH
HORRIBLE customer service ! Amount of time I waited to be seated, receive food, drinks and check was well over an hour. Finished food before I received my shake.
Mark R.
Place rating: 5 Mason, OH
So overall service was great, the food took not as long as other steak and shakes. Great burger for a great price.
Steve M.
Place rating: 1 Cincinnati, OH
If there would be a way to give a half a star, this would be the place(or a fourth of a star for that matter!) Don’t go to this place! I went here after playing at arcade legacy(awesome place… all you can play $ 10!). The place was very rowdy with a group. I sat at the counter… the manager had to come and place my order(not the regular servers) AND he took another person’s order(who sat down AFTER me) first. Def. NEVER going back to this location and strongly advise others to do the same! I’ve not only been to better locations, but I’ve worked at better locations as well!