09/29/08

Will definitely be going back

by outonthetowner

My husband and I had our first visit Friday night and it won't be our last. We started with apps, the shrimp cocktail and crabcakes were wonderful. The walleye I had for my entree covered the entire length of my dinner plate and was very tasty, I also sampled my hubby's filet mignon and was equally impressed with the taste and the portion size. The sauces served with both the appetizers and entrees were fresh and a great enhancement to what they were served with. We thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of our night out. Our server was prompt and very courteous; he answered all of our questions and met all of our "demands". The band was a nice addition to the atmosphere and we were able to converse with no problem while they played.

• Pros: Excellent service in a great atmosphere
• Cons: Go early for good parking

08/04/08

Atmosphere, food and service all in one place

by kingofood

We went there this past Saturday evening for our monthly dinner gathering with friends, 6 total, and we were not disappointed. I have read so many things about Erte that it was time to find out for myself. Our server was very friendly and yes, she did have tatoos , but who cares when you are a genuinely nice person. I have met plenty of tatoo-less bitches in my life! She made suggestions for food and wine and we enjoyed everything. Food is reasonably priced and so are the drinks. The place does not look like much on the outisde but very eclectic on the inside. Very comfortable atmosphere. There were 2 very small drawbacks; it does get warm in there when it is crowded. The server even admitted that it is in need of better air flow. And the band that played, although very nice, soft jazz, was a bit too loud to have table conversation without raising your voices a tad. But when you have atmosphere, food and service at a high level, little things shouldn't ruin your evening.

• Pros: price, service, menu selection
• Cons: a bit warm when crowded, music could be quieter

06/07/08

Great food, great service

by mendon

My hubby and I went here for a date night before seeing a show at the Ritz theater just down the street. Although it took our waitress, Barb, a little long (more than 5, but less than 10 minutes) to get to our table, once she was there, she was great. I asked a number of questions about the available wines, and ending up going with her suggestion, which was their house white - a nice middle of the road chardonnay. My husband is a beer snob and was very impressed with the beer selection.

We ordered the erte platter to start, which is a nice plate of cheeses, bread, fruit and a to-die-for chutney. Barb actually brought the chef out to the table to tell us what all went in to the slightly-sweet, slighty-spicy raspberry chutney.

Entrees were delicious - I had the special, which was scallops with a chipotle orange glaze, and my husband had the duck. Drinks were offered and refilled on a timely basis. The live music added a little extra fun to the evening.

Overall - great food, great service in a relaxed, yet upscale, atmosphere.

• Pros: great food, great service, ambiance
• Cons: parking may be a challenge at certain times

Editorial Review by Annamarie Cumpston

by Contributor

In Short
You enter, and the drama unfolds: leopard print curtains and seat covers, button-down black shirts on the seat backs and framed prints of artist Erte's art deco works. Erte bills itself as an affordable steakhouse, but the cuts (and the rest of the American spread) don't taste like you're eating on a budget. The house-cut prime sirloin is rubbed with salt and pepper. All sides are a la carte, including creamed corn and hash browns.

04/01/08

Food A- , Service F

by foodmpls

My wife and I have been there on two seperate occasions in the past 6 months. Both times we were met by snotty servers. Don't plan to ask any questions or you'll just get attitute. We took my mom here on her Birthday - she asked the server what wine she'd recommend with the fish entree, and it was like asking a teenager to turn off their cell phone: heaps of eye-rolling and audible sighs. Mind you there were only three tables in the restaurant (went on a Monday). When the server realized it was my mothers birthday her attitude improved from "I detest you people" to "now I barely tolerate you".

We only went back because we were very happy with our food the first time - so much so that we overlooked the service issues. I can personally only speak for the steaks. I had the filet mignon the first time and the "house" the second time and both were wonderful. The entrees look relatively uninspered, but my table-mates seemed to like them.

This place has good food at good prices, but the service needs serious help. For us, the law of dimishing returns has kicked in - I doubt we'll be back anytime soon.

• Pros: steaks
• Cons: servers

03/31/08

Horrifying

by c77

Went there for a birthday dinner and it ended up being the worst experience we have ever had at a restaurant. The food is as good as the service! Both of us work in the industry and couldn't believe how bad this was. My friend's dish was tasteless and my steak was undercooked. Cannot find your server when you need them and when you do you get nothing but a bad attitude. I sent my steak back to be cooked more and my friend ordered something completely different. Not any better. After more bad service we asked to talk to a manager and what we got was the owner who came out yelling at us for returning her bland dish! She wouldn't listen to anything we tried to say, just kept cutting us off. The worst food and service I have ever had!!

• Pros: location
• Cons: bad service, food

03/05/08

This was probably the worst meal that I have ever paid for.

by echoes79

The staff was very friendly, but the food was awful and the menu was ridiculous: "Cowboy Shrimp," and Nachos on a fine dining menu? Are you joking? Aside from the equally dumb names for their dishes the food was so below average I felt bad for the restaurant.

I ordered a $28.00 porterhouse and received a slab of Grissel and oily au gratin potato's.

We literally left the restaurant drove to Lunds and cooked a far superior meal for half of the cost.

• Pros: Nice ambiance, friendly staff
• Cons: Overpriced, Terrible food, terrible menu

07/19/06

Great Food and Ambience

by cragolf

There doesn't seem to be a review written for a while and Erte keeps getting better and better. My wife and I rarely go two weeks without a visit. The fish specials are consistently wonderful, the hashbrowns (we get a half order to share, which covers the entire plate), are excellent. The service can be a little un-even, but several of the servers are an absolute joy. Finally, there is live music on most Fridays and Saturdays, jazzy duos, bluesy trios and even an excellent quintet or two...Check it out - great food in an extraordinary room.

12/16/05

Awesome!

by kbols

Everything was wonderful - the service was delightful, the steak was cooked to perfection, the wine list was very affordable with great selections. The only downside of the evening was the size of the wine glasses - a little on the small side. But everything else more than made up for that!

• Pros: Food, Service, Wine List
• Cons: Wine Glass Size

11/23/05

Terrible service!

by heatherdel

Sat at a table in the bar for dinner on a Sat. night - took the server 20 minutes to come over to the table (the bar was NOT crowded), another 30 min. to get our drinks. He would walk by our table as if we were not even there! We finally just left some cash (he never came back with the bill after we requested it from additional sources, even with the bartender) and went to the Sample Room for great service and food as usual. Erte was a waste of time.

• Pros: decor, location
• Cons: service, rude staff