Lindey's Prime Steak House

Exceptional Old Time Steakhouse

by boomer385

May 25, 2009

If you want a yuppie trough like Kincaid's, stay home or find another place to eat.

This is a great place to eat. Old time decor, no flash, no chrome, no loud music. The salad is simple, the garlic bread is tasty and crisp.

The charm is in the simplicity of the menu and the food. Okay, they have a limited selection. This is good, in that you know what you are getting. Meat tends to run a bit rare so order accordingly. The pour a great drink, I would think the best in the twin cities. You actually get a full shot or better. We have been there 3 times since the first of the year and have yet to be disappointed.

This is a steak house, plain and simple. If you are some kind of a disenfranchised yuppie looking for the focus to be on you and your self centered desires go else where please. There are many of us who want to eat here.

Great food, good service, very good drinks!

• Pros: Best steak any where
• Cons: No reservations

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Greater living through lowered expectations.

by Fasturd

January 03, 2009

You could read all the reviews of Lindey's. Or you could man up and go see for your self. Yes the decor has not changed since 1961. Why remodel when the craptacular REAL not RETRO decor still works so well? The drinks are stiff and reasonably priced. The crowd seems to love the ambiance. The casual old school supper club aura brings back memories of going out for dinner in rural Wisconsin. Where Grandma was drinking Gray Hounds, Grandpa Scotch and my parents Martinis...

Yes there is only 2-3 choices on the menu. So what? It makes it easy to order. Have a drink and have fun. Leave your pretentious snobby friends at home and come with your comfortable laugh at any thing buddies and you will enjoy what Lindey's has to offer.

Contrary to popular belief the garlic bread is great and it is not made on hotdog buns... It just looks that way, lol.

The Salad is totally old-school. Like in the old days you get what the house thinks is their speciality. Some think the Iceberg lettuce single tomato Thousand Islandish salad is a rip off. I think it goes fine with the setting.

Its not like your Grandma ever made a better salad.

The Top of the line $27.00 Lindey's special cut is HUGE. Do not order 2 for your date and yourself. Order one and pay the dang plate charge. Get the side of mushrooms and spend the $17.00 you saved on wine or desert. The cut is the size of a Nerf football. They cut it for you table side and it finishes on your 700 degree plate... They do run a little rare. If you are squeamish about "pink" order your steak one level of "done" over what you might usually order.

A little wacky? Yes.

Funky? Yes.

Formal? No.

Fun? Yes.

I would have to say Lindey's is a lot like Nye's without the cabbage and scary waitresses.

Go have a few bumps in the bar while you wait for your seat. Split a meal with your date and giggle all through dinner while you rip on the locals and the decor.

Its not Manny's, Ruth's or Kincade's

It's Lindey's!!!

• Pros: Funky fun vintage. Not many left like this.
• Cons: Not like all those other steak houses...

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If you appreciate history, you will like Lindey's Steak House!

by blueeberri

January 03, 2009

Lindey's was everything I expected it to be. I do not understand the people on this board that say it needs to be remodeled. That would totally take away from it's charm. If you want fancy go to Ruth Chris, etc. I felt like I was at an old supper club up north. My steak was delicious. The drinks were good. I chuckled at the salad, but it is exactly what I would expect to be served in an old supper club.

I kept think about how my dad would love the place. I thought the menu was charming. The easel they brought to the table sure makes it easy to decide on what you want to order. Nothing worse than going to a place with 100 items on the menu and they dont specialize in anything. You know this place specializes in steaks and our steaks were better than the steak we had at Kincaids last week! Lindey's is a piece of history. If you appreciated history and want to try something different from the "urban" scene. Check this place out.

• Pros: Steaks were delicious, good service, up north atmosphere.
• Cons: I will ask for a bit less dressing on my salad next time.

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don't bother

by phantomDiner1

December 06, 2008

Don't bother with this place. They have just 2 items on the menu, sirloin steak, or shrimp. No reservations. They moved into this remote location in 1961 and haven't spent a dollar on the place since then.

First time either of us went to the place. They have an unattended coat room so we brought our winter gear with us to the small table for 2. A huge menu board was placed right next to our table, pretty tacky experience. The menu lets you select the Lindey's special, or a $2 cheaper cut, or some sort of ground up scraps option. Or for $27 you can have the 6 shrimp meal. That's it, aside from an optional side of mushrooms or a desert choice. The steak is said to be 14 ounces and said to be "served family style with salad, greasless hashbrowns and garlic toast" so we figured just one steak dinner and were told there would be a split plate charge of $10. In retrospect, we recommend you take the split.

We were served an iceberg lettuce salad with more-green-than-red cherry tomatoes, and what seemed to be a thousand island dressing. We also were served "hotdog bun garlic toast" and some sort of secret recipe hashbrowns.

When we cut into our steaks they were not "warm center" but instead "cold center" - thankfully the table included postcards to instruct us what a rare steak was and what our medium-rare was supposed to be. They took the steaks back and cooked em a bit more.

This place is not a fine dining experience. The beef is not so amazing either. I would not return.

Suggestions - #1 Expand menu to include Prime Rib and Filet. #2 Real Menus. #3 Remodel. #4 improve the salad and bread.

Suggested alternative - the Lakeside Club / Al's Bunker at 10 Old Wildwood Road Mahtomedi.

• Pros: has been supporting a family and their employees for 50 years, congradulations on this
• Cons: 1961 decor, limited menu, middle of nowhere location, did not live up to reputation

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A true Steak place!!!

by moreoutthere

October 04, 2008

Had a good friend tell me about this place, and man was he on the ball when he said "A true Steak House".

The very nice cabin feel made us feel like we left the cities and went up north. The Steaks are cut table side and served on a hot steel plate...that is very different then other steak places. The tap beer was ice cold and the meal was very filling. As we left I saw they now sell their steaks over the internet. I asked about it...they cut their own steaks! And have been for over 50 years,wow. The host told me downstairs they have a cutting room and that is where the "cutting magic" happens. I am going online and getting some for the grill that's for sure. I am not sure what others have been talking about, this place is awesome! Big meal, good price for the amount of food and a great value and service.....get your feed bag on. Steak is what?s for dinner!

• Pros: Service and Staff

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Not as good as it was.

by heygiff

September 24, 2008

I have been going there for 11 years and my inlaws for over 30+ years. Saturday night two of us had to send our steaks back two time to get the cooked. We requested they be butterflied and it was never done. By the time our steaks came the third time, I was out of the mood. I do not think training a new cook is a good enough excuse for a place like Lindy's. It was extremely disappointing and will not go back for a very long time. Very sad. Just not what we were use to and expected. I noticed the crowds were down. A shame

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Thank you for the bad reviews - I thought I was the only one who considered it a nightmare experience ...

by LadyBarb

September 03, 2008

Growing up, Lindey's was the place to go - great supper club ambiance and supposedly fabulous food. I recently dined there and thought I was on another planet with such high prices for steak (sirloin?) and a menu on an easel? For those of you who think it is the place to be, you are really missing out on better values for your $$$ and not the major steak chains either. The stiff drinks probably cloud your judgment. I split the meal with my husband and was charged $10 to share some sort of paste potatoes, the sizzling steak tasted like it was previously frozen which was so raw, it was still mooing and you couldn't chew it and a plastic bowl that served iceberg lettuce with some sort of orange blob in the middle. Oh and don't forget the hot dog buns (aka: garlic toast). Our meal with a nice bottle of wine and tip was close to $90.00! It really angers me being so horrifically disappointed in spending hard earned money on such a nightmare dining experience. My husband complained and they were insulted that he would think to criticize this famous restaurant that holds its clientele on a reputation that has seen its hey-day. What did they do? They gave him a steak to go thinking this would resolve our complaints when in fact, it only made matters worst. My husband couldn't chew the one steak he paid for, why would they think a 2nd steak would be better? For those of you who think this place is still the place to be - I would suggest that you expand your palate and realize there are so many better restaurants serving wonderful steaks at a cost that you feel is worth the money. I have dined in some of the best restaurants in major cities across the US and have yet to ever be so disappointed in a dining experience that I would have to take the time to write a review like this.

• Cons: Everything ...

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DON'T BOTHER

by 16RIchard

September 02, 2008

I totally agree with are you kidding, I noticed his review was back at the beginning of the year!

We where just there a week ago. The reason I have waited was to see if my feeling of total disapointment

would go away but it has not. I recieved gift certificates for this restaurant even with them I do not want to go back. The salad really was iceberg lettuce and nothing more, the dressing was unique and quit tasty.

Now for the negatives. we hwere there shortly after they opened on a thur. evening, we were waited on quickly. When ordering our steaks we went with the premier sirloin. We where informed that rare would be cold inside and that med. red would be warm but pink. so we order our steaks med. rare. why the waitress didn't tell us the truth I don't know but the steak was raw and very cold inside. as for service you would think that we would not have to go find someone to correct our steaks but we did. we also never where asked if we wanted to refill our drinks.(now remember we are the only ones in the restaurant during our entire dinner) well I will quit boring you But I could go on all night. but here is my dilema. I had 2 gift cert. each for $25 And they would only let us use one at a time. My wife is refusing to go back , so if there is one of those amazing devoties who would like a great deal on their favorite restaurant please feel free to contact me at 763-370-1244 and I will give you a $25 cert, for $15

• Pros: no waiting to get in, quite
• Cons: no waiting to get in, quite, a disapointment

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Vastly overrated!

by cline011

March 27, 2008

I cannot understand the cult of customers this place commands. Four and a half stars? Are they kidding? This place is vastly over-rated. I will say that the atmosphere is appropriately kitsch and what I expected, but for the price, some of the worst food I have ever been served.

First, the good news: The drinks were good and so was the service.

Now the bad news: First the salad - lilted iceberg lettuce with a single (I'm not kidding) cherry tomato passes for a salad here, with one choice (apparently thousand island) of dressing. Only three steaks from which to choose (all sirloin), and one side item (misnamed 'greaseless' home fries, because they were definitely greasy).

With respect to the steaks, they are quite generous. Otherwise, they were low on taste and not very tender. I would tend to agree with another of the reviewers here in that I believe the bread they serve is simply cut-up hot dog buns slathered with some garlic salt concoction and baked crisp.

Overall, one of the worst values in Twin Cities dining. For a little more, you can go downtown and have a truly great meal at one of the many great eateries in the TC. Somebody should also revise the 'kid friendly' designation this place gets on this site. There are only three meal choices (no, I'm not kidding) and I don't think any of them are particularly 'kid friendly).

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best beef in america

by b_e_e_f

December 15, 2007

if you are a fat azz of the coach go and eat beef lindeys is the place to go and slob down on all you can eat potaeos and buns so get ur buns down to lindeys and eat like real humens should

• Pros: dfadsfa
• Cons: sdfasdf

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