This was our 5th time here for Easter and we had the absolute WORST experience. Waited three hours for food for it to come out ice cold because someone was "looking for it in the kitchen". Our server had the worst possible attitude and never once apologized. Also brought a different tables food to ours and insisted it was right after telling her multiple times it wasn't. Until she realized on her own it wasn't ours and took food off our table (that we already touched) to bring to the correct table. Just ridiculous would NEVER recommend this place again. Just sad and embarrassing. read more

Liked the atmosphere, dark and rustic. It was all downhill from there.. The food and service were both less than desirable. I ordered prime rib and it was the worse cut I've ever experienced. This one is a one and done for me. read more

Well, what can I say about Al,s steakhouse that hasn't been said 1 million times over great food. Service is on the spot for little on the pricey side. But again it doesn't disappoint on the service or the food. The ambience is great. Hope it never changes, but just improves with time. I would ask that they bring back the Buffet for special times in a year. I've been going for years, and probably will still for more, and the good Lord let me. read more

We WERE long time customers - many years. Actually wrote a very good review on them several years ago. No more. Last visit I had to send back a totally inedible meal for the second time in as many months ( I Never send food back). Hostess ( middle aged blond) was rude regarding our concern over Coved seating. Hostess and server were well aware we were long time regulars. I left my name and number for the owner to call me to discuss my dissatisfaction with this visit. No call returned. How insulting! Fine dining? Not even close. read more

I had Thanksgiving Dinner at Al's many choices I had The Turkey Dinner my Son had Lamb chops (Delicious) both dinners. they were very busy and handled reservations very well. Service Was great! Dining room has been updated looked beautiful with all poinsettias all around the restaurant Grateful to have such a special place to dine. George the owner is always there to assure everyone is taken care of. Treat yourself to a lovely night! read more

Came here for a team dinner while visiting Joliet on business. From the outside, this place kinda looks run down. However, the ambiance going in was a total 180 degree. It's an italian-french kinda setting. Pretty romantic if one wants to come here on a dinner date. This is a steakhouse but has lots of seafood and chicken options. The price point is really good compared to what I would pay for similar quality food back in my town. I ordered Chicken De'Jonghe. It came with garlic mashed potato and chicken noodle soup. All three were excellent. I must say, the chicken was definitely something that I had never tried before. The crust was soft yet crunchy buttery if you will. The soup was not one of those run in the mill chicken noodle soups. This was thicker with a lot more flavor to it. I liked their "garlicky" twist on mashed potatoes. For desserts, I ordered their tapioca pudding to-go and it was yummy ! The service was good and I think the owner (?) made sure he brought water for us whenever he noticed empty glasses. My colleagues also seemed to enjoy whatever they ordered. There's a lot of parking available. It was a nice surprise to find such a neat place for dinner in the small town of Joliet. I am definitely coming back next time to try their seafood entrees. read more

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Best steak we've had in the area. They cook the prime rib just right. They seem to have the same staff since 1970 so they all know they place really well. read more

Good food and service, yes. Yuppie atmosphere - No That's what you get if you go to Al's Steakhouse, in Joliet. It's a true to life throwback to an earlier time, where people actually went out to talk and enjoy food. We ate there on 10/4/12 for my birthday - I was looking for a good steak. The salad bar isn't the same thing you'll get at some restaurants. It had fresh lettuce, croutons, 4 different salad dressings, and a bunch of nice salad adders. It also had 6 different salads / slaws on the side. Everything was fresh. Okay, it isn't a chain restaurant - get over it - if you want to eat at a chain restaurant, Country Buffet is across the street. My wife ordered the petite prime rib, and I went for Al's Cut of the fillet Mignon - both were cooked properly. I even snagged a piece of the prime rib and tried it with the creamed horseradish - oooooo! Man, was that tasty. We also ordered their special, which was stuffed mushrooms - the stuffing didn't leave "mush" room inside, but they were good. Too good - we had to take 2 of the 4 home. When you get there, you get water, bread sticks and the menus and wine list. After you order your food, you get warm rolls and butter, along with your drinks. As to drinks, we ordered a bottle of wine. We didn't get ripped off - the price of the wine was a reasonable markup from retail (unlike some places, where it is 100 to 200% of the retail price) The total bill with food, a bottle of wine and the stuffed mushroom appetizer was around $100. If you are looking for good food and service, try out Al's. If you are looking for a big salad bar, and a server with buttons on their suspenders, well, why not go somewhere you can get that? read more

I think the this steak house is really nice one. I go there twice with my colleagues. The environment is ok and people is very friendly. I order cheese burger which I think is not like a "normal burger".It like a entree. The price is ok, I will go there again or highly recommend my friends go there if they visit Joliet. read more

Al's Steak House - chesee burger - Steakhouses Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

My husband and i came her last month for his birthday. This place is about an hour away for us but we wanted to get out of the area. We started with the Shrimp Dejonge for an apptizer. It was garlicky and buttery, cooked just perfect! We both had a filet and my husband added a lobster tail to his. The meals included a generous salad bar or soup of the day and a potato. The salad bar was fresh and tended to regularly. The garlic mashed were out of this world! Today I came up this way Christmas shopping and had some extra time, so I stopped by myself. I had the Shrimp Dejonge meal and it did not disappoint! This place is solid, quality and unique ambiance you just don't see anymore. read more

Like to have the fried shrimp appetizer here and the baked French onion soup. The baked potatoes should be made more fresh by hand, it really would taste better and one can tell. Never have an issue with how the steak is cooked. Always a delightful server and service. read more

Feel like a good steak? Or a great steak house menu to choose from?!feel like still having some money to spend after your steak? This landmark in Joliet is the place! Unassuming location and retro decor but great service by all and delicious food. My choice was a strip steak from the menu and the other choice was for the brunch which included prime rib. Steak medium rare and prime rib not overdone. For a Sunday brunch and the restaurant menu I thought the dress of some guests was a little too casual but that's just me. We do plan on coming back some evening and bringing some friends. Looks like they have rooms for parties or banquets which were going on at the same time but absolutely no problem with parking. read more

Went there last night for a good steak burger. Well, tasted like a mix between meat loaf, and the soy burgers from the school lunch menu from the 1970s, with a kraft single for cheese (an upcharge of a dollar and bacon was 1.75 upcharge). 47$ later dinner for 2 and mind you we only drank 1 raspberry ice tea each which a refill never happened although our empty glasses were in full view; we were not impressed the food was not even worth taking the leftovers home, and we will not return. read more

This spot is a local family favorite. It's my dads favorite place to get steak or ribs, and has been a special occasion restaurant since I was young. We ordered carryout for Father's Day this year due to the pandemic and Al's had food for 5 ready within 30 minutes. It might not quite hold up against some of the fancier steakhouses I've visited, but it's always been good. read more

We went on valentine's day. Best place ever!!! Owner George is super nice and our server was Barbara. 10/10 no complaints. We had a porterhouse, petite filet and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Workers are so amazing at what they do all of them!! Keep up the amazing work guys. Unfortunately when we came in there was a "karen" complaining about the wait time when it's clearly a holiday and busy. The last thing any overwhelmed worker wants to deal with is a nagging Karen. 5 stars for Al's 0 stars for impatient rude Karens. read more

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I am glad that I did not judge this place by its outside appearance. This is a fantastic old school steak house which also offers seafood and other specialized items. We were greeted warmly when we enter the restaurant and were walked to our table. They offer nightly specials and a full salad bar. Entrees include a soup or a salad bar. I ordered the liver and onions with bacon and my guest ordered the prime rib. Both exceeded our expectations. A gentleman came to our table multiple times to make sure our water glasses were full. I will definitely be coming back. read more

Al's Steak House - Liver and onions with bacon - Steakhouses Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

Had a fantastic experience last night at Al's was welcomed with a huge smile and felt like home. Our waitress was very jovial with a smile behind her mask. Fresh salad was served with a perfect 1,000 island dressing. I had the 12oz Ribeye and was cooked to perfection and just enough fat to season the steak in its own. My bake potato was steamy hot and perfect medium size potato. To finish off the night with a scoop of rainbow sherbet quenched the pallet. Wonderful night will be back again when I'm back in town. read more

Awesome food. The steak Diane was amazing. Porterhouse was worth every penny and leftovers for dinner the next day. Very good place read more

Al's Steak House - Steakhouses Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

Al's staff provided outstanding customer support and food for a wedding shower. From early planning to execution we could not be more pleased with the staff, drinks and food. The two servers were outstanding and gave everyone first class service. The entrees were fresh, well portioned and cooked to perfection. Made us so happy to share this great venue with our family and friends. So thankful for making our shower a success and stress free event. read more

Went here for a group event. Food was terrible. Everything was cold. I am not a 1-star "Karen" reviewer in fact usually I give the benefit of the doubt. But for the money spent on a group party, it was awful. read more

Calimari was great, the ambiance was great as well. The stark is great and myfrien had chicken Cesar salad. Both of us enjoyed the dinning pleasure. read more

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My wife and her lady friend tried Al's first time for lunch and were very impressed. So, we celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary there and couldn't have been happier with the food, the service, the ambiance. A follow up visit at Thanksgiving was called for. Dittos for food, service and ambiance. Such a crazy, hectic holiday and the staff managed the crowds like it was just a normal day. Since then, the world changed and we celebrated our fifty first anniversary with a carryout. Quality is every bit as good, just consumed at home. Al's has become our "go to" fine dining restaurant. Too bad the review is limited to five stars. Al's deserves six stars. Congress granted a special privilege to George Washington, awarding him six general officer stars so that no one could ever surpass him in rank. In our opinion, Al's deserves six stars. Paul & Christine Dytrych Frankfort, IL read more

I've had my best steak here and my worst steak here. It's a landmark location that could use a hand getting up to date In food and decor for sure. We have done a holiday brunch here also but honestly wouldn't return. It was okay but for a holiday I expected more variety and a better class of food. Sorry. read more

We celebrated Mothers Day a week early due to work schedules. Jeffrey our server was just over the top awesome!!! Food was terrific!! I will definitely be back!! read more

Old school steakhouse. The beef is flawless, salad bar is classic and the service is excellent. A medium rare filet that was exceptionally well done! read more

Al's Steak House - Steakhouses Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

Such a disappointment, we went to have a nice Moms day dinner on Saturday. 4 adults 2 kids, we were 2nd table in a room out of about 10 tables. Sat at table at 5 pm ordered right away and asked if she could bring kids meals ASAP because they are little and hungry! 1 hr and 45 minutes later , all the other tables have been sat , ordered , and have their meals, we still only had our salads and a cocktail. Some of these tables were exiting the restaurant already and we had asked 3 times, just bring the kids meals! Finally the food came, the kids meals and my sons prime rib was great, the other 3 meals were not, tough pork chop, dry tilapia and the chicken piccata was so heavy and thick it was sent back! They did comp our cocktails and removed the chicken meal, but waiting 2 hours for food! Ridiculous! read more

Note: This review is only for Sunday Brunch. I'm 34 and the only reason I've been at Al's in the last 20 years was for a couple of funeral lunches. We used to come to the brunch when I was a kid with my grandparents. I met my friends here for brunch yesterday 2/15/15. We had a group of 7, they were able to get us a table after a short wait without reservations. He told us it was our lucky day, so reservations are probably a better idea. I love the old style of Al's. No complaints on the decor, they even had very nice valentines decorations up. Our servers name was Elizabeth, and she was fantastic. She was probably the best part of our brunch. She was very helpful and always in top of our refills. The brunch Buffett really needs some work. Pretty much everything I grabbed was room temp. There were only a few items that were really good, everything else was so so. The sausage links were great, as well as the hash browns (although they were cold). Everyone loved the cream of chicken soup. The worst part of the Buffett was the pastries and deserts. Al's should be embarrassed that these were even out for people to take. All of these items were beyond stale and old! My friend grabbed a slice of red velvet cake that was like a rock, I couldn't believe that someone thought this was edible. I don't think I'd be back unless they figured out how to keep the food hot, and make sure everything in fresh including the pastries and desserts. Otherwise it will probably be another 20 years before I return. read more

I grew up in Joliet. I thought that this is what steak was and that I didn't like it. In Joliet, if you want a steak you go to Al's. If you like steak that your grandfather used to make on the grill and a truly bad "homemade" dinner... go to Al's. I would definitely rather go almost anywhere else for dinner. This place is solely responsible for me not discovering how amazing a great filet mignon is until I ate at Wildfire. Can you imagine the O-face I made after my first bite of a properly prepared and aged filet for the first time after years of eating tough, charred, Al's Steakhouse steaks? I felt cheated. How could everyone keep this secret from me? Then I realized... people that go here just don't know any better. I couldn't stay mad at them for their ignorance. Back to the review. This place was never that great but my parents always loved it. When my dad passed away we had his funeral dinner here. My steak was so overcooked (I asked for rare) and incredibly fatty that I could hardly find any meat worth cutting off. To their credit they did give me another to go after my mom made a fuss about it. She couldn't believe what it looked like and that they would have served it to me. The atmosphere tries to be dark and classy but they don't pull it off well. It has a cheap feeling to it like they just didn't go the extra mile. It's hard to mess up exposed brick but they managed. Anyways, I've been here a dozen times and the only thing I was ever fond of was the salad bar. Worse, they are under new ownership since many of the reviews shown here and I can tell you without a doubt that they've went downhill from where they once were. When I think of all the cows' lives that people waste here it keeps me up at night... crying. Cows want to taste delicious for you. Don't take that away from them. read more

Seems that as long as I've known of Al's Steakhouse, it's been the "in" place to go for people in the Joliet area to get a "fancy" dinner. Scratch that -- people in the Joliet area who are too scared to wander outside of the Joliet area. On one hand, I should be thankful that Joliet has an independent place so that the locals aren't limited to suburban sprawl chain restaurants, but...sad but true, those suburban sprawl preservative-laden restaurants are better. Al's is good...if you don't know what a good restaurant is. It looks posh in a late-70s basement paneling sort of way. But that's just about it. The food is bland and most certainly frozen and not fresh. (Case in point: shrimp scampi...dry, and with little flavor...yoiks!) The salad bar on the Sunday brunch buffet doesn't even have ranch dressing; seriously, people, if you have just one salad dressing, it's gotta be ranch -- so basic, so common, so unoffensive! Last time I was there I asked the waitress if they have Guinness on tap. Her answer? "Actually, we don't have ANYTHING on tap." SERIOUSLY?!? Nice try, Al's. I'm sure your restaurant is state-of-the-art '60s steakhouse....sadly, judging by the meals I've had there (not my choice), seems that the food is as vintage as the vibe. read more

Go back in time 20 years and this place would get 4 or 5 stars. I like it, I have fond memories of family dinners here. But it's pretty dated, life has passed it by. The food is good but it's just not a place I would seek out anymore. My wife and I like to go out to dinner on the weekends and we haven't gone here but once lately as the restaurant is so dated. Maybe the heyday of Steakhouses is over. But, if you are in the Joliet area and really want a good steak and don't care about the atmosphere, go for it. Just don't be surprised if you feel like you should be wearing a leisure suit. read more

I was in Joliet on a vacation weekend while visiting Chicago with my Wife for the weekend. We arrived at our hotel and unpacked. Hungry for a nice sit down dinner I jumped on the interwebs to read some reviews of steakhouses in Joliet. I didn't want to go to Outback Steakhouse or any other chain store so it was left to the locals. After reading some reviews and checking out a few places online I decided we were going to give Al's Steak House a try. AM I GLAD WE DID! Some people on here have said that the place seem "dated", but I thought it slightly classy in it's own way. Everything was very clean and the service at the door was prompt and efficient. We went to the bar which was also clean and the service prompt. After having a very reasonable priced beverage at the bar our names were called on the loud speaker that our table was ready. Quickly we were seated and our waitress Jennifer was out immediately to greet us and get our drink order. The table was clean and the chairs were comfortable. The lighting and ambiance was nice. We ordered our food and I grabbed a salad from the salad bar. My wife got soup that was very good. Since we were on vacation we splurged and ordered two nice steaks. Our food came out in a reasonable amount of time and the steaks were cooked to perfection. Our waitress Jennifer didn't let our drinks get below half full and overall our food was DELICIOUS! The service was GREAT! I would recommend Al's Restaurant to anyone! Ask for Jennifer as your waitress and you will enjoy an excellent experience. -Brett S. read more

we moved to the area not long ago and we kept passing the steakhouse so I decided to take a chance and was pleasantly surprised! The food was really good. Im so glad we decided to stop in. Its one of those places that I want to get dressed up for no reason and have cocktails at! I can only imagine what it was like back in the day! All the ladies in their best dresses and cigarette holders and the men smoking at the bar drinking whiskey! Jennifer was out server and she was great!!!!! We will be back! My fiancee said we should go every month, Im in!!!!! read more

I'm torn on this one. I notice most people aren't a huge fan of the outdated decor. I actually like it though. I'm weird like that. The huge booths were comfy. Our server was excellent! She didn't even rush us when we came in at 8:30 on a Tuesday night. She was friendly and had a great sense of humor. It's exactly what we needed that night. The food had it's ups and downs. The salad bar and bread wasn't good at all. The steak was good. It wasn't great but it was good. The baked potato was good too but you can't really screw that up. The drinks were perfect! We each had a dirty martini and it was amazing! The prices were pretty reasonable. We had 2 steak dinners and 4 alcoholic drinks for $100. If I'm looking for dinner in Joliet again I wont hesitate to head back. read more

How does this place stay in business? The service is the only thing about this place that is remotely good. If you think I'm lying, I dare you to go order the Steak Diane at this place or ask for mushrooms. Apparently, Steak Diane= Steak with Disgusting Gravy completely covering it, and Mushrooms = Canned mushrooms on your steak. Wow. Can a place get any worse? read more

Faded glory. Al's has been here forever and it was once THE dining spot of Joliet. As the decades have gone by, now it's an elderly person spot. It's old. It smells when you enter. It reminds of Jack Gibbons in Oak Forest or The Flame on Joliet Rd. I go there to feel young despite the fact that I am 60! The food is just this side of nursing home cuisine: bland, uninteresting and tasteless. I ordered the 8 oz steak and it was ruined by a heavy wine reduction. You couldn't taste the meat. The wine was moldy. The decor is late 60s and never been updated. read more

The best way to describe my experience at Al's: It reminded me of a college dining hall. Seriously, the food was very reminiscent of that. We came here for the Sunday brunch buffet (at my grandparent's insistence). There was nothing that was downright nasty but also nothing that I would want to eat again. I didn't even bother with the eggs because I stay away from large batch, fake-looking food. The bacon was limp and undercooked. The fried shrimp was pretty good, but I assume it's pretty hard to mess up something that arrives frozen in a bag and just has to be thrown in a fry basket. There was a strange Greek noodle bake that some of my dining companions said was good. I hear the beef that was being carved to order was decent. One funny moment of the day was when a kitchen worker was bringing out new food to the buffet and a patron asked what it was she was refilling. "I don't know," the worker replied... The decor wasn't as bad as some people here have made it out to be. Our waitress was friendly and prompt. I'm not well-versed in Joliet cuisine, but seriously, if you live here and *this* is where you are going for a nice night out or a special occasion, it's totally worth the drive to head to Naperville for some better grub. read more

We ate here a few weeks ago for a rehearsal dinner, so caveat emptor - ordering off the menu as part of a regular dinner reservation may vary your experience somewhat (or not). As noted previously, decor is 1970's Sears catalog Mediterranean: lots of dark, heavy wood and leather and I think I even remember metal trellises. Wine offerings by the glass were scary; it's no wonder the Midwest prefers beer. Food-wise, I may have fared better as a carnivore as I was served a frozen tilapia dinner. No joke. It was probably from the supermarket down the street. The fish was frozen and microwaved, as were the Birds Eye vegetable mix and Uncle Ben's success rice. I think canned, brined mushrooms could only have been an improvement on what I was served. One star awarded for the rehearsal dinner - NO restaurant is at their best trying to serve 40 people simultaneously in a 250 SF room. One star awarded for not eating red meat - most steakhouses are capable of serving a handful of perfectly acceptable options other than steak, but hey! I'm trying to be generous. read more

Appetizer came out cold. We were in a rush so we ordered everything at once. Took more than an hour to get the entree. Waitress came to the table one time and put down a bunch a bread plates and bowl of butter but no bread. For $15 calamari you would think they'd put the sauce in a nice bowl but it came in a plastic cup. Did I mention it was cold? Anyway, by the time the food came out, we had to go bc it took forever and we were late for our next thing. Waitresses gave us attitude about having to box everything up. Don't even bother with this one, you're better off going to Culver's. read more

We came late last night after a show at the Rialto. The staff couldn't gave been more hospitable. Our server was Kristen and she is a shining example of how a waitress should be. The food was amazing and because if this and Kristen and the lovely lady host....we will be back. The decor and ambiance is welcoming and charming. read more

Pretty good dinner for totally selecting this place at random while driving through the area for work. The appeal was the giant neon side outside the restaurant. I had a steak sandwich and my boyfriend had some sort of steak and gravy. We got salads and potatoes with both and everything was really good. We were starving from a long day and it was just what we wanted. Old-school dining experience that's for sure. Vintage restaurant without being divey and dirty. On the contrary it was very clean, professional, and somewhat fancy - the servers were dressed very nicely. They were very attentive and kind. All the food came out at the right time. We opted to sit in the bar instead of the more formal looking dining room (we definitely weren't dressed for the dining room since we had been working outside most of the day) and they even had football playing. It was perfect, no complaints here. read more

Al's Steak House - Steakhouses Near Me - Joliet, Illinois

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