"The Beef" has always been my favorite restaurant in the Olean area. Yesterday, I phoned in and ordered two luncheon salads "to go." I asked for an 11:30 a.m. pick up time. When I arrived, two young employees/women were at the desk/pick up area and were talking to others on the phones. In a time of a pandemic, my plan was to run in, pick up my food, and run out. The women were on extended conversations. After waiting maybe 5 minutes, I moved to the area where there were 2 pick up packages. One of the girls on the phone yelled out that I shouldn't touch anything and that SHE would take care of me as soon as SHE was off the phone. Her manner was brusk and condescending. I was embarrassed. I wondered if she would talk to her grandmother like that. PJ and Mike are always charming but ...you need to provide some "be nice" training for these important staff people. read more

A staple of our community and always does right by everyone amazing food and German potato salad is amazing!

Prime rib is melt in your mouth good. I first started coming here when I was a Freshman at St. Bonaventure. Every time I go back to a basketball game, I make a point to stop here. read more

I've gone there year for 40 years and have always enjoyed it immensely. The last time I went a month ago I was so disappointed. The food was cold.when I complained to the lady at the carving station she could have cared less. I complained to the manager he could have cared less. We were not a priority to them. So disappointed. Maybe they should have staff that care. read more

Great place. Ordered the beef on a wick. Server was attentive and prompt. I'd go again if I was in the area.

For the past few years my family has come here because it's one of "the best places in town". We've struggled through 10 years of using this as an excuse, due to bad service, but after tonight, I can't keep making this excuse. We ordered to go, an hour after the designated time frame, we were told someone with the same name took our order. They offered to give the food someone took home, back to us...... Or to wait another hour for soup and salad. read more

From out of town (way out of state) and came here with a local. Felt a little overwhelmed by the ordering process, but was able to find the load chicken salad to order for lunch. It was delicious and like no other salad I have had before (French fries on the salad!). Wish I had a reason to come back and figure out the ordering processes like the regulars. read more

We had good service and the food was pretty good too. I had the beef n cheese melt and was a little underwhelmed by the beef. I just expected to be blown away by the beef since that is supposed to be their specialty. The fries with gravy on top were amazing and definitely my favorite part of the meal. We were told it was the best restaurant in town by the manager at our hotel. Overall it did not disappoint, but if I went back I probably wouldn't get a beef sandwich read more

If you are a meat lover, you will love this restaurant. They do have other options as well. I am particularly fond of their French onion soup. read more

If you like really good steaks, this is the place! All the food and the drinks were so good! Loved the Midori margarita too! Our server, Carla was really good too. She was also serving a birthday party of about 40 people next to us and she still found the time to be attentive to us! Big kudos to Carla! I was so stuffed after the meal but I still wanted to have one of their coconut cream puffs with house made fudge sauce, delicious! I'd go back just for that! read more

Went here for date night. I had the Pittsburgh Steak salad and the melon margarita. That was one of my most favorite flavored margaritas I have ever drank. Service was great and well timed. The atmosphere was cozy and little romantic. Great for a date night! read more

Solid, filling meal. Beef was cooked exactly to order and service was great. Not much more could be asked for in a meal. Overall, great meal for totally reasonable price. I don't come here often but it's good to see that some things don't change. You won't be disappointed. read more

Nice atmosphere as always, host was personable and attentive. Wait staff was efficient and engaging. Food was mediocre. Beef was tender, no seasoning. Warm meat, no flavor. The au jus was basically the oily base off the meat, again no flavor. Prime rib was a generous cut, but no seasoning. We drove over an hour to Beef'n Barrel because I remember it being "special". We could have had comparable locally, at 1/2 the price. read more

This has been a favorite place since I was a child living in Olean. Whenever I or any of my siblings return to town, we always stop for a beef on weck. read more

Our waitress, Bernadette, was very kind and took her time explaining menu items. This was our first Beef on Wick and it was delicious. Beef was tender and the roll was flavorful. Pleasant atmosphere. read more

The beef on weck was not good. We ordered it medium and it was still tough. Horseradish was strong and good kimmelweck rolls. We liked the cheese curds for a starter. I only ate part of my sandwich. For Western New York I definitely do not recommend for a real beef on weck. However I gave it two stars for the service and the atmosphere. Go ahead and try it, get something else than the beef on weck. I would go back if I lived in olean. But I don't, so I guess I'll stick to the good beef on weck closer to Jamestown and buffalo. read more

I have been wanting to go here for many years and it was well worth the wait! You guys, I have continued to dream about this sandwich since eating it about a month ago. I ordered a hot roast beef closed face sandwich that came with mashed potatoes. I also ordered a side salad with blue cheese. It was all the best ever. Everything seemed home made, including the blue cheese! I drowned everything in home made gravy and it was Devine. This sandwich was like 5lbs, maybe I'm being dramatic but it was honestly heavy. I had enough for dinner for myself and dinner for myself and my mom the next day. This sandwich can feed a family. We ordered a blooming onion for an appetizer, amazing and a peppermint snowball ice cream for dessert. Peppermint ice cream covered in chocolate. Good but I'm excited to try other desserts though I hear this is a fan favorite. I am literally counting down to the next time I go to this restaurant. read more

2nd time visiting. Just as good as the 1st time. Prime Rib was fantastic, and service is always great. Highly recommend when in Olean.

As with any place - there are always going to be those that totally disagree with the masses. In this case - I'm not one of those people. First of all - I've been here only about three or four times and never have I had to wait - lunch time or weekday or night. The service is always quick - maybe it's because I'm so friendly they just can't wait to make me happy - or maybe it's my Yelp shirt! Whatever the case may be - I seriously have never had to wait more then a couple of minutes if that! The place is normally pretty busy though and sometimes it might be hard to find a place to park - even though there is some street parking AND back lot parking. I guess it all depends on how busy they really are. You will find things very clean for the amount of traffic that goes through this place and even the bathrooms are quite decent. Pricing is in par with any of the other great places to eat - very reasonable for what you are getting. They also will cook your meat exactly how you want it AND the flavor is great. If you want one of the best beef on wicks you can get - this place it the place to go in the area. I'm not sure what's up with the very few people who rated this poorly, but I will stand behind my review! I will reserve the 5 star for perhaps my next visit! read more

I've been coming to this restaurant for almost 50 years! I have NEVER been disappointed! The food is consistently good ,the service is always excellent and the desserts are to die for!! You will not leave this restaurant hungry...trust me!! read more

Was here one tome for lunch which was excellent, quick service and very nice tasty food!

This has been a favorite stop once or twice a year. Tonight was very disappointing. Onion soup great! Taco salad tasteless. Roast beef dinners cold. Strip steak ordered medium burnt on outside and cold. Beef on kimmelweck 1/3 rd smaller than last year. (Same price) Gonna have to think about rushing back. read more

Beef lovers rejoice! As anyone will tell you this is easily Olean's best beef on weck. But that isn't all my friends. Get the German potato salad. Seriously. It can't be beat. Taking a star off because the last couple of times the beef hasn't been as tender as I would have liked it. Call it a bump in the road. If I had to sum up the place it would be with this story. My girlfriend from the west coast comes to town with me. She's a vegetarian. I convince her there are options for her at a place called the Beef'n Barrel. We sit down to what would prove to be a nice lunch and the first thing we order is a couple of bloody mary's. They come to the table, and what do we find? A stick of pepperoni in both of them. Being the trooper she is she takes it out and knocks back the delicious delight. The only question she had after the meal is why I didn't tell her he should order her bloody vegetarian style. Meat-eaters FTW! read more

In a previous review, I took "The Beef" to task for shrinking their portion sizes and even their drinking glasses. Went last night and all had returned to normal. Hence - the reinstatement of their 4 star rating. I HAVE SPOKEN!!! read more

I am from the area and we go to the Beef a lot. I have never been disappointed until tonight. I live outside of NY now and when I get the chance I get a fish fry, normally nothing beats a NY haddock. My fried haddock was overcooked to the point it didn't just fall apart like normal but when cut was almost rubbery. Fortunately I won't let this keep me from returning, but please make sure they don't continue to overcook such a good fish. read more

Ignored upon walking in.... Not a good start Bartender and 2 wait staff behind desk were avoiding eye contact. Finally sat down, waitress came over got our drink order and was prompt taking our food order. Food was subpar. Mashed potatoes were cold, even sent them back and they still came out cold. Steak was not flavorful- and thin. Mushroom toppings were from a can. Waitress did not come back until we were more than ready to leave to ask how the meal was. Overall unsatisfied. read more

Just like Philly gave us the cheesesteak, DC gave us the half-smoke and NYC gave us pastrami on rye; Buffalo gave us the beef on weck: thin sliced, slow roasted beef on a caraway seed and kosher salt encrusted roll dipped in au jus and slathered with horseradish (or ketchup if you're a weirdo). Just the thought of it makes my stomach growl. Unfortunately for this native WNYer, the beef on weck hasn't really caught on in other parts of the country. I've seen lame attempts, but they always seem to screw it up somehow, like serving it on a Kaiser roll instead of a kummelweck roll. If I was up around Buffalo, I would go to Schwabl's or Charlie the Butcher, but if you're in the Southern Tier, nobody makes it like Beef and Barrel. Somebody might tell you, "so and so makes it just as good", but they'd be lying to you. read more

The absolute best beef ! I use to live in Emporium, Pa years ago and we would eat hear every Sat. I visited the area last year and this restaurant is good as I remember. I live in Boston but I have yet to find roast beef meals like they serve - THE BEST! read more

We drove 45 miles to eat lunch here and it was worth every mile. The roast.beef sandwich. Dipped in gravy was fantastic They even have root beer ! The staff was super friendly and the atmosphere was really nice I enjoyed every bite however parking was across the street but it was well worth the trip if you're near Jamestown have lunch here read more

Beef'n Barrel - Where is the beef in the roast beef sandwich - Steakhouses Near Me - Olean, New York

There is always great attention to detail at the Beef. Homemade rolls, properly cooked beef and desserts with homemade fudge sauce. The wait staff is attentive and the cashiers efficient. The food, always good, appeals very much to the mainstream. Obviously it is a beef house and their roast beef on kümmelweck rolls is their signature dish. The salads are tasty and well prepared and the desserts, all homemade are very good as well. You don't go the Beef and Barrel for gourmet food. You go for extremely well prepared (if predictable) american foods. read more

It's been a couple years since I went, but they were quite good. I grew up in Rochester but moved away at 13. My mom moved back to NY out to the southern tier. When I visited with my wife and kids a couple years back, we asked my mom for a recommendation on somewhere to go for a date night. She said Beef'n'Barrel is quite good. It was. The meat was delicious. The horseradish was real (California doesn't do real horseradish... so getting the real stuff for once was great), and the atmosphere was upscale yet relaxed and comfortable. Definitely worth the visit. read more

I love this restaurant. They always have amazing food and the service is wonderful. i think the best part was how affordable it was. you get the higher quality of a restaurant with amazing prices read more

We had this place suggested to us and are so glad we listened. Kind of "old worldy" in the decor, which we liked. No TV on every wall, just a great place to sit and enjoy. Our waiter, John, was prompt, helpful and very helpful. I HIGHLY recommend the beef on kummelwick (sp). The bread was incredible, and the slow cooked roast beef (cooked to order might I add) was thinly sliced and piled on. Mt wife had the roast beef au jus, which she loved. They do their own baking of everything we had, bread and desserts, and there is a reason they are still doing it that way. I had a local beer with blueberries in it. Different, but good. Great food, service and treatment at a great price. You will not be disappointed! (Oh yeah, leave the Cutco knives there, them things are pricey) read more

Ate at the bar- beef on weck was excellent, as always! Also had the baked beans & cole slaw- great. Staff is very attentive and courteous as well. I've never had a bad meal at this restaurant. read more

My food was ok, and the atmosphere was nice. My friends steak was cooked incorrectly. Both of our steaks were charred, we ordered medium rare... The waitress, was terrible. She had a massive attitude. We turned 21 and ordered a drink each and she gave us a massive attitude about it, and was borderline insulting. She was terrible at getting us what we asked, which was only water. And when our alcoholic drinks got low, she didn't come to the table at all, so she wouldn't have to refill them. She offered all the other customers seconds, but not us. I wouldn't have minded but her attitude drove me nuts. I would go back for the drinks (which were very good) but not the food or service. read more

The service here was second to none. I don't remember the young fellas name but the place was busy and he ran his tail off for us and the rest of the customers seated outside. Simply awesome he was. Best server I've ever had. But with that the food was as equally excellent and we will be returning for sure the next time we're in town. read more

We stopped by this place on a recent road trip. It had awesome, awesome roast beef. I ordered the roast beef on kummelwick ("weck," as the waitress pronounced it) -- a large, soft roll with salt and rye seeds sprinkled on it. Best of all, I would specify how I wanted the roast beef cooked. Glory, glory, hallelujah! I ordered it rare. It was delightfully tasty. I also ordered the German potato salad as a side. It was absolutely legit -- warm, bacony, vinegary deliciousness. The hubby had a French dip and french fries with gravy. All in all, we enjoyed it tremendously, and would certainly make an effort to return when we return to the area. read more

Today I had lunch here with my mom and grandmother. Mom and I got the sirloin and my grandmother had the fish sandwich lunch special. We're from out of town so we had no expectations going in. Everything from the service to the food to the ambiance was top notch. Our steaks were so tender that I could hardly believe they were only $9.95! The fish sandwich, which came with a cup of soup and cole slaw, was too much for my grandmother to finish and at $7.95 she thought it was a steal. We occasionally make the trek out this way for sentimental reasons and we are now going to add this restaurant to the list of traditional stops that we absolutely must hit. I didn't try the bar but my grandmother's vodka gimlet was so strong that she almost fell asleep on the way back to our hotel. Next time, someone else can drive! read more

I love this quintessential beef lovers restaurant. Clearly, if you want beef don't hesitate to come here. Absolutely this side of heaven!

Food from this restaurant always upsets my stomach. The menu reminds me Cracker Barrel.