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    The Fat Chef

    4.2 (85 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM

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    Surf & turf with the twice baked potato
    Jason W.

    I was disappointed when I heard they had closed so after hearing that they were going to open back up we were excited to try it. We booked a reservation for the re-opening night. Well I can say that the food was really good. My wife and I had the seafood cakes for an appetizer. We split the surf & turf (8os filet mignon and lobster tail. Steak was pretty good, the lobster tail was a lobster tail, good but nothing to write home about and small considering the price) For sides, we ordered a twice baked potato (nothing special) and the creamed spinach (really really good). I had one Hibiscus cider, Belinda had a tea. Then we shared a cream brûlée (absolutely delicious - we are kind of snobs when it comes to cream brûlée). Final bill after fair tip was just shy of $300.00. Overall I think the food was on point for sure. Our server was mediocre at best. Final opinion is that I think it was good but overpriced.

    NY strip, sweet potato

    Service was so friendly and attentive. We felt super welcomed. Most importantly, the food was incredible. Fresh food, you can tell it's all made with care with delicate, thoughtful touches to each dish. This is definitely a good spot for date night, nice dinner out. Do recommend and will be back!

    Shrimp Marsala
    Long T.

    A beautiful dining experience with delicious dishes for any travelers. Recommend any of their specials. I had the shrimp marsala, and... Finished. Every. Bite.

    Pan fried Waleye
    Lindsay L.

    3.5 rounded up because Our server Dustin was awesome! Christine is absolutely fabulous and ao kind and seems to know many of the diners! I love that the inside is like a cozy log cabin. Super comforting and relaxing. They bring bread and butter and it was not very good. That's ok. The salads were amazing. Homemade blue cheese was delicious. Caesar salad was wonderful. The issues came with the main entrees. The veggie side of the day was cabbage and peppers. It just wasn't good. My son ordered his 8oz filet medium, we should have ordered medium well. It was basically mooing. He couldn't finish it. My husband was excited for walleye and he got it pan seared and probably should have gotten a different flavor but it was mild and not fishy and very good. The sea scallops were like butter. Melted in your mouth good. The Alfredo served with it was good but a tad crispy on top like dried out but under it was very good. The desserts were delicious and you must save room for some! Pecan cobbler was like brown sugary buttery nutty goodness. The Crème Brûlée was light and delicious. Overall very expensive. Wonderful service. And good food but not excellent which you would expect for the price. May try and go back now that they have burgers Wednesday and Thursday nights and the Reuben looked good as well.

    Bone in ribeye with blackened shrimp
    Rhonda C.

    We were celebrating a huge milestone and wanted to try The Fat Chef. What a great place near the lake in Northwest Arkansas. We started with wine and stuffed mushrooms and both set the stage for a great experience. My husband ordered the bone in ribeye special and WOW. The steak was hand cut and huge, cooked perfectly, and also included shrimp and twice baked potato. I enjoyed a plate of delicious seafood fettuccine. Creamy and full of parmigiana goodness. The staff was very attentive and made the night super relaxing. We will be back.

    Filet with grilled shrimp
    Cassie M.

    I really wanted to love this place. It seemed they were short on staff as there was one waitress and one busboy. It appears as thought they owner/chef's wife was waiting tables as well and she waited on us. We had a reservation after calling and she said "mmm, I can't get you at 7:30". Maybe the fact it sounded as though we were being squeezed in, should have been a sign. We were placed at a high top directly across from the bathrooms. I don't know if other patrons were just in there drinking but many used the restrooms over and over. I got up three times to close the doors because they would be left wide open. If I was the owner, I'd remove this table all together. So that wasn't pleasant. We ordered an appetizer of crab Rangoon dip and a steak to share with hash browns and salad. The app came out first, as it should. Hot dip and fresh fried wontons to dip with. It had a very sweet taste and I'm not sure why. I think of crab Rangoon at an Asian restaurant and it always taste of cream cheese, no sweetness so give it a C. The salad was next and it was a good salad so A on that. The steak was cooked medium as requested so A on the sear but I didn't think it had much flavor or seasoning so I'd have to drop to a C. The hash browns (our choice, you can get baked or mashed) were soaked in the red blood juice from the steak and just, well nope. F on those. We were there 90 minutes. It took a long time to get our order taken and a long time between app, salad and main dish. I usually don't mind a leisurely date night dinner but not at a high top, not by the bathroom, and the noise level was loud and we weren't even in the main dining area. It just wasn't worth spending over a Benjamin, especially when we split a meal. It's a small place really so perhaps with an additional server, it might be better. They have a large outdoor patio also. Others have given great reviews and perhaps they had a better experience and better food. May have been an off night but I likely won't return

    Scallops- yummy

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    Ruth's Chris Steak House

    Ruth's Chris Steak House

    4.0
    (256 reviews)
    7.7 mi
    $$$

    Food and service were amazing. Josh was our server and he was great. Every plate and drink we…read moreordered did not disappoint.

    We had a table of 6 at lunch time before a graduation celebration at UofA. What a huge…read moredisappointment! The service started off fine, although the upstairs "patio" is way too hot even though it was only 80 degrees outside. The metal roof "loovers" seem to radiate heat. The wait for appetizers was short, but beverage service lagged well behind appetizers. We ordered our entrees and sides...and then WAITED. From the time we sat down till entrees came out, it was 1.25 hrs!! The restaurant was not busy. Then when we cut into our 6 steaks (not at the server's request, which is often customary at steak houses where we come from (Dallas) 5 of the 6 of our steaks were prepared incorrectly. All were over cooked - whether ordered medium rare or medium rare- all were done well past the requested level. Our waitress promptly and rightfully suggested we send them back. Which we did. Two minutes later, an obviously inexperienced manager shows up and rudely tells us it's "the lighting due to dining outside" that makes us THINK our steaks are overcooked. "Things can look more gray in natural light", he said. Really!?!? We said "excuse us...but no. These were prepared incorrectly." So he VERY reluctantly ordered 5 fresh steaks When those 5 came out, two that were ordered medium were very rare. And had to be returned AGAIN! They comp'ed us dessert as if that was going to make up for the abysmal service. NOT RETURNING - NOT RECOMMENDING.

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    Ruth's Chris Steak House
    Ruth's Chris Steak House
    Ruth's Chris Steak House

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    House 1830

    House 1830

    4.9
    (141 reviews)
    3.3 mi
    $$$

    4/22/26 This family…read moreowned business was highly recommended by a local friend and I had promised to check this place out the next time I was in town. Well Yelpers, I've found my new fave Northwest Arkansas restaurant! TBH, I wasn't sure what to expect when I arrived. It looked like a modernized restaurant with an open kitchen. I opened the door to the restaurant and waited to check in and a handsome young boy asked if I had reservations and I advised I didn't and he asked if I wanted to sit indoor or outdoor. He grabbed a menu and helped me to my table. I was quickly greeted by a staff member and given a glass of water and was told that there isn't an assigned server but that multiple staff members will work together to attend my table. After eating American and Italian food all week on my business travels, I was craving some authentic simple home cooked food and this location brought me virtually home for dinner. For those of you that know me or have been following my review journey, have gotten to know my household ethnicities. When I saw the House 1830 Menu, it was a delightful mix of Vietnamese and Laotian food! The color purple was present from accent walls by the kitchen to my cloth napkin on the plate sets, to the "seasonal" menu font color all tie together with staff uniforms including the outdoor purple umbrella above the outdoor seating space. They even have custom pillows on the bench seating with the House 1830 logos. Susana, one of the owners came to greet me and asked if I've been here before or if it's my first time. She shared that her husband Binh was the head chef today and many patrons typically think it's a fusion restaurant but it's really a family inspired menu that keeps the food as authentic as possible. Binh is Vietnamese and their sister in law Bé is Laotian. I didn't have the pleasure of meeting Bé as she was celebrating her birthday elsewhere as she should. Susana shared that her contribution is the inspired cocktail menu...which had so many yummy options that you don't see anywhere else. They had a Lychee Martini on the menu but I see it often everywhere so I ordered the Longan Martini to try and it was delish! I started with my roots and ordered a Vietnamese House Sampler described as a sampling of the crowd favorite starters. Cha Gio | Mini Banh Xeo | Bo Xien Tam for $21. The eggrolls were crispy and had the right amount of filling well seasoned, the Bite-size Banh Xeo shrimp crepes was light and the flash fried marinated beef skewers were seasoned to perfection with a family marinade. Lettuce, cilantro, mint along with the various nuoc cham (dipping sauces) were great! I didn't want to fill up as I wanted one of my favorite Lao dishes Nam Khao - Crispy red curry seasoned rice combined with small chunks of cured pork, and spices. It comes with lettuce, mint, cilantro where you can eat it like a lettuce wrap or eat it as is like fried rice for $18. This light entree for me hit the spot. The staff was exceptional, occasionally stopping g by to check if my water was ok or if I needed anything. I went to check out the bathroom to wash my hands and thought the wall murals were trendy and happy to see the restrooms were clean. I stopped at the open kitchen and complimented the chef and his staff on my delicious meal. They were very cheery and thankful for the compliment. Went back to my table and contemplated another cocktail or dessert but I was really beyond stuffed and figured I'll be back and to save options for my next visit. Chef Binh stopped by my table and we started talking about a little of everything. The restaurant concept, the seasonally inspired menu and to keep things fun for regular diners, shhhh....you didn't hear it from me...but there's even a secret menu that changes often! You'll have to ask or sign up to get the details! You don't get many seasonal menu options from Asian restaurants so I love that they have a seasonal menu and a secret one that only the special members know about! Come check out House 1830! You will not be disappointed yes, I'll be back to visit Binh, Susana and team! Thanks for the hospitality! Thank you, Zerric for the best recommendation! Xoxo

    I moved here from Southern California in September and have been trying a lot of restaurants, and…read morethis is hands down the best restaurant I have experienced in NWA. The food has incredible depth of flavor and is perfectly cooked with so much care and intention. We shared the combo appetizer, Tiger Steak, a soup, and the curry salmon. Every single dish was absolutely divine. The flavors were bold, balanced, and truly memorable. The staff was just as impressive as the food. Warm, attentive, and genuinely welcoming. This will absolutely be the place I bring out of town guests when I want to wow them.

    Photos
    Ladies restroom
    Ladies restroom
    House 1830
    Old 1830

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    Old 1830
    River Grille

    River Grille

    4.1
    (201 reviews)
    6.9 mi
    $$

    We eat here often. It's always good. The food is always well prepared and service is mostly good…read more They seem to always be busy and sometimes the food takes a little while but I'm sure that's because it's cooked to order. They deserve a little grace. Always good. I highly recommend.

    We chose River Grille for our anniversary. Saturday evening, and had to take the 5 pm spot…read more Over the years, if asked about best filet in town, without hesitation , River Grille would be our recommendation. The restaurant is tried and true, understated elegance , attentive service. All those things are still true. My husband ordered the wagu special. The meat was very very tender. I had the 7 ounce filet. As usual, we shared tastes, and we really couldn't tell flavor difference between the two meats. The filet is still that good. I also ordered the mushrooms as a side. A very generous portion came and they were fine. Not amazing, but fine. Our waiter treated us to a lovely strawberry cheesecake and we really liked it. It was light and flavorful. A nice end to a heavier meal. We like River Grille. We truly do. But there was something that didn't resonate as in the past. Maybe the addition of so many other restaurants in the area that also offer wonderful food has shadowed the specialness of this place. Maybe it was a few things that didn't show attention to detail as we were accustomed. We will go again? Of course.

    Photos
    Arkansas Steakhouse decor
    Arkansas Steakhouse decor
    Creamed spinach
    Creamed spinach
    Cheesecake

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    Cheesecake

    The Fat Chef - seafood - Updated June 2026

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