St. Elmo Steak House
127 South Illinois St.
Indianapolis, IN 46225
www.stelmos.com
An Indianapolis landmark since 1902. Pulling in over 10 million in sales last year, you know they have to be doing something right. Not much has changed at St. Elmo over the years and that is a good thing.
I was with EatHSE and we were on a mission for a big time old school steak dinner. We started with the shrimp cocktail. I have to admit, once you check it off your list, there is no reason to have it again. The horseradish is crazy spicy hot, but I wasn’t overly impressed by the quality of the shrimp. $14.95 for 5 shrimp. A bread basket with 5 different breads was placed on the table. They were hit and miss.
All entrees include choice of tomato juice of navy bean soup. Our server recommended us to drop a spoonful of the cocktail sauce into the soup and it was a nice touch. I love bean soup, it reminds me off the ham and bean soup my grandma used to make and that was some good stuff.
My brother ordered the 24 oz Porterhouse $39.95 and I ordered a special dry aged bone in Ribeye, 24 oz was $45.00. I ordered it rare+ and I was surprised that the server had to clarify what that meant. Steaks arrived and were cooked perfectly to spec. Mine was rare enough by the bone that I could barely cut it; I would’ve picked it up and ate it like a caveman if I was at home. On the outside and the thin spots, it crept between medium rare and medium. It happens when you order such a big steak though…
Overall, it was a great meal and service was spot on. With a few beers and wine, the bill was around $150. This was my first visit in 2 years, and the last time I left thinking, what is all the hype about? It is difficult to explain, but I found a new appreciation for St. Elmo this time.
Would I Buy It Again? Yes. IMO, Eddie Merlot’s is still #1, but you can’t go wrong with St. Elmo. It is a very fine steakhouse and my top choice when I am downtown.
-WIBIA
WIBIA
indianapoliseater
EatHSE
9 Comments
09/16/2009 at 1:49 am
Been there once and it exceeded lofty expectations for me. But I’m a shill for good steak.
09/16/2009 at 8:09 am
Been there once and it met my expectations. I expected a good steak and got one. I wasn’t blown away, but I was happy with my meal.
While it was good, this is still not the best steak I’ve ever had (I’ll admit that my high quality steak experience is small). That title belongs to Little Zagreb’s in Bloomington, Indiana.
09/16/2009 at 1:40 pm
you’ve seen that the shrimp cocktail is going to be featured on Food Network?
“The Best Thing I Ever Ate”…this week I think.
09/16/2009 at 3:41 pm
I was surprised that the shrimp quality was bad as I’ve only had good experiences. Oceanaire also makes a good (and milder) shrimp cocktail.
Eddie Merlot is easily my least favorite steakhouse in Indy. I’ve given it a number of chances, and always leave wondering why I didn’t go someplace else. St. Elmo’s is good, but more for the atmosphere and history. Sullivan’s is consistently very good. I’ve also had great experiences at Mortons. I found Flemings to be nothing special.
09/16/2009 at 3:50 pm
Pat. Thanks for you comment and making it to the blog.
Sullivans is the only steakhouse on that list that serves “select beef.” That is grocery store grade and the same grade that you get at Outback. Sullivans is my least favorite, next to the unmentioned Mo’s which is my least favorite in the city. All others that you mentioned us Prime, the top 2% of all beef.
I like great shrimp with my shrimp cocktail. At St. Elmo, it seems like the shrimp is an after thought.
I have only been to the original Morton’s in Chicago and it was a great meal. Never been to Indy.
09/16/2009 at 10:10 pm
I understand that Sullivan’s doesn’t use Prime cuts (they actually use Choice – can you even buy Select anymore?), but I strictly eat filets when dining out and I have really never been able to tell the difference between a Prime vs Choice filet. Sullivans, though, is the only place that cooks it perfectly (for me) every time. I guess I’ve been really unlucky at Eddie Merlots as I have had poorly cooked filets and poor service 4 out of 5 times I’ve been there. It sounds like I need to give it another try.
By the way, I enjoy your blog very much!
09/16/2009 at 10:31 pm
Since I went with WIBA to St. Elmo’s and have hit the steak circuit in this town, I had to add my two sense.
The shrimp was a disappointment to me this time. Normally they are large and have the fresh firmness to them and they were lacking all of these traits this time.
I ordered Porterhouse rare and very few places come through with true rare. St. Elmo’s serves a rare steak when you ask for it.
In comparison to other Indianapolis choices, I would rate the most mentioned 5 in this order.
1. Eddie Merlot’s
2. Morton’s (a close second)
3. St. Elmo’s
4. Flemings
5. Sullivan’s
My food at Morton’s was equal to Eddie Merlot’s, but the environment and service places it at the top of my list.
I have great respect for St. Elmo’s. Too many places tinker with the menu and fix something that isn’t broke. St. Elmo’s sticks with what works and does what they do well.
09/17/2009 at 9:14 pm
Ketchup + Horseradish = St. Elmo’s cocktail sauce
09/17/2009 at 7:35 am
Thanks for clarifying the choice/select, I got it turned around! We were on the same page though. Many grocery stores still sell Choice. For instance Kroger had choice Ribeyes for $4-something last week on sale on the front page, but turn it over and they had Select for $6-something a lb. I think that you would be surprised between beef grading. Then again, a lot of grading has to do with marbling/fat and if you are eating filets, they are lean across the board and I don’t think you will see as much as a difference.
Ya know, I think that these steakhouses have good years and bad. I didn’t like Eddie Merlot’s at first, but they changed where they get their beef (now Chicago Stockyards) and the difference is night and day. I also like their sides and French onion soup. Their salad’s are pretty bad though. I think that service there has been great, we always sit in the bar area.
I really like Flemings at first, now I think they are in the middle at first. Never a big fan of Ruth’s. I know a lot of people that like Sullivan’s the best, but it just doesn’t do anything special for me.