1875 Steakhouse

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  I didn't have as bad as an experience as some of the other reviewers on yelp.
  
  I do agree that 1875 is over priced considering some of the other steakhouses Indiana has to offer, but if your eating in a restaurant hotel, especially a casino hotel then chances are its going to cost more.
  
  We had a reservation at 8:30, but we didn't actually get seated till around 8:40. That was no problem. The problem however was one of the hostesses seemed to be very cold and unwelcoming. She just brushed us away. But besides that one minor discrepancy the waitress and the rest of the staff were very welcoming and seemed they really enjoyed their job.
  
  On to the food. I personally had a filet mignon (rare) and I thought it was very good and very tender. Yes, it was over priced, but that's what you get from hotel restaurants. The other members of my party had the lamb and filet mignon. Both seemed like their dinner was adequate. One thing to mention though was for the price of the lamb rack the rack seemed to be a little on the smaller side.
  
  For sides we had asparagus, mushrooms, and lobster Mac and cheese (was an appetizer, but had them bring it out with our entrees). The asparagus wasn't anything to rave over. It was so-so. The mushrooms, in my opinion were very flavorful and I thoroughly enjoyed them. The lobster Mac and cheese wasn't worth 15 dollars. I did see lobster pieces every so often, but with the minimal amount of lobster that was actually present in the dish it doesn't deserve to be called lobster mac and cheese. I also didn't like the fact no entree or steak came with sides. For how much people are paying for a dish I feel at least one side should be complementary. But what can you do.
  
  For desserts I had the carrot cake and the other members of my group had the lava cake with a scoop of ice cream. I didn't try the lava cake so I can't comment on that. However the carrot cake was delicious. The carrot cake was extremely rich and sweet, so if your use to tamer carrot cakes beware. The only thing I didn't like/understand was the blueberries put on the carrot cake. The flavor profiles of each didn't work or make sense. But other then that the dessert was a success.
  
  All in all the meal was very acceptable. The price point isn't stellar, but when you eat at a hotel restaurant you usually end up paying a minimum. I would probably end up going back.

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  Posted on 12.31.12 Huy V.

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  VERY expensive bill for a very bad meal.  The group of 4 that I traveled with love a good meal and we have no problem paying a lot for a really great dining experience, but this meal fell short every step of the way.  Actually, I take that back, we had a good bottle of wine, so there's that. :)
  
  First of all, when I called to make reservations the week before, the gentleman (using that term loosely) who I spoke with was short with me and upon saying, "4 people for such-and-such date at 7 p.m.", promptly hung up on me!  No "thank you", "see you on the 18th", nothing.  Just hung up on me.
  
  We were seated immediately upon our arrival at the appointed time, and our server was quick to greet us and get our drinks.  Our server was very friendly.
  
  We started with a couple of salads and a soup.  The wedge salad was fine, per my dining companion.  The onion soup was served in a giant baked onion, which looked impressive, but actually only results in a tiny amount of soup!  You can't fit much soup in an onion, apparently.  It had a lot  of flavor (something this meal ran very short on...), but basically tasted like beef broth.  My bibb lettuce salad, recommended by our server, was awful.  It consisted of blue cheese, cranberries, pecans, and a vinegarette, and somehow none of it had any flavor what-so-ever.  I don't even understand where you find blue cheese or cranberries that are tasteless, but the 1875 Steakhouse managed to do it.  It was one of the worst salads I've had in a long time.
  
  For entrees, I went safe with the roasted chicken and it was pretty good.  Here's the kicker... it was $35 for roasted chicken and mashed potatoes.  Anyone who can turn on an oven can roast a chicken, it should not cost $35 unless served on George Clooney's veranda on Lake Como.  For that price, it should have been AMAZING, and it wasn't, it was just fine.  
  
  Others at the table had a seabass served on soba noodles and blackened prime rib.  The seabass had nice, mild flavor and good texture, and I actually liked the soba noodles.  I didn't have much hope for them, because they can easily get too soggy or sticky, but these were cooked fairly well.  The blackened prime ribs were a big disappointment.  First off, they were $55 with no salads or sides!  I mean, come on.  We go to steakhouses at least once a week and my husband often gets prime rib that is significantly better, bigger, and less expensive.  This was very disappointing.
  
  For sides, we ordered truffled creamed corn, lobster mac n cheese, and a baked potato.  The baked potato was the only dish that was anything worth eating, and it's a baked potato.  You can cook that over a camp fire and not screw it up.  The creamed corn was terrible, it was runny and flavorless, and the shaved truffles on top were slimy, like the texture of canned mushrooms (which, if I had my way, would be outlawed).  I'm assuming that they don't have fresh truffles and these were reconstituted dried truffles or something, but honestly, they should have left them off the dish if they were going to be so gross.  The lobster mac n cheese ($15, I think?) was just okay, but after all of us had a serving, we had absolutely not one sighting of lobster meat.   Not one tiny morsel.  The lobster tail shell that was stuck on the top as garnish was the only hint to the fact that there was supposed to be lobster involved.  So, we basically got mac n cheese that Kraft would have been disappointed with for $15.
  
  Overall, this sucks because you're stuck out in French Lick, IN, in the middle of nowhere, and you have no options for good dining.  Next time, I am going to park myself at the bar in the atrium of the West Baden hotel and order a club sandwich, or at a very casual restaurant in the casino, and not expect any decent meals of any kind.  At least I can save all that wasted money for the Blackjack table at the casino!

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  Posted on 02.20.12 Tara S.

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  Unlike some other diners, I've found the staff very friendly and professional.  The steaks are excellent but very expensive.  Other items are OK and also expensive.

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  Posted on 10.28.10 Bob C.

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  stayed one night  over the weekend at west baden hotel for our anniversary. had dinner at the 1875 steakhouse that evening as per recommended by some people we know. the food is quite pricy so be ready to spend some serious cash. we started with the crab cake and it was pretty good. the wife had some veggie dish which she liked and i had the prime rib which is not bad either.
  
  our server was pretty slow, not sure if he was just really busy or hes just really slow. they kept on refilling our water. the manager even came over to check on us, which i find really nice for any restaurant knowing that the person in charge checks with customers if the food and service is ok. no need for long chat, just a question or 2 should be enough.
  
  btw after the meal, they give the woman a long stem rose. i thought they gave away roses because theres some sort of a special event going on but the hotel receptionist said they actually do this regularly which i thought was pretty neat. maybe next time i will try their most expensive dish, the american kobe steak, and see is its actually worth that money.

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  Posted on 05.09.10 Tony J.

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  We stayed at French Lick for a week, and absolutely loved the resort, including the other high-end dining establishment (Sinclair's, which I gave 5 stars). We were not impressed with the steakhouse. I had a fillet, and the other three in my party all had prime-rib, and none of us were happy with our meals. The fillet was prepared correctly, but the quality wasn't up to snuff, especially for what we were charged. The prices are extremely high here, and unwarranted IMO. If the price were less, it would have received 3 stars.
  
  Finally, I caught the waiter giving a member of our party a "funny" look (OK, it was condescending), which immediately turned me off. When you're each paying $50 for a piece of meat, save it for the kitchen.

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  Posted on 06.02.09 Dan P.

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  My wife were supposed to eat here for her 30th birthday.  We were staying in the resort for a long weekend.  We made a reservation for one night and it somehow was misplaced so we made another reservation for the next night.  That next day a wind storm blew in and knocked out the power for the entire county, except for the casino.  That means that the refrigerators with ALL of the meat for the restaurant went bad for the 12 hours without power.  Of course this ruined our dinner.
  
  Now, I had multiple run ins with the manager.  It's kind of funny in a way.  He reminds you of the snobby unhelpful french waiters at high end restaurants.  But when you talk to him over the period of a few days, and let him talk (vent a little about a-hole customers), he will bend over backwards to help.
  
  They are getting three stars for not having a backup generator and throwing out all that prime grade beef.  They get zero starts for screwing up my wife's birthday.  They get five stars for the staff's professionalism.

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  Posted on 09.16.08 David I.

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