Greeley Chophouse

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  Trying since May to get Yelp to take my review  lol
  
  I called at 6pm to see if we needed reservations and was told we don't take reservations until 8pm and we do walk ins until then. Well we get there and lo and behold they do take reservations. So the older hostess with the interesting hair starts patronizing me and being a bit condescending about getting us a table. She was a bit taken aback when I refused the table in the front doorway and said we would wait for a better table. They quickly got us one and we sat down.
  
  First of all I expect a place the has an old time steak house atmosphere and old photos on the wall to have some kind of cocktail list. After asking for 2-3 cocktails all of which they couldn't make my companions and I ordered basic martinis.
  
  I got the Cesar salad and they ordered the Wedge, not bad acceptable. I ordered potato and horseradish encrusted salmon, one of us ordered the short ribs ( the one rib was great and went well with the collards) and our friend ordered another salmon dish. All well prepared, not a generous portion but not stingy. My side was the collard greens which were great, tasty, not over cooked, nice tangy hint of vinegar but..............they didnt drain the oil/grease from them so my plate was floating with bacon fat which soaked the salmon. The waitress wondered why I had my plate tipped up on a knife so I told her to drain the fat.
  
  Over all it was okay, but I think the prices are too high for Greeley, fine for FTC or Denver but we're not in those places. I wish them well but I miss Harvest which had amazing food, amazing prices ( remember the half chicken for 13.00 with 2 sides?).
  One final thing yes 2 sides, would it kill you to offer a veg and a starch with the 19.00 salmon?

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  Posted on 06.25.13 Grinnell W.

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  I highly recommend this restaurant.  Great atmosphere, great food,  great service.  Our waitress was outstanding - just the right amount of attention at just the right time.  We had steaks, which were excellent, and the side of collard greens was awesome.   An enthusiastic 5 stars.

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  Posted on 06.21.13 Carol A.

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  Executive Chef Dave Malthaner has a promising future.    
  
  Greeley Chophouse has a mid-century ambiance. Forties style music was playing, loud enough to enjoy if you like that music, but not so loud as to stifle conversation. I can see how a full house, with the music and a little alcohol, might seem loud.    
  
  The bar area is nicer than the photo. In addition there are a couple of narrow elliptical bar tables, each with seven stools - cozy sit-apart areas for  small groups waiting for a table or just chatting.  
  
  Table locations are eclectic. Among the tables and booths (watch your step), are a couple of oddly placed, but exotically secluded booths. Paper substituted for tablecloths, which is de rigeuer though personally I don't care for it, opinions of Gordon Ramsey and Robert Irvine notwithstanding. While waiting for my main dishes, I was disappointed to hear that the staff identify me as "a food critic". I'm not that noteworthy, folks, but thanks for the respectful nod anyway.
  
  The complementary appetizer was cornbread in a warm (not "hot" despite the unnecessary warning) skillet, topped with a dollop of butter. Uninspiring.
  
  We had Kona Coffee Rubbed Prime Top Sirloin and Brown Butter Seared Scallops, with collard greens, asparagus, and rice.
  
  I loved the collard greens. What is Chef Malthaner's style? Southern of course, or perhaps "Kentucky collards" since the Chef hails from the Bluegrass State. Whatever spice was used on the collards, worked in this dish, enhancing not confusing the flavors. The dish was a tad acidic for me, but that is a matter of personal taste.
  
  The basmati-Himalayan rice surprised us all. Long grain red, I'm guessing.  I wonder if the Chef was "letting the rice speak for itself," as the food show cliché goes, or did he himself raise the flavor to that quality? I do pay attention to differences in rice from different regions and seasons.  This one was a good blend.
  
  The five of us agreed the Kona Sirloin was delicious. I note a few reviewers reported steaks not done as ordered. I ordered medium well but received a steak closer to medium. One of my dining companions suggested to me that playing safe on the rare side was smarter than playing safe on the done side; underdone steaks can be reheated, but no amount of re-cooling will undo a steak's wellness. I enjoyed the steak as it was. (I doubt you can find a better steak in Greeley.) The plating made sense with the focus on the meat, and the juice made sense with the plating and meat.  The sirloin was juicy, not in the least greasy. I loved the caramelized shallot butter.
  
  The asparagus lying in the juice, alongside the sirloin, did not seem ill-placed.  Five asparagus spears can be a proper portion.  Cooking at home, I serve three, sometimes only two spears. Unfortunately, the Chophouse asparagus was unseasoned and not al dente. Another several seconds might have brought it to perfection. Seasoning asparagus, whether done subtly or boldly, can make a big difference in the experience.  I really do like asparagus (thanks, Mom), and will give it another chance here.
  
  I was told the gorgonzola is domestic, which I took to mean generic. If I want generic cheese I'll pop a slab of velveeta in my mouth and watch my taste buds rip themselves off my tongue to escape the horror. In fairness, my waiter said if I wished, he would bring a higher quality cheese.  Maytag blue cheese was on the menu, so there is hope.  Maytag makes good gorgonzola, too. (Hint, hint)
  
  Then again, maybe I'm not as much the experienced gourmet as I imagine, because I found something simple and unpresuming, the carmelized shallot butter, to be outstanding.  
  
  I skipped appetizer and desert. My drink was water, which tasted like tap water, but it was served with a lemon even without my asking, so that helped.  Many wines are offered.  
  
  The first person to greet me was the host, a young man, clean and polite, calm and professional.  My waiter was polite, informed on the dishes, offered good suggestions, and was unhesitant in accommodating special requests. You already know I like the Chef.
  
  A suggestion for improvement. What's with the cornbread and the average butter? Should I have my personal chef call up and describe how to make cornbread moist and sweet?
  
  Think about marketing. True, there is a web presence. In the summer, potential patrons will be walking the downtown area, window-shopping, bar-hopping, and partying; curiosity will drive some to enter.  Word of mouth works too slowly at this early stage that Greeley Chophouse.  Pro-active marketing around the county would get the word out faster.
  
  Prices. Above average. Good dining is a relationship between diner and restaurant staff - chefs and waiters. My unwritten motto is: Ask questions, understand the menu, ask for changes you need, be appreciative, enjoy the company of your dining companions, look for the good, and offer positive suggestions.

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  Posted on 05.13.13 Euche M.

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  I have to wonder about some of these reviews.  But since it's Greeley anything different is bound to make the locals swoon.
  
  I called at 6pm to see if we needed reservations and was told we don't take reservations until 8pm and we do walk ins until then.  Well we get there and lo and behold they do take reservations.  So the older hostess with the interesting hair ( see review below) starts patronizing me and being a bit condescending about getting us a table.  She was a bit taken aback when i refused the table in the front doorway and said we would wait for a better table.  They quickly got us one and we sat down.  
  
  First of all I expect a place the has and old time steak house atmosphere and old photos on the wall to have some kind of cocktail list.  After asking for 2-3 cocktails all of which they couldn't make my companions and i ordered basic martinis.
  
  I got the Cesar salad and they ordered the Wedge, not bad acceptable.  I ordered potato and horseradish encrusted salmon, one of us ordered the short ribs and our friend ordered another salmon dish.  All well prepared, not a generous portion but not stingy.  My side was the collard greens which were great, tasty, not over cooked, nice tangy hint of vinegar but..............they didnt drain the oil/grease from them so my plate was floating with bacon fat which soaked the salmon.  The waitress wondered why I had my plate tipped up on a knife so i told her to drain the fat.
  
  Over all it was okay, but I think the prices are too high for Greeley, fine for FTC or Denver but were not in those places.  I wish them well but I miss Harvest which had amazing food, amazing prices
  ( remember the half chicken for 13.00 with 2 sides?).
  
  One final thing yes 2 sides, would it kill you to offer a veg and a starch with the 19.00 salmon?

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  Posted on 05.05.13 jack h.

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  After reading some mixed reviews I have to say this was all 5 star from the excellent Wasabi encrusted Filet to the Grilled Salmon, great potato sides and corn bread.This was as good a steakhouse as I have been to and I have been to a lot ! Great atmosphere and friendly service!  Try it out ! the place was packed !

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  Posted on 04.28.13 Tom N.

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  Tonight was my first opportunity to dine at the Greeley Chophouse and I was extremely impressed. I'm so glad to have a more upscale restaurant choice here in Greeley. Thanks for the great service! I'll be back as often as I can with friends and I wish you all the business you can handle!
  
  When you dine here try the tenderloin trio. It's a great way to sample this chophouse's perfectly prepared encrusted steaks! The complementary green chili cornbread is awesome!

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  Posted on 04.10.13 Ryan G.

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  My wife and I ate at the Greeley Chop House last month.  The décor was very nice and inviting.  Our waiter was friendly and helpful. I thought the appetizer menu was lacking any real quality appetizers that made me say "I've got to order that."  We did order the crab cakes and they were good. We both got the wedge salad and it was just OK and needs to be improved.  Go to Johnny Carino's Italian restaurant and they make a great wedge salad. Then the waiter brought us some bread which was really good but should have come out sooner.  We had filets for the main course and they were great, some of the best steaks I've had ever! Then we looked at the desert menu and again I was disappointed by the selection, like we were with the appetizers. With a higher end restaurant like they want to be these things need to improve otherwise people may not come back. My wife and I will come in again for the steaks they were very good. I hope this restaurant makes it in Greeley because I don't want to have to drive to Loveland or Fort Collins for dinner.

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  Posted on 04.07.13 Dan S.

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  Fantastic. Hosts a little spacy, but its wonderful!

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  Posted on 03.31.13 Terry F.

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  This review is really all about expectations, namely my high expectations for a "fancy" restaurant in Greeley.  Somehow I expected the food, service, and ambiance to be on the same level as similarly priced restaurants in Fort Collins and even Windsor, but sadly, no.
  
  First of all, we walked in to the place Saturday night to be greeted by a hostess whose hair formation (remember Aquanet? I think she does) brought back bad memories of the 80s for all of us. She was civil but not overly warm and welcoming.  We had reservations, and we got seated at a table for four which backed me up to a large pole/beam in the middle of the dining room.  Weird.  I mean, I couldn't really see behind me or back my chair up, but ok, I'm nitpicking here. The main dining room was surprisingly loud, though, given the number of people in there.
  
  Then our waiter arrived.  Oh, God.  My husband and I had this waiter at another restaurant (in Loveland) years ago, and we both remembered what a creepy weirdo he was.  So one of our friends asked him if they had any specials, and he said, "Well, no.  And I don't expect to ever have specials here, because our menu is so HUGE." Um, buddy, it's ONE page.  Seriously?  That's huge?
  
  So we ordered a bottle of wine, and the weirdo went away for awhile.  We looked at the menu, and I decided on the filet trio, which was 3 small cuts of filet mignon, with 3 different rubs: porcini mushroom,  Gorgonzola cheese, and wasabi ($28, I believe, give or take a dollar), cooked medium rare.  I also ordered the shrimp salad to start ($8). My husband ordered the New York strip, cooked rare ($32), and asparagus as a side ($5).  We both got mashed potatoes as our sides (those were included, hooray).  Our friends ordered the salmon (raved about in other reviews) and the spaghetti squash with ratatouille.  During the ordering process, the waiter stood at one point across the table from me to take all of our orders (noisy room), and when he couldn't hear me (I'm not quiet, but I also don't like to scream across a restaurant), said, without moving, just cupping his ear, "I can't hear you."  Uh, how about moving closer, buddy?
  
  Anyhow, when my salad arrived, it was 4 jumbo shrimp, cooked nicely but unseasoned, on a bed of drowning-in-vinaigrette lettuce with 3-4 small strips of red pepper as the only other vegetable.  When the meals arrived, we were all disappointed.  It seemed everything was either overseasoned (salty) or underseasoned (bland).  My steak was rare rather than medium rare, but I was okay with that.  The rubs, however, were disappointing.  The cheese was just dry and salty, didn't even taste like Gorgonzola, which I love.  The mushrooms were diced so tiny that they lost all taste and I described them as "pre-chewed" in consistency.  The wasabi seemed more like finely diced celery, no taste at all, and certainly no spiciness.  My mashed potatoes were overseasoned (salty and garlicky) and very dry.  
  
  My husband's steak was MEDIUM, not rare, which is a big mistake for a place claiming to specialize in steak.  He ate it, anyway, for some strange reason (fear of spit?).  His asparagus side was cooked well, but 5 pieces of asparagus for $5 seemed a bit pricy.
  
  Our friends' meals were disappointing to them, as well (hopefully one of them will write a review).  The salmon was okay, I believe, but the "wild rice" was mush with that dish, so overcooked and lacking in flavor.  The spaghetti squash with ratatouille had no seasoning, and just looked as if someone had dumped a can of diced tomatoes into half a squash and baked it.  And it came with sliced raw beefsteak tomatoes on the side, which we thought was a strange choice of garnish.
  
  All four of us were disappointed with the meal and the service, as well as the ambiance of the place.  For these prices, I could have gone to one of my favorite restaurants in Fort Collins (or even better, Chimney Park in Windsor), and had an excellent meal and a pleasant experience.  (As one more irritating note, I had the waiter box up what was left of my meal, and he gave me my steak, but not the huge mound of mashed potatoes. Strange, right?) And for the same type of food, I could have gone somewhere like Rock Bottom Brewery and had better tasting food for half the price.
  
  We won't be back.

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  Posted on 03.22.13 Melora W.

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  Good place, great food, good time.
  
  Did make a reservation two days in advance to make sure we got a table....but the location wasn't very optimal, given the advance notice.  We were right in the main aisle-way, across from booths and up against larger group-setting-type tables. Other patrons and waiters/bussers were constantly wriggling around our table.
  
  Very spendy, a little cramped and loud - but they are new, so they're filled to capacity most evenings. Portions could be a little larger, given the price, or they could cut the price a bit.

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  Posted on 03.13.13 Joe H.

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  We went to dinner on a Sunday night at 6pm and did not need a reservation, though I expect that we would have if we had gone on a Friday or Saturday.  This is a new restaurant in the area and is experiencing a few hiccups because it is new, but I think that is to be expected.  
  
  We started with the cheese plate and enjoyed the multiple types of cheeses, salami, crackers, olives, and jelly.  The server also brought out some green chili cornbread which was delicious, but we ended up taking most of it home because we didn't want to fill up on bread!  The steaks are local and all natural choice plus or prime.  I loved the mushroom filet - cooked a perfect medium rare and tender!  My husband had the rib eye and loved it.  They even had a kid's menu which they kept simple and didn't try to make too fancy (perfect for my picky kids).  It would be nice if they had a small filet on the kid's menu as an option.  
  
  The owner came over to our table a few times and checked in.  He seemed to really want feedback and took the time to write down our (very few) criticisms so he knew the areas he could improve.  
  
  Greeley NEEDED a place like this.  There is no where in town you can get a steak like this.  The atmosphere is awesome and we will return many many times!  The price is a little steep (the filet was $27 I think), but seriously worth every penny.  Better than the famous Denver steak restaurants by far.  We were dressed in jeans and casual collared shirts and did not feel under or over dressed.  I think you could go in dressed semi-casual to semi-formal and feel just fine.  
  
  Please go support this local gem!

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  Posted on 03.11.13 Annette J.

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  Brand new in Downtown Greeley.  One of the best steaks I've ever had.  Very pleasant rooms with no TV or loud background music. No children's menu but the chef will accommodate I was told.  No draft beer yet but a nice bar with a good wine list.  A stretch for Greeley and I hope Tim gets a lot of traffic from those of us that go out of town for like dining.  Dinner only so far seven nights a week.  Seafood and poultry as well as beef (the top from JBS). A little "spendy" for Greeley but worth it!!! Great side dishes as well.  We're going again soon!

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  Posted on 03.01.13 Bob S.

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