Transport yourself back in time, to another place in time, actually, where dark carpets and red lights, creaky stairways, tiny bars, and sectioned-off dining areas define "swanky!"
It's funny how some things and some people just WILL NOT CHANGE, especially at the Lake of the Ozarks. Â If you can get past the extremely dated ... gawsh, I don't even want to call it "decor," because it has the same drop lights that I had in my kitchen dining area ten years ago ... interior, the food is decent. Â Service, too, is also decent.
Like most mid-Missouri places, they love, LOVE to deep fry things, slather things with thick sauces and gravies and believe THAT is quality food. Â Thankfully, they don't do that with ALL their food, so there is plenty to eat that is just fine.
Ahem ... just fine? Â Yeah, given the prices, you would expect the food to be exceptional, not JUST FINE. Â I don't mind "just fine" food, I mind "just fine" food that is priced as "fine dining," and this place qualifies. Â I've had food as good as they serve here, for 1/3 and 1/4 the price ...
It doesn't deserve just ONE star, but no way it can get three -- sorry J. Bruner's, unless someone else is paying, and I would really try to talk them out of it, I won't be back.
My wife and I recently went here for our  anniversary. If you like prime rib you owe yourself a trip to J. Bruner's.
We both had the prime rib. I like mine medium rare and she likes hers medium. They were both cooked to perfection. In addition to this the meat is brought in from Chicago. I have to say this was the second best piece of prime rib I have have ever eaten. The best I have eaten was from the private stock of a farmer in Maine who raised and aged meat for the best restaurants in NYC.  I also had sautéed mushrooms with mine that were very good as well.
In addition to the prime rib we had asparagus, salad, mushroom appetizer, bread and mixed drinks. Â The asparagus was very good, but not prepared in a special way. Â The garden salad was good and the portion was ample. Â It was iceburg lettuce and nothing special. Â The mushroom appetizer was good and hot. Â My wife had a sidecar and I had a gin and tonic. Â These were both prepared very well. Â For desert we had Tumbleweeds which are ice cream drinks. Â They were both very good although I make mine with nutmeg on them and a little more alcohol.
The service was excellent. Â Our waitress was very nice and attentive.
The decor is a little dated. Â It seems like it is a smoke free establishment which I really like. Â JB Hook's for example always stinks like smoke if you eat inside.
I have had steak other places here at the lake and have been disappointed that mine at home were always better. Â This is not the case with J. Bruner's. Â A real winner for prime rib at Lake of the Ozarks and a very pleasant dining experience in general.
We hadn't been to Brunner's for quite some time but as it was our anniversary we decided to go hoping for a special evening. Â
Upon arriving we placed an order for drinks and two appetizers.  Some ten minutes later our drinks arrived and about 10 minutes after that one of the appetizers arrived.  It was an additional 10 to 15 minutes before the second appetizers arrived.  We ordered sautéed chicken livers but received deep fried livers with a few sautéed mushroom dumped on top!  You really have to work at it to serve a bad basic salad but they found a way, lettuce with a couple of small pieces of onion and if you looked close a tiny strip of tomato.  Baked potatoes were brown-edged from age and too cold to melt butter.  The steaks were ok but nothing special.
Service was ok but not to high end restaurant standards. Â It is obvious staff has had a lack of training, like don't stick your elbow in the customer's face by reaching across them continually.
They hold themselves up as a high end establishment, going so far as calling themselves the "best steakhouse at the lake". Â The only thing high end about them is the HIGH prices and in an area with many great restaurants they are far from the best.
This restaurant was founded by John Brunner (who has since passed away) who ran a great quality place and the new owner can only ride on the past reputation for so long. That time has passed.
Our 1st visit there ! Service was excellent !   Steaks were cold !  Salad was iceberg lettuce & a couple of onion rings !  Sliced cold bread !  Chicken livers are better at KFC !  The best thing we had was the French onion soup & they have real butter ! Wouldn't  go back very over priced for ala carte !
Review Source:We have a summer place at the Lake and eat here often. Â We love J Bruner's. Â Charming, warm atmosphere, good service, prime rib melts in your mouth. Â My husband gets their filet and loves it as well. Â Go downstairs for a cocktail, and then upstairs for the prime rib. Â You will not be disappointed.
Review Source:The prime rib here is incredible. So juicy and flavorful. The French onion soup is good, not great but good. It's a little saltier than normal but still has a nice flavor. I would pass on the side of green beans. They are chopped up and served a little soggy which is not what I expected.
Our waiter was some eastern European guy who was nice but didn't understand English very well. I asked him which beers were on tap and he had no idea what that meant and just said all the beers were on the menu. He also came back all the time to give us a status report on where our stuff was instead of just bringing it out.
All in all the food is good (especially the prime rib) but the wine list is severely lacking and I don't think they have any beer on tap.
We visited J Bruner's on a Monday night in October, a down-season for the area.  As a result, it wasn't busy.  We showed up just before 5:00 PM, when the dining area (upstairs) opens up.  We had a drink in the lounge beforehand; the wife had a amaretto sour and I had one of the best pina coladas I've ever had (it had ice cream in it, I was told).  Soon thereafter we were seated in the dining area, where our excellent service began.  We both ordered the KC Strip; the wife had a salad (she said it was excellent; homemade croutons and all) and I had a prime rib soup (it was good; not the best steak soup I've ever had [from Hereford House in Kansas City} but good).  The steaks were cooked exactly right, and tasted very good.  Served with a baked potato for me, green beans for the wife, which were also tasty and prepared well.  Bread was also served.  The service was outstanding; they really paid a lot of attention to us to make sure we were happy, but  not intrusive service.  We were quite pleased with the experience.  The prices were on par with a classy steakhouse.  I'd recommend the place.  I'd assume that in busier months, during the summer, a reservation is probably best.
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