Disappointed. The turkey pot pie, which had been the reason I sought the place out, was dry and tasteless, as was the pale gravy meant to accompany it. And please tell me, if one serves turkey pot pie, why are the side dishes mashed potatoes and stuffing? Yikes. Not a vegetable in sight, only more starch. The only thing I truly liked was the garlic blue cheese dressing on the salad, the only green. This menu needs a revamp. It's decades out of date.
Review Source:My parents took me and my four year old triplets to the Strongbow last Wednesday night, and we were surprised to see that they had a dinner buffet. Â All of the food was fresh and delicious, and the live band was a lot of fun. Â My favorite entres were the massive turkey legs, the pasta saute station, and the wide range of desserts. Â While the adult prices were a little expensive, each kid ate free with a paying adult which made dinner a bargain for the six of us! Â We will definitely be back.
Review Source:Yesterday was our fourth visit here. Took our grandson for lunch. They were busy and the food took over half an hour to arrive. Â Food good as expected, would prefer dark gravy but no big deal. Â When the bill finally arrived I was surprised to find they charged us for the ice tea refills. Â Will return though.
Review Source:The restaurant was huge, serving some 4,000 dinners, a testimony to the process they have perfected since opening in 1940. When we pulled into the parking lot there were two men in the lot to direct us to the right door, the one marked with an "A."
In the lobby where we waited for about 15 minutes, was a refrigerated case filled with the most delicious looking cakes, tortes and etc., none of which, however were to be found on the buffet. Many other desserts were though, including pumpkin, cherry and apple pies, carrot cake, brownies, and all manner of little cakes filled with chocolate mousse and other sweet and delicious things.
There were many types of salads, all of which were delicious. Meat carvers at two meat carving stations had both turkey and ham as well as a white gravy, the kind you would have with biscuits. Unfortunately the inexperienced carvers butchered the meat leaving gristle in my turkey and my slice of ham was nearly all fat. At another station several cooks sauteed pastas, bows and tortellini with your choice of onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese with either marinara or alfredo sauce.
The hot foods in steamers included mashed potatoes, yams (which appeared to be right from the can), corn (also the canned variety), stuffing (bland), and turkey legs. Of course there was also the ever present cranberry sauce, and thankfully it was not of the can shaped gelatin variety.
All in all it was a fair substitute for a home cooked Thanksgiving Dinner, though the white (starchy) gravy was a major disappointment compared to the brown turkey gravy to which I am accustomed. Then I was surprised when the check arrived and the buffet was $35.95 each. I had thought it was $18.95 each. I am not accustomed to paying that high a price for neither a buffet nor home cooked food.
We enjoyed two of their five white wine selections, one a Liebfraumilch the other a Riesling.
I don't think I will return unless I am in the area looking for a nice German Chocolate Cake.
The bakery is the only thing keeping this place afloat!!
The food is awful!! The wifey and I would get free dinners their or big discounts a few times a year (you can prob guess why) and still never went because it really is that bad... I don't think the menu has changed since the 60's if not longer...do yourself a favor and skip eating their...
just go to the bakery...if it wasn't for that I would of gave 1 star!!
Neat place. It's a nice, big space with homey wood-beam and country decor. They had several variations on the classic turkey dinner. The two we had were both very good but a bit pricey for the portions. The food has that old-fashioned, down-home recipe thing going for it. The service was friendly and adequate, but as others mentioned, big groups and obvious regulars seemed to be getting much better treatment. The pastry case was filled with delicious-looking goodies, too.
Review Source:I'm a turkey fan, and this place was right near the hotel where we stayed while visiting Valparaiso. The restaurant seems a little old-school, dinner-clubby...which really suited it. We figured turkey dinner was the way to go here as it's the specialty, and everyone around us seemed to be ordering turkey dinner or turkey pot pies.
The food's not fancy, but I like going places with their own local tradition...and I loved the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings here.
Have been hearing about this brunch for years! Took a small group( I have a large family- this was perfect for us) for my birthday- and everyone was able to find something pleasing! I loved the turkey, and the salad choices were great. The live music (a guy was playing the piano) was a great touch!
Review Source:Why mess with tradition? We were fortunate enough to be around for the
Wednesday night buffet with live jazz ensemble. It was a gutbuster! Â For $17.95, you had fresh hot sliced turkey, turkey legs, dressing, glazed carrots, skin on mashed potatoes with gravy, corn niblets, a fresh pasta bar (made to order), cranberry relish and a salad bar that had traditional as well as something you can only find at the strongbow inn (at least, I have only found it there) green bean with blue cheese salad. Of course, after three trips, I had no room for dessert. If pie had been present, I may have had a slice. select drinks are included with the buffet.
I've been going to Strongbow's for years, and I must say, I never get tired of their turkey dinner. It's like having Thanksgiving any time of the year. That may sound unappealing to some, but take away the annoying relatives, the kitchen stress and the football games, and a turkey dinner can actually be a rewarding dining experience.. At $19 (dinnertime -- cheaper at lunch) the basic turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, salad, dressing, cranberries and roll, is excellent. The other turkey-related items are also good. The rest of the menu can be hit or miss -- e.g., the sauteed perch is good, but the steaks are sub-par -- so I'd recommend sticking with the turkey. The desserts (and the on-site bakery in general) are excellent.
The decor is under-stated and old-fashioned in an appealing sort of way, and the crowd is definitely on the old side. In my experience, the service has always been efficient and friendly.
One last point. As other Yelpers have noted, Strongbow's does a good job of handling big groups. I usually avoid buffets of any kind, but the Wednesday night turkey buffet at Strongbow's (complete with jazz trio) is quite good. The food is fresh and tasty -- much better than your usual buffet line fare. Oh, and my family went there for Thanksgiving dinner last year and it was fantastic!
We went here for my sister's birthday dinner. Â (She missed Thanksgiving, so she wanted to recreate it. Â I'm not sure why we had to drive all the way to Valparaiso for Thanksgiving, but everything was good so I'm not complaining).
The restaurant is really nice looking. Â We were dressed up, and this did feel like a special occasion. Â The restaurant is really pretty inside, and the rooms are broken up well so that you don't feel crowded, Â (They have a couple of banquet rooms and a meeting room. Â This definitely seems like a great place to have a big event).
Everyone was really friendly, and our server was quite helpful.
We had a lot of food, and all of it was good.
I had the signature turkey dinner. Â for $19 it included soup, salad, a roll, turkey, corn, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and apple pie. Â It was quite a bit of food. Â (Granted there wasn't that much turkey on the plate, but it was still a lot of food). Â I wasn't that crazy about the mashed potatoes, but everything else was great.
I also tried the scallops (there were a special, but they were amazing), the fried shrimp (best fried shrimp I've had in a long time, they actually had flavor beyond the breading), the turkey oscar (I wasn't crazy about it, but my dad loved it).
As if we didn't have enough food from dinner, we ordered dessert.  My apple pie was good.  My brother's chocolate sourcream cake with  raspberry mousse was amazing.  That is how dessert should be!  It was rich and delicious!  The pecan chocolate chip pie with ice cream was also really great.  It would be hard to choose just one of their desserts.
We drive all the way from Chicago to feast at this great turkey restaurant. Â Can't believe anyone would give this restaurant a rating below 4 stars unless they just don't like turkey.
We generally go on Sundays for the buffet. Â In addition to turkey they have a nice selection overall. Â Price is very reasonable for the quality of food, but then again we are from Chicago where these prices seem like a good value.
We stopped at Strongbow Inn after a special occasion with our daughter, a student at Valpo, based on the strength of other's recommendations.
Our experience was mediocre. Frankly, my wife makes better, more juicy turkey. The portion sizes are adequate but not ample, except for the high carb portions such as mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing. I would not compare this to "eating at Grandma's", as did one of the other reviewers - Grandma always offered seconds or thirds (and of course seconds are not offered here), and we didn't leave Grandma's with a significantly reduced wallet size.
2 in our party got the turkey pot pie, which was extremely dry - the ample portions of gravy helped out with this. My turkey dinner was a letdown after the awesome turkey dinner we had at home recently. It was 2 nice slices of white meat with a small piece of dark meat underneath (it seemed as if this was done to shim up the center of hte white meat to make it look like more). For $18, I would expect more than 2 slices and a small shim of turkey. My son's turkey schnitzel was ok but not great. Unfortunately he didn't care for the taste. The cranberry sauce and rolls were tasty.
Service was ok. We saw our waitress to take our order, to deliver the food, and to deliver the bill. Water was delivered frequently. No one asked us how our dinner was or if we wanted anything else (except for the dessert). For the prices charged, I would have expected better service.
Regarding the prices: They are high considering the quality of the food and service. For the 4 of us, without desserts or drinks, after tip, 80. I don't mind paying for dinner, but we all felt pretty disappointed with the experience. My daughter felt bad that we had spent that amount of money for what turned out to be a merely adequate dinner.
We won't be back. I think we will stick with Round the Clock in the future. Our 3 visits there have been satisfying, the service has been perfectly OK, and they are not in business to extract every possible $$ from my wallet.
It is better to go here in a group rather than just as a couple. Â That being said, as everyone else has said, get the turkey.
I never had a bad experience here and they tended to treat larger groups a little better. Â I had a few banquets here as well as graduation parties, all of them did the trick.
That is all pretty much.
My family has been going here since the late 60's when they still had the turkey farm behind the restaurant. I remember going there after dark one time in the winter and hearing the birds, scared the crap out of me. lol
Yes, most dishes include turkey and it's not a Gordon Ramsey or Danny Meyer type of place. It's old fashioned country dining in a now large banquet type of facility. Always shoot for the main dining room, much more homey and warm. I went home to visit my dad this summer and he wanted to go because it was my mom's favorite place in town. The hot, open-faced turkey sandwich is still awesome and the cranberries are fresh as can be. If you're passing through or in town you really should give it a try.
The restaurant is very traditionally decorated and structured, hence providing a cozy and warm environment for dine-in. I've been there for their bakery and lunch, and I absolutely adore every aspect of it.
Let's start with their bakery. I've ordered a dozen of the designer purse cookies at $2 per piece. $2 sounds a bit pricey for just a cookie but I disagree because they were very buttery and savory, yet not too sweet. Some of the cookies had pellets resembling a silver ornament/accessory but they were edible. I've also ordered the 8 inch carrot cake. The cake was rather heavy, to the point where I thought I had purchased a cheesecake instead. It was extremely rich in carrots and the cake remained moist even though we didn't devour it until 12 hours after the purchase.
As for lunch, I've tried the turkey breast/bacon and salmon club sandwiches as well as the fried chicken tenders wrap. They were very tasty, but the salmon club left the strongest impression. The grilled salmon was so juicy and tender that it became my favorite dish to order whenever I dined at Strongbow. Their crème brulee is also amazing. You don't have to go to a French restaurant to try some gourmet dessert because Strongbow has them!
P.S. The staff and waitresses are very courteous!
A valparaiso institution. They are known for their turkey and while it is good, I think the people that grew up here have an emotional attachment to it that exaggerates its subjective quality. Â That said, the bakery is very good as well. Â Having eaten their catering many times before I ever went to the restaurant, I can attest to the tastiness of their turkey pot pie. Â The restaurant itself is very traditionally decorated. Â Your grandmother would not be uncomfortable, in fact, she may think that she is at home.
Review Source:Eating here is like eating at your grandma's, only it's really fancy and they charge you for your food.
My mom and I were celebrating a milestone birthday for me with a weekend in Valparaiso (hey, it was halfway) and were staying next door to the Strongbow Inn. So we pretty much had to check it out.
At first glance it seemed a little expensive -- most of the entrees are in the $15-20+ range and the famed turkey dinner is about $18 I think -- but it does include a lot of food. And we discovered that they have a "4 to 6" menu that has some inexpensive options in somewhat smaller portions. My mom went for a soup-and-sandwich combo that included a turkey sandwich and she opted for a carrot ginger soup that was a special that day. And I went off the beaten path with a tilapia special that included salad, red potatoes and some sort of bizarre red sauerkrauty stuff.
The food was pretty good, I will say. The house dressing was this garlicky vinagrette with bleu cheese that was unusual and tasty. The fish was cooked well and seasoned deliciously. The potatoes were fine, and I'm really not a sauerkraut fan at all, but I guess if you like sauerkraut...
I also did try a bit of mom's turkey, and it was moist, but not overly flavorful. And her sandwich was a bit on the skimpy side.
I personally found the menu a bit limited. If you love turkey dinners, you're golden, but otherwise, there weren't a ton of choices. And the appetizer options included things like turkey pate. Sorry. Just not my thing. Service was good, friendly, we felt underdressed in our jeans and casual shirts.
I'd go back if someone I was with really wanted to, and if they were paying I'd get the big turkey dinner, but there are other fancy options in Valpo I'd just as soon check out next time...
Strongbow has such a history in Valparaiso, and it feels like 'home'. Â However, I was there for lunch recently, and was surprised at how expensive it was! Â I ordered a turkey sandwich for $8.95 and got (really good) turkey with romaine lettuce on soft, white bread. Â That's it. Â No cheese, no chips or fries on the side. Â Too much $$. Â I think I'll save Strongbow Inn for a special event...or go to the buffet where at least I would get a variety. Â
ps - I had a taste of the stuffing from my mom's lunch and it was Fan-tas-tic!!
Ahhhh Strongbow. Â Where to start.................Turkey is their specialty.
They used to have live turkeys on the property. Â My mother says I used to be afraid of the turkeys when they would go there when I was little.
They have a piano player with the brunch on Sunday. Â The Jeff Brown trio on Wednesday nights with a buffet. Â They make a garlic dressing that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. Â The menu has a good selection so everyone should be able to find something to their liking.
Staff has always been very nice and accomodating. Â The chefs are friendly at the buffets. Â They also offering catering on and off the premises. Â
It really is a must visit when in Valparaiso.
Holy Brownie Heaven. Yes, my friends, these were my thoughts when I sunk my teeth into one of Strongbow Inn's heavenly triangle of chocolate bliss!
We had a dinner catered by Strongbow and they were excellent! Their menu mostly features comfort food goodness, and portion sizes are great for large group get togethers and events. We had fresh fruits, a salad with delicious blue cheese and garlic dressing, baked mostacolli, barbecue pulled pork and chocolate cake. It was a food coma inducing meal, but totally worth it.
The brownies deserve their own paragraph because they are THAT good. I actually had one the day after, and it was still fresh, gooey and delicious.
If you're in Indiana and in need of some home cooking, Strongbow is a strong choice!
Turkey, turkey, turkey, and more turkey!!!!!!!!
The wife and I went to my parents house for my moms birthday. Â My mom wanted to go to Strongbow's for lunch. Â We jumped in the car and headed to Valpo. Â It's kind of strange that I had never ben to Strongbows ,and I lived in the area for most of my life. Â Even stranger, my wife is a turkey junky, and we never went here!
A bit of advice, if you go here on a Sunday around noon, you had better have a reservation. Â They told us the wait was about an hour. Â Even MORE strange, that was the first time I had ever been told I would have to wait more more then 15 minutes for a table in Indiana! Â We ended up getting a table after about 30 minutes. Â I was sooooo happy when we got to our table. Â There was a pastry case in the lobby , and I was going nuts looking at all of those deserts! Â If I ever need to get any information out of anyone. Â I won't feed them breakfast, and plop them if front of this case at around 1 , and they will tell me anything I want to hear to get at that pastry case!
The buffet was one of the better ones I have been to in a long time. Â We started at the salad bar. Â Nothing out of the ordinary, Â However, there were some pastries at the end of the table, and I planned to save room for some of those guys! Â There were a ton of options, there was a omelet station, and your basic thanks giving food. Â I went with the green bean casserole, stuffing, ribs, and turkey. Â It was all wonderful! Â Then I the the pastry table hard. Â Well worth the wait!
I'm kind of sad that we didn't go here more often when I lived here, but it gives us something to look forward to when we come back!
Another classic NW Indiana restaurant. The turkey is always tender and just right, the soups are innovative and delicious, and the gravy is perfect. It's quite pricey for this industrial heartland, but you get what you pay for - and you are what you eat. Must visit for any trip to NW Indiana.
Review Source:It's Thanksgiving all year round at Strongbow. Turkey dishes are what this Valpo inn prides itself on--turkey marsala, turkey oscar, turkey pot pie, etc., etc. I don't eat turkey, but I still managed to have a nice time here in part because Strongbow reminds me a bit of the restaurant my parents owned during my childhood with its old-school quirks like offering Jell-O with fruit in place of a salad. It made me wish Strongbow had been frozen in time, though, instead of having undergone a horrid update in the '80s or '90s, which does give it a kind of nursing-home ambiance. If they'd skipped the update, they'd now be totally retro cool, like the typeface on their sign. Besides the geriatric vibe, the service was really good and I loved the garlic-blue cheese dressing on the house salad. My sun-dried tomato Parmesan tortellini was a total gut-bomb, though.
Review Source:Did not get the dinner menu but a lunch menu on a Saturday after 3. Â The turkey dinner we anxiously awaited for was not on the lunch menu. Â Since it was our first time here we just didn't bother to ask our waitress. Â To start, my husband ordered some chili and I wanted to try the turkey noodle soup. While we waited we noticed that the restaurant was very quiet. Â There is smooth jazz music playing in the background making up for some of the noise, and most of the costumers were senior citizens (at least while we were there). Â The restaurant is nicely lit and organized, also very clean. Â
We waited ages for the soups to be brought out. Â They were nothing to rave about. Â While we ate, we noticed that the other costumers who were seated before we arrived, got the enormous sized turkey dinners that were definitely not on our lunch menu. Â Receiving and eating the cold turkey sandwiches we had ordered was a bit disappointing. Â They were good but we would have liked it the other way around.
Strongbows is decent, especially, as everyone has written, with what they do--turkey. You must like turkey to eat at Strongbows. The classic turkey dinner is a speciality. The prices can be high, but as most have remarked, they do what they do very well. To me, the restaurant is a one-hit wonder.
Review Source:Strongbow Inn is as much a historic landmark of Valparaiso as it is a restaurant with it's name being a throw back to the days when they were an inn.
There are many good aspects of  Strongbow's, as many have mentioned, turkey is the biggest.  Having originally having a turkey farm across the street they have held onto this tradition of serving it.  If you're in the mood for Thanksgiving dinner in the middle of the summer this is the place to go.  The service is excellent and friendly.  They are also equipped to do large banquets, probably why it is such a staple for Valparaiso University graduates to dine at.
However if an intimate dinning experience or inspiring food is what you desire this would be a good place to skip.  Neither the food or atmosphere has changed well with the times.  The first thought of the place as I walked in was that it smelt exactly like my grandpa's nursing home.  This is probably do to the elderly clientèle that regulars this establishment.  There have been renovations so the place does not seem like a dump at all, on the contrary, it is nice.  It's just dated in their design.
The food is good, but nothing to write home about. Â They are very good at what they do, which is more traditional type dinner fair and if that's what you are in the mood for this will hit the spot.
Overall this is an average restaurant with a big reputation. Â Three stars for a good place to eat, just nothing all that special.
********************************************
I would like to update this to reflect some newer experiences.
I attended a wedding reception here and was very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food. Â Off hand i don't recall what was served but I do remember really enjoying the food. Â
Also the bakery is outstanding. Â I've had several different things including a wedding cake and it is all excellent.
I'd really suggest at least trying this place if you haven't as many others seem to enjoy the restaurant maybe you will too.
Funny, the most recent review was written by my wedding photographer! Â I definitely agree. Â They are relatively organized with generally excellent service. Â Open forever and for a reason.
Their signature is the turkey, which is always excellent, in all of its forms.
My only holdback on five stars is their bakery. Â It gets tons of recognition for being among the best bakeries in the area, but I don't understand why. Â I've had wedding and other specialty cakes at least ten times and it's truly nothing to write home about. Â Good, good price, but not five stars.
As a wedding photographer, I go to a lot of weddings. Â The reception I did here had awesome food! Â Not to mention my baby shower was held here. Â Everything was well organized with no major disasters in either event. Obviously they're doing something right - they've been open since the early 1900's!
Review Source:The food is great - if you like turkey. Â Strongbow is a classy old family style restaurant/banquet hall - the kind of place where the Rotary club meets for lunch. Â If you are looking for hip, trendy, and intimate, then this isn't it. Â But the food is good, the service is always great, and it's reasonably priced.
Review Source:This place kicks total ass...see, this is why Indiana people don't deserve good restaurants!
Strongbow has been open since the early 1900's. They use quality beef, meats and birds for their lunches and dinners. My family has been going to Strongbow's for the past 7 years, and we are never disappointed. Well, I was disappointed when they stopped serving ribs for Mother's day brunch. Actually, I was kinda pissed. I have been here for Thanksgiving dinners, Mothers day brunches, Valpo graduations, and even Valentine's Day dinners...always a great experience.
The bar area is totally cool. They have airplanes and weird shit on the wall, and the overall vibe is old-skool country. Being from the city, I like to escape to a world unknown, drink Guinness and look at weird shit on walls. Sort of a conversation piece that you can enjoy only at Strongbow's.
Their meals are top-notch! Turkey legs, lamb shanks, corn, veggies, mashed, salad bar, smoked salmon, cheese spread, and the most amazing dessert bar you will find in Northwest Indiana.
A++++++++++
I had lunch here, and it was pretty good. Â You have to go in with the right mind-set, though...
Almost everything on the menu has turkey in it. Â Apparently, the owners used to have a turkey farm. Â I guess that adds to its country charm. Â And, yes, it is decked out in country decor with the requisite white-haired ladies who lunch.
I had the turkey croissant melt, which was pretty good. Â My only complaint is that it didn't come with chips or fries, which I didn't realize and the server didn't ask me if I wanted any. Â Given the lack of a side, the price makes for a really expensive sandwich! Â
Service was quick and friendly. Â If I were in the area, and looking for a sit down place for lunch, this is a viable option. Â But, based on some of the restaurants I saw downtown, I'm guessing there are better options in Valparaiso.
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