Nick & Stef's Steakhouse

Nick & Stef's has a new general manager, Ron Casey. Ron, along with his staff, has created a new speciality cocktail menu which rivals any restaurant in town. These are cocktails that taste wonderful. The dry aged steaks are amazing. Melt in your mouth. \r \r Our FAVORITE this is the Cheese and BEER pairing. That's right, cheese and beer. I had never had a pairing like that and I highly recommend it. \r \r If you want a great meal, excellent drinks and to be treated like royalty, you have to go to the new Nick & Stef's. It is worth every penny and more. more

I went to Nick & Stef's for the first time with three friends on my birthday. The food was excellent! To start, we ordered the Cesar salad, which was prepared right at our table and tasted great. For my entree, I had the petit filet mignon along with two sides (butternut squash & mac & cheese) -- all excellent! The sides are big, so we split them between the four of us. I was treated to a special desert (on the house), since it was my birthday. It was good, but definitely not my desert of choice. I'm not even really sure what it was. They also have a 3 min rule on bringing out drinks. It took about 10 mins before we received our cocktails, so the waitress gave them to us on the house. We didn't even have to ask!! The waitress also told us that if we sign up for the email list that we will get $30 off coupons every year for our birthdays! I was very happy with my experience at Nick & Stef's and will definitely be returning. Pros: Free Valet Parking, Friendly Staff, Nice Ambience more

My wife and I love going out to new restaurants once a week. I personally love beef! I heard how famous Nick & Stef was in downtown L.A. Tonight I had porterhouse steak the 22 oz which is the cut I always get at a nice steak house. Cut to the chase, the steak was horrible, when the knife your using has difficulty cutting through the meat is the first sign that the meat is not tender. The flavor was good and the meat came as I ordered, medium rare but the tenderness of the meat was something you get at Dennys. Not worth $50. Never ever go back again. I will rather go to Mortons steak house in Beverly Hills. Great porterhouse and Filet is to die for.\r \r Sam Out. This is actually my first review anywhere, hope it helps you out. Pros: Free parking w/ validation. Cons: Bad beef! more

I usually like the Burger for lunch here. But not on my most recent visit. I ordered my burger medium well, but it was served very rare and cold. They took forever to replace the first burger, which came out as a different order. I ended up leaving after having coffee and bread. My co-worker had finished their lunch by this time. Pros: Usually a good steakhouse burger Cons: Very inconsistant cooking here. more

We went here on Valentine's Day expecting something extra special. Have definitely had a great steak here before. The steak was good, but all I can remember is the awful, awful lobster salad. The lobster smelled like death, and it didn't taste much better. I had no choice but to send it back. The staff had no problem taking the lobster salad back and substituted the soup that was definitely nothing special. The lobster was so terrible that my appetite was permanently ruined for the night. Not exactly the experience you're looking for on Valentine's Day. I'm shocked that a restaurant I used to have a lot of respect for would send lobster out that was spoiled. Another member of our party didn't think the steak lived up to previous experiences at the restaurant. It almost seemed like they prepared everything in advance because of the prix fixe menu and didn't bother to give the dishes much attention after that. The staff seemed very unseasoned, as well. I will not go back. Pros: Close to the Music Center and Disney Hall Cons: spoiled food more

thank goodness N+S knows what they're doing cuz there are few things more annoying than a steakhouse that doesn't know how to do medium rare. the ... more

i am a food lover. i enjoy a great steak, and nick and stef's is far from that. granted, i did not order their ""signature"" steaks (they like to rave about their ribeye and new york), i had a sirloin but and it was VERY dissapointing. even their appetizers and dessert were ""average"" at best, so i will not be back to try their more famous steaks.\r \r a big let down. only reason i didnt give them 1 star only is because the food is about a 2 star. but relative to the price, they probably deserved a 1 star. Pros: cant thing of anything to write home about Cons: price, average food more

I'm a big steakhouse fan and try them all. I'm a big man and love big steaks. We started our night in the bar which was crowded and fun. We moved into a dining room which was straight out of the 70's. So were the waiters uniforms. It took forever for the bottle of wine we ordered to show up. Considering the high price of the wine list, you think they would give great wine service. I found from the table next to us that you can bring your own wine in free of charge. If I return I will do that. The entire service staff looks to be going through the motions. If I were working in a dated space, I would be depressed too. One manager came by and visited with us but seemed distracted when we questioned him on the menu. On a good note is that the kitchen seems to be running quite a bit better. The food was delicious (side items are very expensive and small portions though). The coffee was slightly better than my hotel room when I travel. My pick for downtown will probably be Mortons for the show and the classic design. Pros: No wine corkage fee. Busy bar. Good steaks. Cons: Retro is cool but do you want to eat in the 1970s? more

A friend of mine flew into town on short notice and was staying downtown, so we walked around until we found this place. We're two guys, it's not hard to please us - we don't need atmosphere, we just wanted a good steak, and if we're charged top-notch steakhouse prices, we expect commensurate service and quality. Oops!\r \r We each ordered $40 New York strips (after the waiter took his time to come over) as it is what ""they are known for."" Some time later we got bread (which was the best part of the meal), and continued to wait for the main course. No check up on drinks from the waiter, nothing. Finally, the steaks come out. I ordered mine medium rare, my friend ordered his medium. My steak was medium (on the border between medium and well done!), and my friend's was even more over-cooked. This, although annoying, was not a deal-breaker. I was hungry, and determined to enjoy this meal. I cut in, and halfway into sawing (not cutting, SAWING) through the meat, I encountered what I can only describe as a vein running directly through the middle of my cut. It was a sinewy, circular, knife resistant vein of fatty sinew traveling the length of my steak. Great. I began to perform minor surgery on it, just to try to salvage something from this meal. My friend lost his appetite after 1/3rd of his steak. I made it to just almost half. The waiter came back and noticed how much we had ""enjoyed"" our steaks, and made a weak attempt to lighten the mood by asking if we wanted to ""get crazy"" and take a post-dinner shot. No thanks, buddy, just the check...the 125.00 check. Live and learn, I guess. \r \r Why didn't I send it back? It would be too long of a story, but in searching for a restaurant in downtown LA near this location, we were thoroughly defeated for almost an hour, and faced with California Pizza Kitchen, or this steak house. I was beaten, and I had neither the time nor the inclination to wait for them to roll the dice in the kitchen one more time. more

I have been to many steak houses and always been satisfied with food and customer service....well, not this time. My boyfriend went out of his way to make reservations at a ""nice"" restaurant and have a nice, quiet dinner, and this was far, far from it. The service was ok, nothing special, my steak was tasteless and over cooked, the side dishes are too small, the creamed spinach was more ""cream"" than spinach...really gross and runny. I asked the server to recommend a martini and he was clueless...............he did recommed a red wine, the thing is I did not want wine! Also the dessert list is pretty crappy, .......bottom line is ....Don't waste your time and money there, go to Mastro's or Morton's instead, much better service, food and ambiance. more

My wife and I dine out every night of the week and we have for the past five years since we've been married. Neither of us can cook to save our lives so we are forced to eat at restaurants whenever we're hungry! I'm always online checking out the reviews but have never written one myself and I know people have bad experiences sometimes in restaurants but we left Nick and Stef's happy and full!\r \r The host was very polite and friendly. She asked our name, told us our table was ready and handed us off to a young man who guided us to the table and introduced us to our server, Heather. Wow this lady is something else! She was so nice and patient with us. We tend to be finicky at restaurants, we ask lots of questions when we like the place, and she took great care in answering them. \r \r The meal was just fantastic! We are very happy to have found Nick and Stef's and we're going back with our friends next week! As for the bad reviews on the place, well...those people might be wound a little too tight! more

I went here on a business lunch and was excited because it is a fairly well known restaurant. The restaurant itself, is not as impressive as I expected it to be from pictures and descriiptions - it just seemed very...bland. The hostess was the only positive part of the experience. She was very friendly and helpful. After being greeted and seated, however, service wen't downhill. My guest and I both ordered salads and several appetizers. Our waiter, Nicholas took our order, very unenthusiastically, and appeared to be put out anytime we asked him for anything. It took over 10 minutes for him to fill our water glasses and once we received our food, that was basically the last time we saw him. Let me rephrase that - it was the last time he paid dus any attention. He walked by several times, but refused to stop long enough for us to ask him for ketchup, etc. We literally had to flag him down - twice - for our bill. Overall, I was not too impressed by the food either. Granted, the place is known for steak, which I did not try - but the salads were small (I think we each ate ours in under 9 small bites). It consisted of about one and a half cups of iceberg lettuce, 4 small squares of chicken, and 4 pieces of tomato. For $17, it definitely wasn't worth it. I have been to many restaurants in Downtown LA - and highly suggest skipping this one. Roy's is much better - outstanding, flavorful food and incredibly accomodating service. Pros: Great appetizers, great supporting waitstaff service Cons: Small portions, poor quality, disappointing service more

After reading the reviews, my boyfriend and I decided to dine at Nick & Stef's a day before Valentines. It was our first visit. Valet parking is free and only tip was required.\r The food was delicious! I had a ""Fillet Mignon with Red Wine sauce"", while my boyfriend had the ""Rib-eye Dry-aged Steak with Bernaise sauce"" which was suggested by the waitress. We always have our steak medium-rare and it was cooked just the way we liked it! Per the waitress suggestions, we had a side order of the ""Potato aged Cheddar Gratin and ""Szechwan Long Beans with Pink Peppercorn. The potato was tasty, however I personally think the szechwan long beans did not taste as great as the waitress suggested. It most certainly did not worth $8. After a great meal, I always look forward to the dessert menu. Surprisingly the desserts here did not sound appetizing compared to the many fancy restaurants I've been to. Therefore, we gave the desserts a miss.\r The restaurant itself featured nice views, formal setting and great atmosphere. A comftable place for wining and dining or to enjoy a couple of drinks with friends.\r Unfortunately, the service was very disappointing, slow, unprofessional and not so friendly. Our waitress did not formerly introduce herself nor greeted us at all! Not to mention, the bus boys placed down and picked up our dishes in an unprofessional way. I would have expected better customer service so in the end my review for Nick & Stef's Steakhouse only deserved the 3 stars. Pros: Ambience, Parking, Food Cons: Service more

I've only been to this restaurant once even though it is at the bottom of the office building I work in. I went in for lunch and was worried that I wouldn't make it back to the office in time, but the servers knew the meaning of a business lunch. Great steaks at cheaper prices than dinner...what could be better. OH, maybe the chocolate martini the bartender made me with Alchemia, an unusual vodka I'd never seen before!\r \r Worth checking out!!!\r Pros: Service more

The cuisine at Nick & Stef's Steakhouse is great, fantastic even. And the wait staff was nice, though seemingly uncomfortable in the role of host for the evening. I had a steak, nicely prepared and the table of 8 of us did sides family style. The mashed potatoes with the funky name were amazing. On the picky side, the staff needs new uniforms, or else an iron. And the main dining room seemed crowded with no sense of privacy. A little more lighting and it would have bordered on cafeteria feeling. Overall, though, food rules out. I give it 4 stars. more

This place is popular for their Happy Hour from 4 pm to 7-ish and it gets very crowded during those hours. It is unfortunate that the service is so poor because the atmosphere, location and food are excellent. When we were there, the drink orders were late, our food arrived one plate at a time, and our server continually apologized that they were ""short-staffed."" If you don't like waiting, this is not the place to dine. Pros: Food, Ambience, Parking Cons: Service more

A group of us tried Nick & Steph's Steakhouse based on Citysearch. I'm always on the lookout for a good Steakhouse, and we were excited to try it. The overall ambiance was classy and simple. Upon looking at the menu, one thing's clear: They have a larger selection of unique items than most Steakhouses (Buffalo, Steak Tartar, Foie Gras, Organic Chicken, and more, on top of their selection of Steaks).\r \r However, the entire night was sadly ruined by some of the worst service I've experienced in a high-class restaurant. First off, trying to get some Hot Water for the tea turned out to be an exercise in futility; we had to ask 2 busboys and the waiter 3 times, to finally get some. The steaks were served to the wrong people: I ordered a Medium-Well, and my friend (on the other side of the large round table) ordered the same Rib-Eye as Medium-Rare. The server switched the two. Then when we asked about it, he did a simple ""Oops, I guess that one's yours."" And then kinda stood there. We had to ask him as a favor to help us switch the two plates (or we could've just passed the steaks around the table until it reached each other, bu still). Our server also forgot our Broccoli Raab side dish (which took him 10 more minutes to fetch for us). And, they ended up serving everyone at the table except one friend of ours, who literally went without food for *another* 15-20 minutes (in addition to our original wait), and most of us had finished half of our meal before he finally got his entree. The waiter at this point only offered up a very weak ""Sorry 'bout that.""\r \r Finally, the biggest nail would be the Birthday we had at the table: It was my friend's wife Birthday, and I secretly mentioned it to our waiter to see if he could do something. After she declined ordering any regular Dessert, he simply blurted out, ""You sure you don't want to order anything? Oh well. Happy Birthday."" UHM?! He could've at least surprised her w/ some ice cream perhaps? Simply terrible for the price. Pros: Good selection of different meats Cons: Horrible Service, Pricey, Hard-to-find more

The atmosphere was great, semi romantic, great customer service. Steak was to die for mouth watering. First course was awesome, second and third not my flavor at all.. Desert was amazing. I would go back BUT very over priced and i paid $170 inc tip and they charged my credit card $190... Im still waiting for a call back from restaurant to find out why they charged me more than what was on my bill. \r Pros: Ambience Cons: Price more

Lately the bartenders for happy hour have been terrible so I would avoid ordering a dry dirty ketel one martini. But, this place is great for business lunches. The waitstaff is decent and you can get in and out in an hour. Make reservations. more

The happy hour is fabulous, especially during the summer when you can enjoy the outdoors after a hard day's work. The happy hour food is consistently superb (try the garlic fries, the flat bread pizza, the mini cheeseburgers and the delectable olive plate). (Bonus - The service has improved dramatically over the years.) As for lunch/dinner - the food is quite good but their strength is definitely in their steaks (don't waste your time ordering the chicken or seafood which is ok, but not great). Also a good wine selection. All in all, a great place for a casual hangout or for a special meal. Pros: Great Happy Hour Food; Good location; Good steaks Cons: Non-steak dishes can be mediocre at times; Occasionally slow service more