Columbia Steak House

New to Lexington. Coworkers recommended Columbia and said we need to go to this location downtown. We've gone there a few times now, including the one on Richmond Rd but we love the downtown location much more,... more history, great food, great service. lMy wife is crazy about the house made ranch and twice baked potatoes. I like the corn pudding a lot. We will be regulars.

I'm with a group of 36. Admittedly, that's a large group but...It's not that hard to do a baked potato. At my table of 8, no one had a potato that was done. The steaks were good but lukewarm. Individually, might be a great place but don't bring a group here!

Visiting Lexington for the day and the Columbia was close to my hotel. I enjoyed the ribeye and a loaded potato. Steak was cook to perfection and was served quickly. I enjoyed the atmosphere and a few cocktails. When I am in town again. I'd be sure to stop back in.

We ate at the Columbia Steakhouse when we were in town for our granddaughter's graduation from Transylvania University. Our meal was excellent from the potato skins through cocktails and steaks as well as fried catfish. The service was especially excellent and thoughtful. Thanks!!

We visited for lunch. Ambiance is really cool and very Kentucky. The only light you get is through stained glassed windows with horse racing prints. Amber was our server; she was great! Request to sit in her section. Our choices: 1/2. Burgers- too much bread, we both ended up eating with a fork. The burger flavor was perfect and they cooked them just as we ordered. The garden to the sandwich was plentiful! Sides to the burger were steamed broccoli (amazing) and house chips (more amazing).3. Beef tips with onions, mushrooms, swiss- good portion; had leftovers. Meat is not your traditional tips, it is cut from a ribeye so the quality was great. Cheese is not needed because of the butter/garlic sauce it is cooked in. Sides were baked potato (took up half the plate) and broccoli "casserole." It's a soufflé. All were accompanied with a basket of rolls and cinnamon butter. They looked dry and hard but goodness, they were the opposite. SO GOOD!!! Drink menu is pretty limited to bourbon. And more bourbon. Welcome to Kentucky.

Columbia Steak House has become a go to whenever we are in Lexington. The fried mushrooms & fried banana peppers are huge. Perfectly crispy, both delivered a crunchy bite that were full of flavor. For our entrees two of us opted for the house special, the Nighthawk special is a tenderloin served with garlic butter, the house Diego salad, and a baked potato, all for $20! My steak was so tender that each bite seemed to melt in my mouth, the bake potatoes were good but not great, but I loved the Diego salad (keep some dinner rolls around to eat with the salad), Two others at our table ordered Hot Browns. The golden brown baked portions were generous, and both said the hot browns were delicious. Columbia Steak House decor is a step back in time and gives you the feel of the supper clubs from the 60/70s. In today's age of cookie cutter corporate steak house chains I loved every minute of my Columbia experience.

We were there for a drag theater recently and what a great show! The servers were amazing, but the bartender/manager was a bit rude to the performers and staff. We could overhear her complaints and rude commands to everyone. On top of that, it took forever to get drinks from her. I finally walked up to the bar and she was just talking to the host. I immediately went back to my seat and didn't order anything else. It was our first time there and it's probably the last.

Having eaten at Columbia many decades ago, our group of 6 decided to stop in for a late dinner. Flo made sure we had a special table waiting for us when we arrived. Memories of college years and good times came flooding back- the food was wonderful, service was awesome! Only thing missing was "Smitty" , the energetic Maitre d' who was always there to greet you in his tux ( heaven now being his home). Flo has been a hostess for 38 years. Not many restaurants can claim a gem like her! Fantastic evening!

Last night, we had an impromptu family dinner with 20 people. The folks at Columbia's on Richmond Rd were extremely accommodating, pulling together tables and ensuring we could all sit together. The server worked extremely hard, and all of our food came out correctly. The general manager came by and ensured we were taken care of, thanked us for coming, and the food came out hot and delicious! With all of the new restaurants in Lexington, Columbia's sometimes gets overlooked, but I was happy to revisit this Lexington tradition.

God awful. Ordered a steak medium rare and it came out blue. It also was so over seasoned that it was inedible because it was so salty. Service was adequate and it definitely had the feel of a restaurant that was opened 80 years ago and the decor was never updated. Not that I care about the decor but the food was inedible.