The Pine Club

DAYTON, Ohio - Despite - or maybe because - of the things we didn't like, me and the missus would happily return. Upon entering, you're like 'did I just step through time to 1947, with these knotty pine walls and leather upholstered booths with rivets?' Very old time-y vibe. Went there on a Saturday night, 630ish, amazingly didn't have to wait for a table for our party of four. It's a noisy loud place - you won't have a quiet conversation. My rare porterhouse was (chef's kiss) - so tender and juicy and big. Perfection. Wife's strip steak was same. The place is worth it for the steaks and the aesthetic alone. Stewed tomatoes? Akin to a thick tomato soup, but a little too sweet. Pro tip: get the salad dressing on the side unless you like your salad drenched. The garlic mashed potatoes are quite good. Pro tip 2: They don't take plastic, bring cash. Also they don't do reservations, nor do they have dessert. But you're walking out of there full anyway.

Atmosphere: very old school, with the bar front and center. All wooden decor. It was very crowded and long wait but worth it. No reservations taken. Small restaurant.Meal: went as a table of 4, most got the filet (medium rare), salad with house dressing (you must get the house dressing), baked potato, and daily veggie of corn. All the dishes came with onion haystacks. Everything was delicious and cooked to perfection.One note: they move tables fast so be ready to order and our waitress was nice but did feel like she was pushing us along to able to flip the table quick. Would go again but not again after a UD football game.

We went on Valentine's Day and under estimated the lure of this oldie! After waiting 2 1/2 hrs and meeting some fabulous couples while bellied up, we proceeded to our table. We ordered shrimp cocktail, surf/turf and the bone-in ribeye. The lobster was the best we've ever had! The steaks were big, cooked accordingly and but lacked a little flavor. Doesn't change the overall atmosphere or nostalgia of this place.

After dined here for countable times over the past several years (during our regular OH visits), I can summarize this restaurant as the following: old school, dark ambiance-can be brighter, down to earth vibe, authentic, friendly, quality food, delicious, and good price...CASH only, to be aware of. This is one of the few restaurants we found that serve quality and delicious beef livers, and cook the livers to perfection. As you probably have figured, this is one of our fav dishes here. But, let's not to forget the other yummy items from the menu, like the ribeye and bone in ribeye; other cut of steaks, lamb chops and soups...etc. so far we have not had any complaints over the dishes nor the services. Staff have always been friendly. Additionally, she reasonable length of wine list has some great choices, especially the house brand wine which was bottled in Monterey, CA one of my favorite wine regions. There are parkings in the back of the restaurant, just look out for the signs. Highly recommend by @WineDinenVacay

The food was not worth the money ... rib eye steak was $54 ... not well seasoned , broccoli was without season just steamed ... bread was sooo salty !!!!! And cash only ... not very convenient

We have been wanting to dine here for years and finally made the trek to Dayton. What a cool throwback, there's something to be said about a place that hasn't changed anything in 75 years. Yes, it's still cash or check only, be prepared. The food was excellent and you get a lot for the money here. The wine is also very reasonable. Our server was super friendly and explained everything since we were first timer. I can't wait to find another reason to go back.

The Pine Club is still the same epic Dayton restaurant...It's been over 3 years since we've been back... In usual fashion, the restaurant hasn't changed a bit and continues with its originality. It's not hard to see why they've been in business for over 75 years. When you walk in, it's a throwback with original decor, dim lighting, and old school vibes. The menu is still the same with plenty of options, and excellent selections for US Prime steaks. The menu is not all-inclusive, so your meal comes with a steakhouse salad (get the house dressing), fresh baked bread, steak, potato (recommend the hash browns), and stewed tomatoes or vegetable of the day... The regulars know to put the stewed tomatoes on top of the hash browns. For one of Dayton's finer restaurants, pricing is very reasonable ($49 for the large filet mignon meal)... This would cost you $150+ at Ruth's Chris or Flemings, and The Pine Club is arguably as good, if not better. Be advised: No desserts.As for the service... It's typically average at best, with not super friendly servers. There's seemingly a bit of arrogance with the service staff, which is annoying (and frankly not right), but when you've been in business for as long as The Pine Club, I suppose you can get away with average service. PS - There are no reservations and it's cash or check only (no credit cards), so prepare ahead of time.

Great food and service. Always tough to get in with no reservations- 5pm on Tuesday was the only lay time I've been successful of getting in. Also, bring cash

Will not find a better steak anywhere. But only a true steak lover is going to want to wait 2 hrs for a table and another 1.5 hrs for the main course. It can be an enjoyable bucket list trip if you get in line 30 minutes before doors open.

They need to have a cap on people who can wait in the bar area or move the tables out of that area because we went on apparently the busiest night in history... Valentine's Day weekend and a winning UD game . After our two hour standing wait we finally got seated and ate our expensive meal with drunk people waiting for tables leaning against our booth with butts a foot from our plates. I literally elbowed a woman standing next to our table while eating. Food was barely warm by the time it arrived to our table and there was a hair in one of the sides (probably from our server having to swim through a sea of people) Ruined what was supposed to be a romantic upscale Valentine's Day dinner. 200 dollars for a sports bar experience. I won't be back. I wish I could get my money back.