Don Hall's Factory

Considered by many of my my local friends and clients to be the penultimate old school steakhouse in Fort Wayne compared to the nearby Cork & Clever. I ended up at the Factory last night as C&C was fully booked. The factory has its own old-school Midwest supper club charm and is a good alternative steakhouse option. I was seated quickly and greeted by my server Karl right away. I ordered a glass of wine from the limited but functional wine list and had bread and butter at my table within moments. as I was in an old-school style steakhouse, I went with the low hanging fruit: I ordered a blue cheese, wedge salad and the smothered sirloin. Some steakhouses have elevated their steakhouse salad wedge with additional components, like bacon crumbles and croutons, but not the Factory. There's is quite literally, a wedge of iceberg lettuce, smothered in blue cheese with two slices of tomato. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing and the blue cheese dressing was actually very good. While Some may take umbrage at the simplicity, it reminds me of going out to steak dinners with my grandparents in supper clubs in upstate New York so I was OK with it. My meal arrived just as I was finishing the salad and I was pleasantly surprised that my smothered sirloin appeared to actually be a smothered tenderloin cut. I ordered the smothered sirloin as it came with mushrooms and onions as well as an herb butter instead of having to order those items à la cart from the menu, which seemed like a good value to me. The fact that it showed up as a tenderloin was a welcome bonus, but if I really wanted a sirloin cut, I suppose I might've been disappointed had I been someone who prefers a sirloin cut. It seemed Like a bit of a curveball to get the wrong cut of meat in a steak house, but personally, it was an upgrade for me so I just enjoyed the steak. The wild rice side dish was delicious as well. My steak was cooked perfectly. The mushrooms and onions were nice addition. I skipped dessert and asked for my check which was delivered promptly. I was surprised to see on my bill that they hadn't charged me for the wedge salad, and Karl reassured me. It was included with the meal so all told for a glass of wine, the smothered sirloin And decent wedge salad was less than $35 for my meal! In this day and age that was very surprising. All in all, there may be more modern versions of steakhouses in Fort Wayne, as well as the venerable, Cork and Cleaver nearby, but I actually enjoy the old-school supper club vibe of Don Hall's factory, the food is good and it's probably the best value for a steakhouse that you will find in Fort Wayne. I will be back!

Yesterday my partner and I stopped by The Factory for lunch after running errands all morning. We were seated quickly, and our server was very attentive. We ordered a couple of drinks and bread with butter was brought out. It was really good! When our artichoke dip appetizer came out, the pita chips were nice and crunchy, but the dip wasn't the greatest. It had very little flavor and seemed to only have spinach underneath a thick crust of cheese on top of it. We couldn't find much cheese in the dip, as is traditional. We considered returning it, but decided to pack it to go in case it tasted better reheated. My grilled shrimp with lemon and baked potato with sour cream and butter were decent. The shrimp were so-so flavor wise, but they were well-cooked. The cocktail sauce was unusual, not terrible, but it wasn't my cup of tea. My boyfriend tasted it and agreed that it wasn't like typical cocktail sauce. My baked potato was good, if small. My boyfriend's sirloin steak had an interesting, sweet glaze to it. He commented that the meat was overly-tough, though it tasted good. His side of red-skinned potatoes was pretty good, though. Since we hadn't had the best meal, we didn't opt for dessert. Overall, The Factory didn't give us much reason to return, so it's doubtful we will.

Heather is a GREAT server. Very attentive and personable. French onion soup is one of the better ones in town. Love the ahi tuna burger, decent price point for it too. House made ranch is good. Greek salad is good too. Bread for the table is good but could use real butter instead of margarine. Turtle pie for dessert is a must. Ambiance is ok, could use some updating.

The Factory has been around a long time. It carries a loyal clientele of repeat customers. I haven't been here in a long time . So this was my first time back in decades. No much has changed that I can tell.The restaurant is dated in terms of decor. The place is clean and in good repair. The booths are small for a party of four. The booth was cushy comfortable but uncomfortable because it was so tight. The staff was young and friendly and professional for the most part. The menu is one no page with enough choices to satisfy most parties of people. The prices weren't too bad in this hyper inflationary environment.We started with the table bread. It is kind of like a sour dough with a tad sweeter taste. The bread was a bit crunchy on the outside and a bit softer on the inside. Not bad with butter. Not outstanding though.I chose a side salad with my entree. The salad was fresh but very basic. Not much side veggies to give it pizzazz. The dressing seemed like a purchased item without much flare.My wife really liked the broiled fish and red skinned potatoes. The fish was nicely cooked.My other side was onion rings. I suspect that Halls shares this recipe across their facilities. The onion piece is a bit thin..too thin for me. The batter is a bit thin and very flaky. A tad bit of grease taste and maybe a little seasoning to break up the batter/grease flavor.The prime rib was very good. It was cooked nicelyto my medium rare choice. The beef had a good beef flavor without much fat content. It was served with a creamy horseradish sauce instead of a raw horseradish.Overall the Factory is a safe choice of good food. They have several larger meeting rooms that might be good for a rehearsal dinner or holiday party.

Thanks to the Hyatt Place front desk staff she recommended this awesome local restaurant that has people hugging each other at the front door and inside even with the bartender. Other words it is a local place and I was happy to be eating there before close after a long day of flights to get to Fort Wayne. Blue Cheese Wedge salad was awesome. The Ribeye steak with asparagus hit the spot with their peppercorn sauce. The sports bar area was my choice with the games on TV. The bartender has a bartender ear and her service was attentive for the enjoyable meal.

Four stars for the three other meals at the table. The fried chicken I had was over fried and not moist even the thigh which are usually moist and tender. The cook left it in the fryer too long. They do red meat here very well, that's what I'll have in the future.

Great service. Pleasant atmosphere. Plenty of parking. Great food.Generous serving. Family style place.Great place for a get together.

Stopped in for lunch Sunday. We started off with Fort Waynes finest bloody mary. Had to eat our way to our drink, can see why this is under the starters. It was spot on. Next we had five cheese mushrooms, they were yummy and cheesy to say the least. The salads we had with our entrees were large and well garnished, but my GFs salad had way to much dressing. I'd ask for dressing on the side if you are getting the house salad. My greek salad was just right. The homemade bread was great. Then our entrees came. I had the Whiskey Barrel Sirloin with a potato cake as a side. Sauce was a little sweet, but yummy. Steak was done perfectly medium as I requested. The potato cake was a nice superise and will be getting it again. GF had the Chicken Herb, was a generous portion and seasoned and cooked well. Her side was potato cake as well and she enjoyed it. We both took leftovers home. We also had good service. Two great bloody marys, an app to share, and two entrees was $74. Was a fair deal for the price, food, service, and atmosphere. We will be back and recommend it for a great meal that is not to pretentious.

Food overpriced, awful flavor. No seasoning; our family was very unhappy. I spent $90; the mashed potatoes were the only decent item.

I came here in 2018 and was very satisfied with the prime rib, it was perfect. Ordered it today, medium rare, and it was not something to brag about. Fairly tough, actually. The service was great. The ambiance was great, feels like an old steakhouse. Wife said her steak wasn't great, fairly tough. This will likely be our last time, then again, the ambiance and service may pull us back for burgers in the future.-correction, we just ordered sundaes, what was delivered was not a sundae. 1 scoop, a tiny dab of white cream, and we kept getting bites of plastic. Good Lord.Not coming back.