Murray’s

26 S. 6th St
Minneapolis, MN
612-339-0909
www.murraysrestaurant.com

Category: Steak

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 6
Service: 8
Ambience: 8

Recommendation: Good. The Steak was good, but other parts of the meal failed to impress.

We don’t visit steak houses often – eating big slabs of meat with the classic potato sides is something that usually appeals to us once a year. We only ended up at Murray’s because we had a gift card that we wanted to use. It’s a landmark most people in the Twin Cities are familiar with – it’s been in existence for over 50 years and its famous for its Silver Butterknife Steak for two. The interior is classic steakhouse but not ostentatious – the mirrors all around the room add to the airy feel and although the tables are close together, it doesn’t feel cramped. We went on a Saturday night and the place was hopping – it was mostly couples with a few large celebratory groups. There was live music emanating from the Piano at one end of the room and you really felt that you’re in for a special evening.

The menu is classic steakhouse with the usual beef and potato suspects. We were disappointed in the “wines by the glass” list – we were looking for some good steak wines but the list was pretty short and had basic daily drinking wines. Luckily their half-bottle list was quite good (the two of us can’t usually finish a full bottle) and we found a Chianti with good body and full flavor. The bread basket was filled with warm dinner rolls, which we liked, and over-salted garlic bread, which were barely edible. For starters we decided on the Tuna Tartar that was really fresh and well flavored except for the heavy-handed finishing of sea salt. The server highly recommended the Chateaubriand (a 24oz hunk of center cut beef tenderloin) and given that we’re big fans of this tender cut of meat, we decided to go with that. Along with the steak, we each received a Caesar Salad and a choice of side. The Salad was excellent and we especially liked the crispy parmesan wafer that adorned it. Not long after we were done with the salad, the star of the show arrived and was carved tableside. The steak was tender and perfectly cooked to medium-rare/medium like we asked for. Unfortunately both the potato accompaniments were terrible and pretty much went waste. The mashed potatoes were dry and uninteresting and the diced potatoes in the au gratin were undercooked; the meal felt incomplete without great sides. By the end, we were pretty full (even though we hadn’t completed our steak) and decided to skip dessert.

Service was prompt and friendly and we felt well taken care of. Overall we left a disappointed – there isn’t much room for error at high-end restaurants especially when it comes to basic potatoes.

$$$$. Our bill came to $210 with tax and tip (for two plus a toddler). Valet parking is $8.