Kelly English Steakhouse (Harrah's St. Louis)

Our first of many restaurant reviews

One thing Margy and I love to do is eat out at new restaurants around town, lately we haven't done that because it hasn't been in the budget. But when my mom said she had a comp for the new steakhouse in Harrah's in St. Louis, I jumped at the chance to try out this new trendy steakhouse from a renowned southern chef.  Margy lucked out on this trip as she was out of town on her own little vacation, so for this review it was myself, my mom, sister, and her 6 year old son.  Reservations are encouraged, we had some, so we were seated right away. The decor is modern and open and the menu fits the atmosphere.

Yes this is a steakhouse, but you're not forced to eat steak, the seafood menu items showcase the southern cooking style that would rival any New Orleans restaurant. Prices are reasonable for the quality and portion sizes, we had a comp of $180, and we had 2 appetizers, 3 entrees, 2 sides (for my nephew) and 2 desserts and drinks (which I think we were not charged for our soda and teas.) Our total came to $150 without tip. All entrees come with a salad and 1 side.  Other sides are available for about $5 a piece. One downside was they don't offer a kids menu option, but this is at a casino, so I don't think they expect many kids to come through the door. We got a couple sides for my nephew, and he filled up on sides and bread along with some bites from our plates.  Now to the food: (sorry for the poor quality pictures, my phone takes mediocre pics.)

We started our meal with some appetizers:

Their version of "Potato Skins" with crème fraiche, tuna tartare, caviar and lemongrass.......Cost $10.

I saw this on their menu online and was intrigued, the combination of these ingredients is like nothing I've had before.  My mom and sister were not into it because of the raw tuna, so I was happy to have it all to myself. It was definitely different and although I can't say it was the best thing I've had, I was glad I tried it, the potato skin part was like your regular potato skin, while the tuna and caviar provided a salty and creamy texture much like bacon and sour cream does for the traditional potato skins.

Our second appetizer was the gulf seafood tasting of crab cakes ravigote and shrimp cocktail...Cost $16, My mom recommended this as she had it before there.  It consist of 2 crab cakes and 2 of the largest shrimp I have seen.  I really liked this Cajun inspiration style dish. The crab cakes were delicious and had just the right amount of crab to filler.  The shrimp was simply cooked as it was meant to be to enjoy the fresh quality of the shrimp.  This will be something we get again!

On to the Entrees:

I love me some steak, so I was pretty sure I knew what I was going to get before I sat down.  At first I was going to get the 14oz prime rib in honor of my missing wife as it's her favorite, but then I saw the 16oz bone-in rib-eye. My all time favorite steak has got to be the rib-eye, it has just the right amount of fat that makes it just melt in your mouth and then to have it on the bone which adds a ton of flavor.  I dropped the prime rib idea and went with the rib-eye (cooked medium) with a baked potato side and salad.......Cost $35.  I've had many steaks at restaurants and have cooked many more at home and this one has got to be on my top 3 list so far, It was perfectly cooked and needed nothing on it.  For being a steakhouse, you'd expect a good steak and Kelly English definitely delivers with the steaks. 

      

My sister had the “surf and turf” of new york strip stuffed with fried oysters and blue cheese over
allan benton’s bacon and potato hash with bordelaise and hollandaise sauces served with house salad...Cost $36.  I wasn't sure how the fried oysters would be stuffed in a steak but to my surprise it wasn't bad, again the steak was cooked perfect and the oysters and blue cheese added a salty balanced taste to the steak. As far as the bacon and potato hash....They had me at bacon....enough said!

My mom had the newman farm 10oz pork chop stuffed with dirty rice......Cost $29.  The pork chop was cooked perfect much like the steaks and was very juicy and flavorful with Cajun spices. The dirty rice was also very good and had just enough spice. Her side dish was a spinach souffle which was quite tasty and creamy and I'm not a big spinach fan myself.

Dessert options are limited and are the typical steakhouse options: Chocolate Cake, Creme Brulee, Milkshake, and Bread Pudding...All desserts cost $6.  I'm a sucker for bread pudding so that was my easy choice as it also came highly recommended.  We got it to go as I was so full from dinner, just 40 sec in the microwave and it was perfect.  The consistency was very firm and it was not overly sweet so I would have to say it was one of the better bread puddings I have had.

My overall rating would have to be a 8 out 10......The food was excellent and lived up to the steakhouse reputation and quality.  The atmosphere was nice and the service could have been a little faster but our entire dinner lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes.  The lack of kids items was a down side but again this is at a casino so if your bringing your child to a casino and not going to the buffet you should be use to this. I will definitely be taking my wife back to here and can highly recommend it to anyone.