Absolutely perfect service, steak, and eclectic atmosphere! Not sure to call it a time warp of just a one of a kind experience. We went for a wedding anniversary and left glad that we did. It's a must do if you're looking for great food, service, and location for a special occasion. Oh, make sure to check out the waterfall urinal in the downstairs men's room... LOL
Ash P
Took my girlfriend here for her birthday. The atmosphere is great but the food is what kills me. I spent almost 200$ on food that was the quality of dennys or worse. I got halibut and it was so fishy and over cooked I didn’t make it past one bite. The rice was the only thing edible and that’s not saying much. My girlfriend’s steak was still bleeding and looked awful.Even the bread and little veggies they give you were disgusting!!!! Everything was so gross it literally makes me mad a week later. Food is on par with senior citizen cafe food.The atmosphere is what people come for. And with all the money these people rake in from base 400 $ rooms to 200$ a dinner to two they need to put that money into the property and upgrading and updating some things. There is a way to update and upgrade without losing the original touches and what makes this place special. I’m just saying put all that money back into the business and develop a better menu and some new chefs. Safe to say will never eat here again. The diner actually smelt great and maybe that’s the better of the two. ( the is a diner next to the steakhouse )
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Connie Y.
Oh where do I even start? We were here for a track meet at Cal Poly SLO and were craving steak. This place is wild! Pink is the theme. If Barbie were to open a hotel this would be the result. This looks like Barbie exploded. The best thing I ordered was the lobster, baked potato, ribeye steak, and Champagne cake. This is an institution here at San Luis Obispo. I even bought a pair of Barbie pink boots upstairs. Best steak in the county. We will be back next month. Happy Yelping!
G. K.
Five of us chose Madonna Inn to celebrate two birthdays. I ordered my steak medium rare. It arrived medium but was tasty. Dinner salads had no personality. At these dinner prices can't Madonna afford to throw crunchy lettuce or crunchy something in so it isn't a one-note salad? One guest's salmon dinner did not arrive with the others. It was served about 15 minutes later. The wait person asked if he would like the rest of the dinner served while he waited. Doesn't Sun-Dried Tomato Farfalle Pasta sound delicious? Attached is what it looked like - old Rice-A-Roni. The wait person offered take the beautiful homemade cake we brought back to the refrigerator. We were shocked after the main course when she brought the cake out that she had already cut up! Maybe this is done to encourage guests to skip bringing the homemade cake, and instead opt to pay $60 for a 6-inch Madonna Inn Champagne Cake to brought to the table whole.
J T.
Food is not that great but the ambience and decor is wonderful. Pink booths are suburb and we came at Easter time and the spring decor was very fun.
Angie
Absolutely love it here! Stopped by for my birthday and the service was excellent. Everyone is very friendly and made by birthday extra special. I ordered the French Filet Mignon and a Pink Cloud. For dessert I had the Pink Champagne Cake. It is now my favorite cake flavor. I will definitely come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pink Champagne Cake
CatherineM
My husband and I are new to SLO area. We visited Madonna Inn several times in process of house hunting, but chose to wait to dine at Steakhouse for special occasion - our 27th Anniversary. Although there is history, fantastic ambience, attentive friendly efficient servers, live music in evenings, the food fell short of our expectations. Tip: if there is sauce or dressing, order it on the side. My dinner salad was drenched in dressing (much more than I needed or wanted) and my husband's French steak had too much sauce (the description of steak was NOT clear the mushrooms included a gravy like sauce). My salmon was little overdone, and didn't have a lot of flavor. I'm not fond of broccolini, but the rice had good consistency and flavor. We chose Madonna Inn because of positive reviews and recommendations by others familiar with it. After this experience, my feeling that it is fantastic choice for wedding or special event because of unique rooms, ambience and beautiful setting, but the restaurant is overpriced for the quality. We were disappointed by the food, but otherwise, enjoyed the music and ambience.
MichaelB
We had such a nice dining experience. The food and service is always great! We love the booths and overall seasonal fun decor...one of a kind! Thanks to Anna for always being so pleasant and friendly at the front desk...Ethan the manager is very friendly and runs a great steakhouse, Sharon our server was top notch and so great at what she does, she is a gem! Thanks to the Chef for a wonderful steak and lamb chops....love the oak bbq! Finally thanks to Leo for making sure we have everything for a great dining experience...Michael and Karen
RachC
Our server Griffin was so knowledgeable and hospitable. He went out of his way all night to make my mine and my husband's anniversary so special. The food was amazing and always. The service was impeccable and drinks and each course came our so fast.
blinkingline
The portion sizes were incredibly generous, without compromising on quality. My steak, cooked to a perfect medium-rare, was juicy and flavorful, boasting the smoky aroma of the oak-pit barbecue.
We had a not so great experience here and that made me sad. It looks amazing and has such a cute decorative dining area, and the food is amazing, a bit pricey but I don't mind if it's amazing, and the food was really good. but if I'm spending 200 + on a meal for 2 people it's sad when I have to ask 2 people to get a drink refill. Our server came to our table only to drop off food and then we didn't see her. I would see her checking with other tables, but not us. I asked for a desert menu but was never asked if I wanted dessert. That experience ruined my enjoyment of this restaurant and would not come here again.
ChristineH
The restaurant was beautiful and the greeters are pleasant and nice. The food is amazing, a bit expensive but you get not only good food but an experience in the decorating of the dining room. Maybe it was a busy night but we felt like we were put in a corner table and forgotten about. And that's the only down side of the experience.
Susan
The waiter was great. Very attentive. The salad wasn't fresh. Looked as if it was laying out for too long. My grandsons steak was fine. Mine was dry and overcooked. Rice was cold. Very disappointing. It's my grandson's favorite steakhouse so that's why I go. Usually the food is better. Dessert was perfect. Susan Pearl
Jennifer Biggerstaff
We come down from the Bay Area just for the Madonna Inn! Service was great as always, made our anniversary feel special and everything was tasty! My husband got the prime rib and I got the rib eye, we both had leftovers.The decor is always great but the Valentine’s Day decor was extra cute!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pink Champagne Cake, Prime Rib of Beef
Wayne B.
Beautiful environment, great service, nice salad. Salmon was overcooked, steak was tough, sliders were not edible. The food here a year ago was great. This past Friday night the food was horrible
Absolutely perfect service, steak, and eclectic atmosphere! Not sure to call it a time warp of just a one of a kind experience. We went for a wedding anniversary and left glad that we did. It's a must do if you're looking for great food, service, and location for a special occasion. Oh, make sure to check out the waterfall urinal in the downstairs men's room... LOL
Took my girlfriend here for her birthday. The atmosphere is great but the food is what kills me. I spent almost 200$ on food that was the quality of dennys or worse. I got halibut and it was so fishy and over cooked I didn’t make it past one bite. The rice was the only thing edible and that’s not saying much. My girlfriend’s steak was still bleeding and looked awful.Even the bread and little veggies they give you were disgusting!!!! Everything was so gross it literally makes me mad a week later. Food is on par with senior citizen cafe food.The atmosphere is what people come for. And with all the money these people rake in from base 400 $ rooms to 200$ a dinner to two they need to put that money into the property and upgrading and updating some things. There is a way to update and upgrade without losing the original touches and what makes this place special. I’m just saying put all that money back into the business and develop a better menu and some new chefs. Safe to say will never eat here again. The diner actually smelt great and maybe that’s the better of the two. ( the is a diner next to the steakhouse )
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Oh where do I even start? We were here for a track meet at Cal Poly SLO and were craving steak. This place is wild! Pink is the theme. If Barbie were to open a hotel this would be the result. This looks like Barbie exploded. The best thing I ordered was the lobster, baked potato, ribeye steak, and Champagne cake. This is an institution here at San Luis Obispo. I even bought a pair of Barbie pink boots upstairs. Best steak in the county. We will be back next month. Happy Yelping!
Five of us chose Madonna Inn to celebrate two birthdays. I ordered my steak medium rare. It arrived medium but was tasty. Dinner salads had no personality. At these dinner prices can't Madonna afford to throw crunchy lettuce or crunchy something in so it isn't a one-note salad? One guest's salmon dinner did not arrive with the others. It was served about 15 minutes later. The wait person asked if he would like the rest of the dinner served while he waited. Doesn't Sun-Dried Tomato Farfalle Pasta sound delicious? Attached is what it looked like - old Rice-A-Roni. The wait person offered take the beautiful homemade cake we brought back to the refrigerator. We were shocked after the main course when she brought the cake out that she had already cut up! Maybe this is done to encourage guests to skip bringing the homemade cake, and instead opt to pay $60 for a 6-inch Madonna Inn Champagne Cake to brought to the table whole.
Food is not that great but the ambience and decor is wonderful. Pink booths are suburb and we came at Easter time and the spring decor was very fun.
Absolutely love it here! Stopped by for my birthday and the service was excellent. Everyone is very friendly and made by birthday extra special. I ordered the French Filet Mignon and a Pink Cloud. For dessert I had the Pink Champagne Cake. It is now my favorite cake flavor. I will definitely come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pink Champagne Cake
My husband and I are new to SLO area. We visited Madonna Inn several times in process of house hunting, but chose to wait to dine at Steakhouse for special occasion - our 27th Anniversary. Although there is history, fantastic ambience, attentive friendly efficient servers, live music in evenings, the food fell short of our expectations. Tip: if there is sauce or dressing, order it on the side. My dinner salad was drenched in dressing (much more than I needed or wanted) and my husband's French steak had too much sauce (the description of steak was NOT clear the mushrooms included a gravy like sauce). My salmon was little overdone, and didn't have a lot of flavor. I'm not fond of broccolini, but the rice had good consistency and flavor. We chose Madonna Inn because of positive reviews and recommendations by others familiar with it. After this experience, my feeling that it is fantastic choice for wedding or special event because of unique rooms, ambience and beautiful setting, but the restaurant is overpriced for the quality. We were disappointed by the food, but otherwise, enjoyed the music and ambience.
We had such a nice dining experience. The food and service is always great! We love the booths and overall seasonal fun decor...one of a kind! Thanks to Anna for always being so pleasant and friendly at the front desk...Ethan the manager is very friendly and runs a great steakhouse, Sharon our server was top notch and so great at what she does, she is a gem! Thanks to the Chef for a wonderful steak and lamb chops....love the oak bbq! Finally thanks to Leo for making sure we have everything for a great dining experience...Michael and Karen
Our server Griffin was so knowledgeable and hospitable. He went out of his way all night to make my mine and my husband's anniversary so special. The food was amazing and always. The service was impeccable and drinks and each course came our so fast.
The portion sizes were incredibly generous, without compromising on quality. My steak, cooked to a perfect medium-rare, was juicy and flavorful, boasting the smoky aroma of the oak-pit barbecue.
Restaurantji Recommends
We had a not so great experience here and that made me sad. It looks amazing and has such a cute decorative dining area, and the food is amazing, a bit pricey but I don't mind if it's amazing, and the food was really good. but if I'm spending 200 + on a meal for 2 people it's sad when I have to ask 2 people to get a drink refill. Our server came to our table only to drop off food and then we didn't see her. I would see her checking with other tables, but not us. I asked for a desert menu but was never asked if I wanted dessert. That experience ruined my enjoyment of this restaurant and would not come here again.
The restaurant was beautiful and the greeters are pleasant and nice. The food is amazing, a bit expensive but you get not only good food but an experience in the decorating of the dining room. Maybe it was a busy night but we felt like we were put in a corner table and forgotten about. And that's the only down side of the experience.
The waiter was great. Very attentive. The salad wasn't fresh. Looked as if it was laying out for too long. My grandsons steak was fine. Mine was dry and overcooked. Rice was cold. Very disappointing. It's my grandson's favorite steakhouse so that's why I go. Usually the food is better. Dessert was perfect. Susan Pearl
We come down from the Bay Area just for the Madonna Inn! Service was great as always, made our anniversary feel special and everything was tasty! My husband got the prime rib and I got the rib eye, we both had leftovers.The decor is always great but the Valentine’s Day decor was extra cute!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pink Champagne Cake, Prime Rib of Beef
Beautiful environment, great service, nice salad. Salmon was overcooked, steak was tough, sliders were not edible. The food here a year ago was great. This past Friday night the food was horrible