This is an unpaid review of the Chandler, Arizona restaurant DC Steak House. Dadtography.com was not compensated in any way for this review. The opinions in this review are 100% that of the author and are 100% authentic.
What is DC Steak House?
I had the pleasure of exploring the Phoenix, Arizona area not long ago and decided to check out DC Steak House in Chandler, a small suburb of Phoenix. DC Steak House (not ‘steakhouse’) actually stands for Downtown Chandler Steak House, which is located in a historical district of the small suburb. There are a number of other shops in the area and I really found the area quite appealing in general.
DC Steak House sits at the corner of W. Boston Street and S. San Marcos Place, overlooking a small park.
DC Steakhouse
98 S. San Marcos
Chandler, AZ 85225
Phone: 480-899-4400
The Food
I’m not sure about you, but I’m usually inclined to read online reviews before I try out a new restaurant. As with anything online, reviews are only as good as the person writing them. DC Steak House had mixed reviews on the various sites that I checked out (namely TripAdvisor), but with most of them being positive, so we decided to give it a try.
Before Dinner Drinks & Appetizers
My wife and I each decided to order a drink before dinner from the bar. She tried the tiramisu martini and I had a glass of their Blüfeld Riesling. Both were excellent and highly recommended. As for appetizers, we were a bit disappointed with the offerings.
Nothing quite sounded right for us, so we opted for dessert instead.
We received our pre-dinner salads, which had a nice variety of ingredients and the dressings were tasty. I had ranch on my salad, which wasn’t home-made but was a high-quality bottle variety. We were also given home-baked bread the server indicated came from a local bakery. If you like bread it would be wise not to skip it here, although, it was pretty “heavy” (it reminded me of a pound cake consistency) and filling.
#DCSteakHouse in #Chandler has great bread but be careful or it'll fill you up fast! #travelblog Click To TweetDC Steak House Entrées
The food at DC was excellent. I (naturally) chose the filet and my wife had the grilled swordfish. I know, my filet didn’t pair well with my Riesling, but how can you go to a steakhouse and not order a steak?
Both my wife’s swordfish and my filet were better than we expected, and we went in with fairly high expectations. My steak was cut perfect, cooked exaclty to temperature (I ordered it medium-rare) and seasoned to perfection. I’m pretty sure they broil their filets in butter and/or olive oil, so it probably wasn’t the healthiest dish on the menu but you just can’t beat the taste. The one thing I’d improve? The ‘sauce’ and juice the steak comes in is so good I would have liked a little more.
DC Steak House Desserts
As mentioned, we passed on ordering an appetizer in favor of ordering dessert. We actually ordered two desserts because we were not able to choose just one. We ordered the tiramisu (my wife’s personal favorite – she’s a connoisseur of sorts) and a caramel chocolate cheese cake. Both were decadent and in the top 15% of desserts we’ve had at restaurants (and well worth the calories).
Don't skip dessert at #DCSteakHouse. It's worth the extra calories! #travelblog #AZ Click To TweetClick here to view their menu (PDF).
The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is about what you’d expect at a nicer dining establishment: the lights are dimmed, the dining room is accented with dark wood, the chairs are comfortable, the tables are nicely appointed and the servers and hostesses are well-dressed.
The windows at the front of the restaurant make for a decent view of the activity on the street and there isn’t hardly a bad seat in the house, although there was one table back by the restrooms that wouldn’t be ideal but would be ok if DC is on a wait.
The bar area sits in the back of the restaurant, far enough away for dinner patrons to have intimate conversations without the need to yell. We went to DC on a weeknight at around 8pm and there was no wait at all.
As mentioned above, the area around DC Steak House is great as well – perfect for an after-dinner walk to get rid of some of those dessert calories.
The Service
Our server was well-dressed, clean-cut, knowledgeable about the menu and (most importantly) friendly! He wasn’t too pushy when it came to talking us into ordering appetizers, drinks, etc (the extras restaurants make their money on) and we appreciated that.
Service was super-attentive, without being annoying, when it came to table service – our table was pre-bussed after each course and we never needed to ask anyone for a drink refill.
Some of the reviews I read indicated the hostesses were less than friendly. I didn’t find that to be the case at all, although, as mentioned DC wasn’t on a wait so they likely weren’t in high-stress mode when we arrived.
Final Thoughts on DC Steak House
Overall, our experience at DC Steak House was a great one. We actually considered returning during our stay in Chandler, but we opted for new experiences over returning. The food was great, the service was stellar and you can’t beat the location. We will definitely be returning when we are in the Phoenix area again.
