So I must admit that I had never tried Austin’s Grill before and have driven by their one location on Wilson Mills Rd in Mayfield Heights multiple times. They now have three locations Brecksville, Mayfield Village and Mentor. The Mentor location just opened recently.
Friday night my husband and I were just driving around looking for a new or different place to eat. He says to me “isn’t there a new restaurant in the old Burger Fi building in Mentor? We should try that.” So we ventured that direction and had a wonderful steak dinner at Austin’s.
For starters I was surprised at how different the inside looks. Aside from the ceiling fan above the bar area you would never know the restaurant was something else previous. They have added lots of booths and tables and actually set the bar up like a bar not an ordering station. I would have gotten photos of the inside of the restaurant but they were busy while we were there. Even though it was later in the night.
So for starters they had tons of drink options, beer, wine and mixed drinks. We both tried the Manhattan on the menu and it did not disappoint.
As for food, I was so confused what I wanted. I will for sure have to go back and try some other items, since I am eating healthier there were a couple things I wanted but could not eat. We started with the stuffed mushrooms. They had a good amount of crabmeat filling in the mushroom and tons of cheese on top of the mushrooms and crabmeat. The mushrooms were the perfect amount of tender. Not cooked too much and really held the weight of the crabmeat and the cheese.
Next was the main course, there were so many items that looked good but since we were at a steak house it seemed like the choice to go with. I choose the petit fillet, as I never can eat very much. This was only 8oz and I still brought some home. My husband went with the Ribeye with grilled onions and mushrooms. We were both pretty impressed with our steaks. I always order mine medium well, which everyone tells me that it kills the steak but mine was still very good and not chewy. They both had tons of flavor and were cooked correctly.
With this healthy eating we have been doing we did skip getting potatoes or Mac and cheese, which I promise I will be back to try both. I got the side salad, with a homemade dressing that was like a creamy Italian and the Brussel sprouts with bacon. The lettuce was really fresh, which can be tough to find in Cleveland this time of year, with bright colored veggies and some croutons. I was very impressed with it. Then my husband ordered the brisket chili and Brussels sprouts with bacon as well. I tried the chili it had tons of flavor with the tender brisket and kidney beans. It was topped with a couple cornbread croutons. It was also a very good choice. We had both ordered the Brussels sprouts with bacon and this was the one item I wish I would have replaced for something else. I love Brussels but these were just over cooked for my liking. They were on the mushy side and I did not get much flavor from them or the bacon they came with. I’m sure considering everything else was so good that this was just a fluke but I always want to give me actual opinion. I would probably try a different side dish next time like the Mac and cheese or a baked potato.
I feel like I see and read people asking for nicer upscale places in Lake County to eat. And to be honest there are not very many but this was a great low key, fancier, date night spot in Mentor, with great food and drinks.