Cowboy Express Steakhouse

Been coming here for years. Good is always excellent. Onion rings are perfectly battered and fried. Chili is outstanding. And if course the steaks, yum

Even though the reviews were not so great, decided to give it a try anyhow. Big mistake. My wife’s salad with blue cheese dressing tasted more like a bland ranch dressing. Her hamburger was over cooked and dry.
My vegetable soup was unacceptably salty and I had to send it back. My ¾lb ribeye steak was very excessively fatty and full of grizzle. They were understaffed though our waitress was polite and tried to be helpful.

Blake is weird he was our bartender and not a sociable person at all and he’s service was sucks he shouldn’t a bartender. Food is good.

Great steakhouse, great service from Lindsey and good kids menu. Some restaurants in Big Bear leave something to be desired in terms of food and service but this one has really good service and good food! The steaks were good, the scampi was great and the kids menu was extensive and well priced.

Recently spent the weekend in Big Bear with my family, and wanted to take everyone out to a really nice steak dinner. We were a group of 12, including twin 8 month olds — we called in advance to make sure they could accommodate our group, which they said if we came early enough (before 6) it would be no problem. We were excited. Pictures on Unilocal looked really good.
It was obvious when we got there we were annoying them and they had no idea what to do with us. They weren’t even busy yet. This was only twenty minutes after we had called. They seated about half a dozen walk-​ins after we got there (parties of 4), and didn’t finally figure out how to seat us until we got fussy with them. They should have just told us on the phone.
Not baby friendly. My wife had to go to the car to change our kids.
The service was atrocious after that. 4 of us ordered salads — they never came until we made a stink. My sister and dad can’t eat onions — their food was loaded with them. We had to ask for the deserts that came with the meals.
The food was not good. I had the sizzlin steak (Tri-​tip comes out sizzling in butter and garlic). Tough and chewy — sliced very thick. Tri-​tip should be cut thin.
My father in law got the prime rib special medium rare — came out looking like roast beef. Way over cooked. Brown all the way through.
My dad got an expensive loaded baked potato — was supposed to have steak in it. Not one piece of steak.
Sirloin — tough and overlooked.
Out of 12 people not one person was content with their meal.
Prices are very high. We averaged 30 a head and not one person liked what the got.
My mom had to walk past the kitchen to use the restroom and reported it was filthy — like health code violation filthy.
Just awful. Don’t go.

This small hidden place was awesome. I’m not to familiar with BBQ spots so I felt it was a little pricey but the overall experience was great. The portions are a good size and we left with satisfied bellies. Good customer service and and enjoyable ambience.

I’m so glad Husband was craving steak because it led us to find this gem up here in Big Bear. Lindsey our waitress took great care of us. Happy hour til 7pm was a nice surprise and The Show was a new tasty Cabernet. Side salad was a fantastic start with fresh greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and croutons. The stuffed mushrooms were a yummy appetizer as other Unilocalers mentioned. My son loves the 6oz kid sizes sirloin and my daughter ate all her shrimp and chips. I shared the mushroom steak with my husband and it was just what we were craving. We are looking forward to a raspberry cheesecake for dessert. Thanks for a great dinner out!

We came here for Valentine’s dinner last night and it was absolutely WONDERFUL!!! We had reservations and we got this nice table in a more secluded section. As our server, Paige, was taking our order someone promptly placed a basket of bread and butter on the table. Despite how busy it was the service was both prompt and engaging. I got the blackened ahi with grilled vegetables, a rice cake (yum), a glass of wine, and chocolate covered strawberries. This place should be considered «Western Elegant» — rustic décor with elegant table settings and classy service! Well done guys!!! And thank you for the awesome service, Paige!!!

My wife and I stumbled upon this place on a weekend drive through Big Bear. Service was great from Sandy, my wife had ordered the steak and potatoes. Good piece of meat at a great price. And I had ordered the boss burger, cooked to order a great burger to order when your hungry.
Atmosphere is very cool with a western theme. Would definitely return next time in town.

My family has a cabin in Big Bear and I’ve been coming up here regularly for about 7 years. I decided to try this place for the first time with my mom and son today. I was pleasantly surprised. I tried to go last night but there were packed! We got there at 11:00 when they opened and walked right in. Keep in mind if you’re going for dinner you will want a reservation. Also, parking is slim. The staff was awesome. They were very friendly and they let us order off the dinner menu even though they were serving lunch. I tried the bacon blue sirloin steak and wow it was as good as it sounds! Price was reasonable. Do yourself a favor and check them out.

After a long wait I had moderately high hopes as the waiter was very nice, we had bread at the table right away and we were able to order our drinks promptly. And not long after we ordered our meals. All seemed well. But then service disappeared. Our drinks were empty for awhile but no one asked if we wanted another one. After a long wait, two of us were served our meals. The third took another unexplained 5 minutes. I asked for a couple glasses of water from the guy who served the food (different person than the waiter). Didn’t get the water. The main server, a nice enough guy, finally showed up again after the meals were on the table, and he asked if I wanted another drink. Had been over 30 minutes since the first drink.
As for the food, thumbs down. The steaks were dry, almost beef jerky like. My son said his mashed potatoes were cold. The fries and onions rings were good, though IMO the oil tasted a bit old. The veggie burger was overcooked and pretty disgusting. Terrible, in fact. One time at this place was one time too much.

Came here since it was recommended by a bartender at AV nightclub. I must admit it was a great choice… food was excellent and great view of the lake was a plus!
Come hungry because you get a lot of food!:)
Amy was our server she did a fabulous job made sure we were taken care off throughout our dinning experience!

Wendy was our server.
Ribs are awesome!
Garden salad spot on.
Cute ambiance
Chili is super spicy and too watery for my liking! I like more meat and less spice.
Free Cheesecake when you write a review. +1 star

This place is a must visit spot when you’re in Big Bear!
It has a warm, rustic and cozy atmosphere and an incredible guy named Tim who seems to be the Steakhouse Caretaker.
The food here is amazing; homemade vegetable soup, cheesy Lobster Mac-​n-​cheese, sweet warm baked apples, sizzling 20oz steak cooked in garlic and butter, rich chicken florentine loaded with fresh broccoli and carrots, a great selection of beer and specialty drinks, and so much more.
Everything was as just as perfect as could be! An overall great dining experience for the four of us this evening, thank you! We will see you next time!

First, there is nothing express about this place. I have not been to a slow horribly managed place in a while. Made the mistake of looking in the kitchen as I used the restroom. It was filthy! But, hungry and tired after waiting 1hr and 15 min for a table I decided to stay, bad move.
Slowest at seating, 1hr to get our meal, and a long hair in the mashpotatos. This place is so over priced because it can be up here on the mountain. YUK.

We were here with our friends. We ordered appetizers, they served it without separate plates, so we ate from big plates right on our hands. We didn’t like lunch menu, I ate only french fries because my fish & chip’s is not good. I am not going to go their again.

This is our go-​to spot when we’re up in Big Bear! Must get appetizer: calamari. The dipping sauce is pretty dang good and the batter on the calamari, thick and crispy. Their seasonal hot Apple cider topped with whipped cream with a cinnamon stick is soothing and tasty. Their steak is always amazing. Their sizzling steak is a must in medium rare. It’s topped with sauteed garlic and it’s perfectly seasoned. Lastly, their banana cream pie is a must. It’s topped with marshmallow fluff whipped cream and it’s scrumptious. We try to stop by this place whenever we visit Big Bear. Our server, Wendy is friendly and served us with a smile .
Definitely recommend this place to anyone hungry for good food and big portions.

Food was good but the service was horrible. I will also note that MY food was good, not everyone at my table enjoyed their food. I got the tri tip and my parents split the pork chop. They noted that the food was cold when they got it. They had been here before and their last experience was much different. In the past they had to ask to speak to the manager just so they could tell them it was the best pork chop that they had ever eaten. Things have changed I guess.
On the service end, when we got the bread we didn’t have plates, napkins or silverware so we sat there and watched the bread get cold until we decided to get up and find our own silverware.
The staff at our hotel warned us that this place had changed but we didn’t listen because of the infamous pork chop. Next time we will avoid this place

My Wife and I were out tooling around the dirt roads in our Jeep all day, from Thurman Flats, to Angeles Oaks, to Onyx Summit, and into Big Bear. I know all these paths well, but my Wife had never been, so I showed her a few of my «hidden» trails and spots. We had a blast together all day, checking out the scenery, wildlife, etc. We worked up a HUGE appetite doing all of this. So when came into town and hit the asphalt again, we knew we wanted STEAK!
I had driven by this place before, but never stopped. I told the Wife about it and got no arguments. Made a beeline for Cowboy Express, and swung into the parking lot with the quickness. Walked in right as the sun was setting, and to our surprise it wasn’t that busy. Score!
We were seated in a small dining room that was in the corner of the restaurant, sort of isolated. Not complaining at all, it was perfect for us. I think they saw that we were trying to have a nice meal as a couple, and accomodated us accordingly. The Hostess then told a large family sitting nearby to quiet themselves and their kids down a bit. They said other people were trying to enjoy themselves. We were the only ones around, so we got glares from that party until they left halfway through our meal. We didn’t even say anything, the Hostess took it upon herself to tell them to hush. We didn’t feel the need to explain ourselves to them, or otherwise apologize or anything; we just ignored them and chuckled, noticing that they did indeed shutup until they left. Good Dogs. Now roll over!
We knew that the «Cowboy Dinner for Two» was the most appropriate thing to order and had the best value. So we went that route, and we were glad we did. This special consisted of a bacon-​wrapped Filet for the Wife, and a New York strip for me. Included were two glasses of House Wine, four side dishes, and two little sundaes for dessert. We were allowed to upgrade the meal to two Bone-​In Porterhouses for a bit more. Awesome. Came out to like, $ 65.
We ordered waters (came with lime), and our House Wines came out with them. The wines were pretty good, we drank them slowly so that we could enjoy them with our steaks, which they did end up pairing well with.
My Steak was huge, ordered medium-​rare, thats exactly what I got! I perfectly cooked, bright pink-​in-​the-​middle, well seasoned steak. It hit the spot and then some! More than happy with this slab of meat!
My Wife likes Medium-​Well, but I suggested that Medium might be more appropriate for such a big steak. She took heed to my advice, and was happy that she did. She was happy that it came out light pink in the middle, and juicier than she was used to, without any blood on her plate. I told her «Duh, there should never be blood with a medium cooked steak.» She throughly enjoyed her steak, muttering the word «Bomb» in-​between every other bite.
My sides were Baked Beans and a GIANT Baked Potato.
The Baked Beans were OK, just a little bland for my taste. Had to salt and pepper them.
The Baked Potato was awesome! Finally a restaurant that understands that a small dollop of sour cream is just not enough! The potato was cooked well. The only issue was that I needed to ask for butter for the potato. C’mon y’all, you should know that butter should come with. No big deal though, got my butter and chowed down.
My Wife got Seasonal Vegetables and Seasoned Fries.
The Vegetables were good, though just a tad overcooked and soggy. Looks like they boil them instead of steaming them. Or they were steamed too much. Either way they werent bad, just slightly cooked more than we cook ours.
The seasoned fries were, um, seasoned fries. Frozen processed fries like every other seasoned fries anywhere. Not bad though. Cooked well, crispy but soft in the middle. They were eaten.
The sundaes were alright, we couldnt finish them anyways. Not because they were bad. Because by the time they came out, we were fully distended and couldn’t eat anymore. In fact, we both wanted to slip into a food coma. Gave us «The Itis.“We played «Paper, Rock, Scissors» to see who was driving back down the mountain. I lost. She slept.
We would like to come back some time soon, we are going to explore some new trails in the future, so looks like we will be back. Cheers!

Very good food,
Visiting mom for the weekend, been here a few times before. Very friendly staff, especially Lindsey. I had their boss burger. Very big, very good! Nothing special about it, just a great burger. Their chili is also good, after eating at a chili cook off earlier today. Cowboys is up there with the best. Wife is loving her raspberry cheesecake as I’m writing this review. Great place, love coming here.

Malísimo. Camareros antipáticos, tiempo de espera excesivo. La comida nos llego fría y estaba malísima. Muy mala calidad. Además de que dentro hacia bastante frío. Y encima el imbecil del camarero que nos sirvió se quejó de que le dejáramos «solo» 6 dólares!!! Dad las gracias que no os denuncie a sanidad, ladrones.

Excelente ambiente y atención, una estrella menos por no tener prime ribs que anuncian pero el ribeye estuvo excelente