BrickHouse Grille

This restaurant is much nicer than I would have expected in Dickinson, North Dakota. We reserved (paid $ 100 for) the VIP area upstairs for a private party of 20-​ish guests. When we ordered drinks, the server didn’t write down our orders, which is typically either a sign that he is incredible at his job or we should expect mistakes. He made mistakes on the brand of vodka served in numerous drinks and entirely forgot mine. After serving the entire group, he looked at me sheepishly and asked again what I wanted to drink. I repeated my order and he eventually returned with it. His service was terrible. We weren’t a particularly demanding group, but we were out for a birthday party and were drinking faster than he was serving us. I grew tired of waiting for him to refill our drinks and finally asked him for another– this time, Titos/​club soda, double tall, to compensate for his pace. He returned with a tall, red drink. I shook my head and asked what it was and he AGAIN asked me what I had ordered. I said for the third time, a Titos vodka and club soda. I made a benign but smart ass comment about him screwing all of my orders. We then ordered appetizers (chizlets & cheese) and eventually the server returned with my drink. Never were we ever offered water, several of us commented on how thirsty we were, but the server was never very accessible. The chiznets and cheese appetizer was ok, although the filet portion was overcooked and dry.
He described the specials– a shark dish and a snow crab dish– and said the lobster on the menu was not available. The first person who ordered asked about the shark and he replied that there were two or fewer shark dishes remaining. She ordered a filet. I asked if the crab special ($ 55.00) was shelled. He said «of course» and described it as 1.5 lbs of shelled snow crab on a bed of couscous. I said «cool, I will take the crab since it is shelled. I would never order snow crab legs otherwise, they are far too labor intensive. The butter warmer arrived with a crab cracker. I felt instantly uneasy, why would shelled crab legs require a cracker? Shortly thereafter, the server arrived with a massive number of crab legs– not only were they still in the shell, they weren’t even sliced. I stared at the plate, somewhat incredulous, and the server asked if everything was alright. Others immediately reminded the server that he had told us the crab was shelled– he insisted that it indeed was shelled. «It is in the shell, obviously.» We explained that «shelled» did not refer to crab in its shell– he wasn’t convinced but offered a weak apology. I was incredibly annoyed and after sampling the completely flavorless couscous, I gave my meal to a particularly hungry guest.
My mom had the red pepper and ricotta pasta. The description indicated it included spinach, tomato, fresh basil, and focaccia. She said it was more like elbow macaroni covered in canned tomato soup. Another friend had the filet, she ordered it medium rare, it arrived medium well. A couple of others also ordered the crab– because it was shelled. It was disappointing to say the least. At the end of our meal, I noticed my friend still had a significant number of my crab legs remaining on his plate– I asked if he liked my food. He said it was alright, but the cracking process was definitely not worth it and he was tired of working so hard for his food.
Never did the waiter even attempt to rectify my order– he maintained that the crab was shelled– because it was served in its shell. He transferred the cost of my meal to the friend who ate my meal. I would have preferred to pay for the meal rather than giving the bill to the recipient of my «gift». Then again, it wasn’t at all how it was described and I shouldn’t have been charged for it anyway.
The atmosphere was the best part of our experience– it was perfect for our event.
The food was average to below average. I don’t mind paying for good food– most of our meals didn’t qualify. The server totally sucked. We felt ignored throughout the overpriced dinner. This restaurant definitely has potential but our experience was disappointing. Nobody in our party was satisfied, let alone impressed.

Cool, our waitress/​server did a terrific job, just wished we could have had some appetizers on the B2 level.

I went there 2x. Both times the server was nice. The meat was on par, tender and juicy. The atmosphere was rather pleasant. Parking is hard to find. But overall it’s a pretty good night out.

BrickHouse Grille was recommended at our hotel as the best restaurant in Dickinson, North Dakota. I don’t doubt that this may well be true as the choices are few when you get beyond the level of sports bars, pizza joints or Applebee’s.
We enjoyed a pleasant, enthusiastic waiter, although my observation of other wait staff made me believe he was above the norm. The waiter at the table next to us was repeatedly trying to up-​sell every drink and course.
My husband ordered a cup of the daily soup special, loaded baked potato. He reported it was very, very good. And, I must say even it’s aroma across the table was very, very pleasant. I admit to being a bit jealous of his choice.
I found the salad disappointing — one slim tomato wedge on a damp assortment of greens, some browned and wilted. I prefer crisp greens to wimpy, limpy field green and find three inches of spinach stem particularly annoying and difficult to gracefully get into the mouth.
My oven-​roasted chicken breast proved to be the best dish I tried, the crispy skin added flavor without drying out the white meat. I would have preferred another treatment for the horseradish mashed potatoes, finding the horseradish a bit strong with chicken (I’ll take mine with a piece of prime rib) and the texture reminded me of those made with potato flakes and too much liquid.
Bob found his beef and mushroom penne pasta dish in dire need of seasoning. I guess we should have stuck with the soup and friendly discourse with the waiter.

The meat was tasty, but the veggies? Did they even cook them? So tough. But then again this is apparently the best place in town.

Okay, you’re going to lay down some money at this place. With a 18% tip, expect $ 200 – 250 for a party of 5 with out drinks. We went for a special occasion, and let’s face it, Dickinson is limited in choices. The side s

Every small town has a «nice restaurant», this is Dickinson’s. The food is good, but not great. The side salad consist of a plate of lettuce, with a quarter wedge of tomato. That’s it! Don’t get me wrong, the steak is good, but it’s also what you could get at Salt Grass for half the price.
The service is average. We have had great service, and we have had really bad service.

LOUSY SERVICE
This is a rather pleasant 4 star steak house, but unfortunately the service drags it down. The best restaurant in this North Dakota outpost deserves a better trained staff.
My wife and I each had the 10 oz New York steak with au gratin potatoes.
The steak was perfectly cooked and delicious. The potatoes were okay, but do you really want to eat them out of a tin dish?
The service? Youthful, brisk & breezy, completely lacking in personality or personal attention. As soon as a question they ask has been answered, you see their backs and no further conversation is possible. All servers, mostly young females, march rapidly about their tasks, to the extent that they actually distract from the dining experience.
Ambiance — 4 STARS
Food — 3 ½ STARS
Location — 5 STARS
Service — 2 STARS
Value — 2 STARS