The Hornet’s Nest Steakhouse

I had a great visit. They had an excellent selection of craft beers there. The server was excellent, even being with a large party nothing was forgotten or showed up incorrectly. If you go on the weekend they usually have a special going on. The weekend when I went they had a 2 lb steak special. It showed up exactly how I ordered and was amazing. I would not hesitate to go back.

Year after year this place continues to disappoint. First, it smells like an open sewer. For years they have had the most incompetent wait staff ever. They always forget an appetizer, a salad, or someone’s meal. We stopped going here after 15 years because the service got so bad. The food has definitely diminished in quality too.
This used to be a great place to go get a steak. But now you’ll be lucky to have it actually brought to your table let alone have it cooked right.
To improve this place I would absolutely fire all the long term waiters. They are incompetent.

Unfortunately, this once gem of a restaurant /​bar has gone downhill quicker than the price of crude oil. At one point in time, you’d have to mug someone for a seat at the bar, or wait an hour to sit in the dining room. Not these days, as there doesn’t seem to be competition for a seat.
On my latest visit, we opted for brunch (thanks bro for the great suggestion), and we walked right in. No wait, and a plentitude of tables. Our group of 5 were seated, and we walked up the «buffet» style brunch offerings. (This should’ve been a sign)
The Hornet’s Nest, on this particular morning offered some interesting brunch cuisine. Allow me:
Catfish nuggets (Yes, a breakfast staple for most families)
French Toast sticks
Salad (Why not)
Rock hard biscuits
Sausage patties
Sausage links
Pork Chops (Once again, a regular breakfast /​brunch item at most restaurants)
Orange Chicken (A+ for diverse offerings, as we must not forget the asian cuisine for brunch)
and last, but definitely not least, the God of all fair food: the corn dog! Seriously, a f’n corn dog?!
By far, the most bizarre brunch that I’ve ever witnessed. The quality was disappointing too. Shame on you, Hornet’s Nest; you were once better than that!
Never again!

Great food and service!!! My husband loves their prime rib. My favorite is the hot fingers. The Hornet’s Nest is the place to relax and unwind. It’s definitely one of our favorites!
Also, their Sunday brunch is not to be missed!

Best Phily Cheesesteak sandwich around. Famous for their Prime Rib for a reason too!
They just added 20 beers on tab for those that love craft beer options! Enjoy!

My family and I were in town to look for houses since we were going to move to Evansville soon. This was place recommended to us as a good local restaurant to try. We walked in and the place felt very dated, which was fine — some places play up that factor, that they’ve been around for a long time, etc. so that wasn’t a biggie, although I wish they would get some better lighting because it was pretty dim in the dining area.
Overall, the atmosphere and the service was fine. Nothing that stood out. So let’s get to the food.
Because I had a one year-​old, I ordered something that we could share — chicken stir-​fry. It was supposed to come with rice and veggies, so I thought that would work out well. My husband ordered a fried catfish dinner, my mother some soup (which they had run out of, so she had to pick another one), and my dad ordered the steak.
My chicken stir-​fry was terrible. I was an idiot — why did I think a family restaurant in the mid-​west would have good stir-​fry? So that’s partly my fault for ordering something like that at a restaurant like this. The whole thing was incredibly salty and swimming in grease. It was as if they had just stir-​fried the chicken then dumped the grease from it all over the rice. (Even thinking about it now makes my stomach a bit queasy.) Needless to say, my baby had to do with saltine crackers until we got back to the hotel and I fixed her a bottle. I ended up not eating but a few bites because of the salt factor and the grease — pretty disgusting.
I asked my husband for a bite of the catfish. It was pretty bland. Didn’t seem like they seasoned the breading used for the catfish. We’re from the South, so we know how good fried catfish dinners should taste, and this dish was pretty subpar. My dad enjoyed his steak, though — and I tasted a bite of it too and it was pretty tender. So at least one of us at the table had a good experience.
Overall, pretty disappointing for a place that’s supposed to be a nice, local joint. I really love finding cool local restaurants, and even though we ended up buying a house close to this place, I don’t think we’re gonna go back anytime soon.

We had a large party recently for a family celebration. The food was very poor quality, and many of us got the wrong items. Summary of problems include: cold food, very poor quality, bad taste. I will say that the service was good but I simply won’t be back. I’ve called the restaurant 3 times asking to talk with the owner, as I would like to give him/​her constructive feedback. Unfortunately they haven’t returned my calls. This used to be a nice place but has clearly went way down hill. I would recommend Rounders Too that is nearby for a mom pop feel with great quality.

What has happened to an old favorite? My wife and I visited for lunch on a beautiful Saturday. We arrived about 1 p.m. and found a table on the deck. The Hornet’s Nest has been a favorite of ours for some time. However, this visit left much to be desired. My wife’s salad — the Nest salad — was just some iceberg lettuce and not much else. I ordered the chicken livers. Service was poor at best. There was one group of 13 in the bar area, but other than that, the restaurant wasn’t busy. An HOUR and 10 minutes later, our food came out. Instead of livers, I got livers and gizzards. The server was nice enough to comp my two beers. But we had to ask more than once for sweetener for our tea. We also had to ask for salt and pepper. We used the men’s and women’s restrooms. Both were in need of servicing either because the trash cans were overflowing or because paper towels were non-​existent. We hope this is not indicative of what the Nest is now since ownership changed about two or three years ago. We look forward to another visit where we hope our experience will be much different.

Always great food and atmosphere for a good price. This place is well worth the stop if your in Evansville looking for a good family restaurant.

It’s a neighborhood bar & grill… nothing fancy although they have been making several improvements in the past months, mostly to the bar area. Friendly staff & everyday specials. Great place to sit on the patio during summer nights. With a pitcher of beer!

Pros:
Excellent juicy burgers
Ice cold beer
Prime rib has a good flavor, even if it has a little too much gristle and fat for the price.
Cons:
1. Cost
2. Cost
3. Cost
This place is good, but its not THAT good. Most dishes are priced about 30% higher than you can find at other quality restaurants around the Evansville area.

I had some chicken thing with lemon sauce on it with wild rice. Just wasn’t worth it, maybe their prime rib was more their specialty.

Was told to go there by a few locals who rave about the fried chicken. Place is a wide open, loud, very informal looking local restaurant with a more diverse menu than I would’ve expected.
A variety of steaks, and other meals you wouldn’t expect to see as I thought the chicken would be the lead meal offering.
We were told the onion rings we’re great. They were okay… normal sized rings with a mildly sweet batter. A chipotle or some kind of sauce would have helped, but the rings weren’t bad.
Ordering the chicken was a bit difficult. Either a half or quarter chicken in white meat or dark meat. So half /​white would get you the breast, and a wing. Wife ordered a quarter white and she got a breast and a wing. Same piece count, but mine cost more??? order would get you a thigh and a leg. …very confusing… What is a quarter of a chicken anyway? Dark, white, waitress told me I could mix dark and white so I got a breast and a leg. since I ordered a Half I was, and still am confused. Recommended side was mashed potatoes (and they came in the same styrofoam type cup that KFC serves.
The chicken was very moist, but the pieces were from small chicken. The skin was very crisp and darker than I am used too, but i think the color was from seasoning in the fried batter, as it was a bit spicy (different but good),
My only complaint would be the amount of chicken you get. Since the pieces were relatively small the feeling was the meal was a bit overpriced.
Coke products are served, Yeah !!!
Service was excellent and we were visited often with refills and «check ins».
All in all, I would go back again. And I would recommend it to those of you who like fried food. But it’s not a date type of place, unless maybe your date is very very casual.

Cute place, nice staff, a little too much cigarette smoke (because I am from Detroit and there’s no smoking anywhere in MI and I’m used to that) but highly recommend it for a fun, hole in the wall place with great food!

One of the greatest breaded chicken sandwiches I’ve ever had.

Great food, great atmosphere, great service. The only downside is the smoking. You cannot eat there without smelling the cigarette smoke.

Recently moved several miles north to be closer to work, and this place is just around the block. Reminds me of places I used to go in upper Michigan, the old school grandmas restaurant vibe. I had the prime rib and the gf had fried chicken with a twice baked potato. Prime rib had a lot of fat on it, but it was a huge slice with good flavor, and I’ve certainly paid more for a worse prime rib. Fried chicken was eh but you rarely see a twice baked potato anymore so that has to be worth something. This is really a 3 star place, but I think it’s worth going to again so that bumped it up to 4.

Not much to say, it’s southern Indiana, one of the only joints around if you don’t want to drive to town. Standard bar fair but not bad, wait staff is friendly, drinks were nice and strong gotta like that. Jukebox is good, and if you like Karaōke, they have that on the weekends on one side of the place.

Fried chicken. Cheese cubes. Martinis.
The atmosphere is a little dated, but the food is pretty damn good. Very traditional, very casual. Pure Southern Indiana.