Tad’s Steaks

Staying true to my humble self, I too have taken a bite of Tad’s steaks when I was a kid at their 34^th location. I don’t remember how the steak tasted but I’m sure it was good (based on a kid’s taste bud). Plus it’s always a joy to have steak every now and then.
The question now is, «Will I make a return visit to try out the steaks again after so many years and after reading these reviews?».
Why not… this time around, I’d probably drag my son with me. But we both have to be really, really, really hungry!

I’ve been going to Tad’s Steakhouse since I was a little kid and it has never failed me. This place is far from fancy or upscale; however, their food is sooo delicious. You get what you pay for. Their garlic bread and baked potato is amazing! Make sure you say «YES» when they ask you if you want onions, lol. The only bad thing I have to say about Tad’s is I wish they would do a better job keeping the restaurant clean (bathroom especially!) and get rid of the ‘lunch line’ you must join to place your order.
I would never say NO to this place unless one day, god forbid, I get food poisoning or something, lol.

This used to be a good place. I think the quality of the steak has gone down tremendously over the years. I guess for the price, it is not bad.

This place is gross and dirty… flies everywhere and the steaks are terrible… thin n frozened. I asked for medium well n got a thin rough price of meat… Gross. Mash potatos were instant fro
d box. The salad was left out and served to u by the cashier who’s also handling money… Flies everywhere. the worst 40 I’ve ever spent for 2 ppl

I don’t understand the deal with the negative comments, but I’ve been coming here since I was little with my father. It’s a really simple neighborhood steakhouse, nothing franchise quality, like a tfig or charlie brown, about it. Get in line, tell the cook what you want, sit down and enjoy. The T-​bone steak always satisfies, and the garlic bread you use to sop up the gravy in the end is heaven. If you want to experience a real NY steakhouse, this is the place.

For reasons I do not know I was convinced by my mother and her old memories of the place to come here. I don’t even eat meat but I wanted to please. The place is done like a lunch line, where you pick the number combo you want and shout it out to the cook. They had salmon and shrimp but I opted for the shrimp and potatoes. Since my aunt was with us and visiting I decided to pay for her. Steak combo, shrimp combo and 2 beers totaled to 50 something bucks. Are you kidding me??? I could understand if the food was at least decent, if there was a wait staff or a nice area to sit in but this place didn’t even come close. The area to sit in looked like a broken down fast food joint, dimly lit and no decorations whatsoever.
I will never be dragged to this place again. Thanks Mom!

I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and it’s still just as good as I remember! Nothing fancy, get on line, scream your order to the cook, grab a tray and eat, drink and be merry! From the ribeye steak to the garlic bread to the baked potato… oh my! My plate is cleared once I’m done with it all. I’ve brought several people here who have never heard of it and ended up loving it. Hope you do too. You won’t regret it!

Had the tbone steak with onions and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, salad and cheesecake.
The tbone was OK. Nothing to write home about. The service was pretty swift considering how busy they were and that each steak is cooked to order.
The mash was ok. The garlic bread was extra buttery and crispy. The salad was ordinary. The cheesecake tasted like a mousse, not a rich and creamy cheesecake I was expecting.
Overall, it was a LOT of food but not extremely tasty. Eat here for the novelty of the joint, not cause you want really good eats.
As far as the dining area, it was dingy and dark. I just scarfed my food and left.

Get the tasting menu. (Yeah, right.)
Seriously, I was dragged there by a friend who wanted me to buy him the surf ‘n turf special for lunch – like really? We just met; you’re wearing out your welcome here. Somehow he felt the 15% off coupons he had would make it worthwhile.
$ 18.95 for lunch? I never even spend $ 18.95 for myself on lunch. I was there with my $ 4.95 fruit platter – since, as another reviewer mentioned, the vegetables all have butter on them – and really not lovin’ it.
McDonald’s is a better lunch option than this crap.

I remember going to Tad’s in the 80’s and 90’s when I was a kid. Maybe steakhouses were not as evolved back then (IE Sizzler, Beef Steak Charlies and Panderosa) because I remember Tad’s being good.
I went today in the evening (6:00 PM) after not going for 20 years. The food and service was mediocre. The line was long and slow moving (took 45 min). The cooks were friendly but I’ve never been called «Papi» so many times. «You want mash potatoes Papi?, Steak Sauce Papi?»
I asked for the NY Strip steak to be cooked medium and it was tough and full of gristle. The onions and corn were soaked in butter. The garlic bread tasted like a salty leather shoe.
The entire meal including the sides without a drink was $ 19 which is too expensive for the quality of food served. I should have gone to Twins Pub (34^th and 8^th) and had a much better steak for the same price. It’s a classic NYC tourist trap with all the unhealthy trimmings. Stay away Papi.

Ive been coming to Tads since I was a child. My mom would bring my brother and I here to eat after school shopping at Macys. I always remember it being crowded and staying on a long line and nothing changed. My mother, aunt and I had just finished hitting up a 1 day sale at Macys and went to Tads to eat. Nothing changed, the inside looked the same and so was that long ass line. The prices have also crept up but what you expect from a rinky dink steak house. I didnt see any bugs or anything creepy, thank God!!! LOLOL. Im not going to front though the food is good. I love their steaks and its fulfilling. Its a cool spot for some quick food on the go.

The last time I went to Tad’s (34^th & 7^th) will be the last time I EVER go.
Let’s start from the beginning. Something about this place — every location — always gave me gross vibes… like dirty/​cheap fast food renditions of steak. But then I had a boss who took me to lunch here sometimes. Free steak = Ok, sure = suddenly it’s a little more appetizing.
Now if you read my profile, you’d see that I have champagne taste on a beer budget. Infact, I make a point of always getting the best quality for the most affordable price in this town, cuz I often find that times are hard on (my) boulivard. Enter Tad’s whenever I get a «casual» taste for steak and can’t afford that Peter Luger/​Ruth Chris Lifestyle.
Don’t get me wrong, the ambiance and everything about Tad’s gives me gross vibes. But when your mind is dead set on steak, and your budget is the equivalent to a meal at a diner, it sometimes hits the spot… you just tune out the fact that it feels like a run-​down fast food joint in everyway…
The food is a a step or two below mediocre. But that’s not why I’m writing this review tonight. I’m writing it because I came across the camera phone pictures I took when I stepped inside the bathroom at Tad’s the last time I was there. Um, ghetto isn’t even a close to an adequate description. When you have roaches CHILLIN in the middle of a dingy run-​down floor like they own the place (obviously used to runnin things up in there) and the whole bathroom smells like used diapers, baby changin area had poop on the table, and the sinks, plumbing looked like a old Key Food/A&P grocery store bathroom, the place really needs to be reported. You can’t tell me they don’t know about how jacked it is in there. EXHIBIT A — pls refer to the photos I have of the 2 of the larger roaches that held down their territory in the middle of the bathroom floor!
Now what I do have to tell you is that the service was on point and just as it should’ve been. I calmly reported the situation, and my opinion of the situation to the manager after I got myself away from that bathroom without losing my lunch out of disgust. He asked to see my photos on my phone. He immediately sent someone up to attend to the situation, and apologized, acknowledged that it was disgusting. He was cool and really so was I about it, (I could’ve gotten loud and acted a fool) but I simply felt I’d give dude the opportunity to address it right first, before I resort to getting Brooklyn on anyone that day. I mean there’s really no disputing it anyone, so he didn’t have much of a choice. And I got absolutely no attitude — the mgr even refunded my meal! Which was awesome… I’m tempted to give them another star for that. But I can’t really, because then I’d be saying service can somehow makeup for roaches and poop assaulting customers in the bathroom. I know that mgr kid has no control over the fact that the dirtbag upper mgmt is rakin in cake at a primo location like this, but can’t part with a dollar or two to fix up and exterminate that nasty deplorable bathroom (on so many levels-​wow)! It’s one of those situations where they KNOW, they just don’t GIVE A F — and it’s insulting. So, FOH– I can’t endorse it… I may be on a beer budget, but dayumm, I still got standards, man!!!

Very reasonable prices for large portions and delicious food. Convenience self-​service setting, menu has plenty to choose from.
great for a good group of friends to have a nice dinner after a long day. The long lines reflect the worthiness of the food!

Not as bad as people are saying…
I mean its no upscale steakhouse, But I usually never leave this place dissapointed. I go there for the grilled salmon which is pretty darn good, The steaks are decent for the price… When I am starved I come here!

The naysayers are nitpicking a New York institution. New Yorkers do NOT avoid this place like the plague, and I, for one, am glad to see some of the vestiges of old New York still hanging around. There was a pretty serious line when I went in there, so apparently they’re not doing too badly. Yes, there’s a somewhat ghet-​to aspect to Tad’s, it’s low on service and décor, and no, the food isn’t five star, but where else in New York can you get a filet mignon, baked potato and garlic bread for a mere $ 13.99? Oh, and yes, the salad is quite tasty and fresh.
I love Rod (RIP), but comparing this to Ruth’s Chris or Peter Luger’s is like comparing Boone’s Farm to La Grande Dame. Why?
It’s a throwback to the days when there was real porn in Time Square and all yer NY grit came with a layer of grit on it. Ah, thems were the days.

Not bad, but not great. I used to see this place all the time around SF and wanted to try it. It certainly looked good from the window.
I don’t think it was as horrible as everyone says it is.
The thin steak reminds me of the $ 5 steak dinners I’ve seen in vegas at weird hours of the morning to draw people into casinos. It’s also like the steak you’d get at an ihop or a diner.
Is it amazing? No.
Is it a decent price meal? Yes.
For 8 bucks you get the steak, baked potato, salad, a huge piece of garlic bread.
Beware, everything else is extra. They don’t tell you that, but that’s how they make extra money.
Sauteed onions for your steak are an extra buck.
Also the tomato on the salad is another extra buck.

This place is terrible. I think my father had to put a pound of salt on his steak to try and give it some flavor.
The food… to put it quite simply… sucks.
The atmosphere feels like a cafeteria. The service is disconnecting. No one makes you feel like they’re happy you chose their establishment. It’s more like «what you want, ok, now leave». Just like your high school cafeteria.
This is NY we are talking about. There are plenty places to go for a quick meal so avoid this place. Perhaps it’s because I’m a New Yorker, I know one doesn’t deserve anything like this in the heart of Manhattan.
I would say only go to Tad’s if you are on the verge of passing out and every where else looks packed.

Ate at Tad’s as a young adult. when I wasn’t really into food all that much. Went back with my husband trying to recapture what we thought was so cool about this place way back when.
Obviously, both he and I had been beaten with the stupid stick and that’s why we ate there. Most recent visit, we walked in and ordered steaks off of the picture menu. Were told «No» by the non english speaking fry cook. Everything we pointed to was a no-​no. Finally I asked what we could possibly order. Cookie pointed to probably the last steak on the Pic-​To-​Gram. We agreed and asked for it to be done rare.
After watching our steaks scream on the grill and begging cookie to «PLEASE STOP», we got our shoe leather with a smile. I was so disparaged I purchased a plastic wine glass with a red «wine beverage» inside and plastic wrap over the top. Yummo –NOT.
Many cool places to eat in. this is not among them. Possibilities are endless in the Big Apple. Go elsewhere.

This place just feels so ghetto when you go in here. Spanish music is the tune played here. The prices are definitely cheap for steaks but you get what you paid for. The steaks are so thin and lack flavor. The garlic bread is just crap. The only thing I could trust was the baked potato. I mean I don’t think you can get that wrong. I will not come here ever again. What a waste of time!

How dreadful.
That’s all I can say about the decline of this once decent steakhouse. without aging myself, my first memories of this place were from when I was about 7 or 8 years old. Whenever mom was feeling flush and was in a good mood, we’d catch a train on over to Tad’s and have ourselves a good old time. The food was always fresh and tasty. We’d head home with a full belly and smiles on our faces. This went on for a good few years.
Mom and I were reminiscing about it one day, and my daughter and brother wanted to know what the big deal was, so I said what the hell, let’s just go, my treat. Off we went, and whoa.
It looks like there’s been several changes of ownership over the years, and now it’s part of Riese Restaurants (or has it always been?) Anyhow, no matter who owns it, they suck at maintaining the quality.
It was just… not good. The «service», the food, nothing. Way to ruin a girl’s memories.