Sterling’s Famous Steak, Seafood, & Salad Bar

I used to eat here a lot. Loved their french toast. That was until I saw the waitresses black hair strand in my food. Haven’t been back since. They need to have better sanitation monitoring.

I would say this is average at best. I ordered a club sandwich, side salad and a soft drink and it was much more expensive than I thought it should be. Very nice waiter but nothing special about this place in my opinion. As someone else said, it’s kind of a local Denny’s.

Excellent breakfast. Even the crab eggs sterling is surprisingly delicious. Always great service and good breakfast. I am however highly disappointed in the ketchup choice. I don’t know of anyone who would choose hunts ketchup given a choice. I would gladly pay an extra 25 cents for my meal to have good Heinz ketchup. I could also use a little less Fox News, but the great mimosas make up for that.

Menu is large and over whelming. Salad bar is expensive even if you get it with a meal, but that did not discourage me from getting it. They were really packed on Sunday morning serving breakfast until two. I did return a few times while working near by. If you want a decent meal and a clean restaurant this is a good place.

Staff is nice and responsive.
Menu is way too large, meaning food quality is inconsistent and lower quality.
The interior/​exterior of the building needs improvement.
I just get the burger, it is decent, but the rest of the menu I have tried is not very good, including the clam chowder.

In town on business. Went there for lunch and went back for dinner, but mainly because it was next to the hotel. Best salad bar I have seen in a while. Service was great!

A modern diner that will never leave you hungry!
There is something bizarre about Sterlings. When you walk in the restaurant looks like you will be served dine steak by candle-​light and have a band serenade you and your date. However when you are seated you notice the waitresses are much more akin to what you would find at a diner. I don’t mean that in a grizzly way, but in that they have the same attire and carry very diner-​esk coffee pots.
For our meal (we had brunch) we both ordered Omelets. I had the Arizona Omelet with hash browns and toast. Additionally I ordered a black coffee. Again the diner aspect came back as the dish wear and food looked straight out of a diners kitchen, if more healthy and less greasy. Overall though o was really impressed with the food and left feeling full and happy!
Lastly it would be wrong not to mention one aspect that makes Sterlings just a little bit more special than the rest of the restaurants you’ll visit: the manager. Although I didn’t catch his name, the manager came by our table twice asking how our meal and experience was and was actually the one to refill our coffee at one point. It goes a long way for me to see a manager who is involved in the customer experience. He is the reason this otherwise three star restaurant earned a four from me.

I am only writing 2 instead of 1 star because the server was OK.
The macaroni for kids was served HOT! Kids food should be cooled enough they don’t burn their mouth!
I ordered the rib eye. It was very high priced. By far the blandest, worst steak I have ever had in a restaurant. The baked potato was dry and again very bland.
Being out of town, I would expect to eat good food for that price. Will not be coming back

We came in for a weirdly early dinner. Restaurant was fairly empty due to the hour. Service was great. Food was what I expected it to be. Filling, well prepared, and tasty. Like a higher end Shari’s or Perkin’s. My husband had the snow crab fettuccine alfrefo. Should have been dodgy but the sauce was actually great. I got steak and chicken because I wanted safe food and I wasn’t disappointed. They aren’t going to win a James Beard award but if I wanted something hot and comforting I would absolutely come back.

There was a very strong odor of cat urine inside of the restaurant. The salad bar was pretty good but my steak was over cooked and had no seasoning. I could not enjoy my meal due to the overwhelming smell of cat pee! We will not be going back there.

Amazingly bland small portions and bad coffee! Frozen veggie Denver omelette has never been so bad!

Its been a while since I gave 5 stars. (lol)
The reason being is because out of all the times I’ve been here, it has been amazing! Nothing has gone wrong, my order always turned out right, my server was always attentive.
Last night, I tried their Steak and Salad Bar (All you can eat salad bar + 7oz Steak with one side dish for around $ 11) Their Salad Bar is very very nice, there’s a lot of variety. There’s 6 different types of soup, some fruits, about 6 different types of dressing as well. I just loved it. I will be coming back for either that again or their Lobster and Steak deal.

Like the previous review I was blown away by the SALAD BAR!
It has all the usual salad fixings as well :
6 different soups
Tortilla chips with awesome spicy fresh tasting salsa
Fresh cut carrots!
Baby corn, pickled beets, diced radishes, peas, snap peas, fresh cut cilantro, imitation crab, cheeses, crackers, nuts, croutons, fruit, pudding and on and on…
The place was spotless and cozy.
Unfortunately we were disappointed with our steaks– no flavor whatsoever but I will return to try the rest of the menu and its worth it just for that great salad bar!

Large menu, but the food sucks.
Booths and tables are too close together. The people around us were listening to our conversation.
Did not feel to hot the next day. The staff was very responsive.

This is the original of the three Sterling’s restaurants in the Tri-​Cities. All of them are good, but this is my favorite.
The food off of the menu is above average compared to similar local and even chain restaurants in the area. Where Sterling’s really excels is it’s service, cleanliness, and salad bar.
I’ve never had bad service at any Sterling’s restaurants. There seems to be low turnover which means that they staff is treated well. The restaurant is always clean and welcoming.
Beyond the menu, there is Sterling’s stellar salad bar. This ain’t your grandpa’s salad bar, this thing is extensive. From multiple, delicious soups to salads to tons of fresh fruit, the salad bar is a meal in itself and often is for me. They have a great deal that consists of a steak, a baked potato, and all-​you-​can-​eat salad bar for something like $ 13 or $ 14. It is the best value in town.
If you want some good, affordable food with great service at a clean, local restaurant, check out Sterling’s.

I am giving this place five stars for the following reasons, in no particular order:
1. Salad bar includes noodle salad (s) … I could stop right there…
2. Service is consistently fast and friendly /​my friends and I always get a table quick.
3. Food quality and presentation meets /​exceeds my humble expectations.
4. Prices are reasonable all around.
5. I always walk out of this place with a slow gait … really fill the feed bag.
6. Water glass is kept full without the staff being overly intrusive.
7. Ample off street parking.
8. Good lighting /​subdued decore.
9. It is never noisy in this place — patrons are on good behavior apparently.
10. It’s super close to my old downtown Richland office.
I am bringing friends here again this Saturday prior to TriCities marathon. Much gastro enjoyment to be experienced. Cheers!

Not sure how long ago they did it, but their remodeled interior turned out nicely.
But on our last visit we were surprised how spendy Sterling’s has become. Breakfast is much more expensive than rivals Magills and Sherry’s.
Still, food quality and service are adequate, so we do periodically come to Sterling’s when in the Tri-​Cities.

While visiting Dad, this became our go-​to breakfast place. It had to because when we walked in, the whole staff knew him by name. Gotta appreciate that. Breakfast for me was light, just an egg, bacon and toast. But the star was the fruit plate. I can’t believe I live in California and haven’t tasted such a good fruit plate assortment like that before.
The staff are very friendly and are quick to fill drinks and take orders. They always knew to bring green tea to Dad so he never had to ask. I’m glad that he took us here so now when I call him and he tells me he’s eating at Sterling’s, I can totally picture it.
Thanks for the great service and for taking care of Dad. Until my next visit to Richland…

This restaurant has been around a long time, and I have been there a ton. Even worked there a bit in high school when it was called Banana’s. The only thing that really changed when it became Sterling’s was they dropped the fake jungle theme and concentrated even more on good food with consistently good quality and service.
They have a huge menu. Over the years I have tried just about every item and have never been disappointed. Their salad bar is great too, and I love that they have breakfast stuff there in the am. Some times I get their very reasonably priced biscuits and gravy and then get the salad bar to load up on fruit. Helps get rid of the food guilt from indulging in all that yummy gravy.
I have been here at all times of the day and breakfast, lunch, or dinner always keep me happy. Their onion rings are not as good as days past, but everything else is still great.
I have noticed some people mention that they have seen the manager out front, keeping things running smoothly. Sometimes the manager is actually the owner himself, Jim Sterling. I mention him personally only because I admire his work ethic and willingness to give good food at reasonable prices.
Also, a lot of people mentioned all the senior citizens who eat there. Thing about older folks. They are typically traditionalists. If they get consistently good service, good food, and a good price, they will come back. They don’t have money or time to throw away like us young pups, so they won’t patronize a place that doesn’t do a good job. So to me, the constant stream of old folks says «Good food.»
By the way, I have been to the location in Kennewick too, and they are just as good. If you don’t want to come all the way in to Richland, hit up their place on Clearwater.

Sterlings is a bit of an institution in Richland, but up until recently I had never entered its threshold. It’s right on GW Way, and its dining area is right there for everyone to check out (sort of like a dining aquarium), and I always assumed they catered to the blue-​haired crowd by what I saw swimming around inside.
But after hearing rumors of some yummy breakfasts & cute servers, I decided to finally give ‘em a try.
The dining area inside was pretty nice. It’s good at what it is: a traditional «diner-​type» restaurant. We had a booth away from the big aquarium windows, and were able to watch the scene from an elevated perch. As expected, the place was pretty hoppin’ and we were the youngest of the lot, but that’s ok.
Onto the food. It was breakfast time, and I was up for getting my food on. They have many omelet options and I ended up going with one with ham & pineapple – yeah, I’m a Hawaiian pizza type of person. The omelet was on point; one of the highlights though: grits!
Oh yeah, we got some grits up in here — in the Tri-​Cities! I hadn’t had grits in ages, so I was all down for splashin’ some Tabasco down getting my grits on.
Overall, Sterlings is a definite option for getting a good breakfast, experience some local flavor, and have a decent dining experience.