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Elba's Golden Steer - Steakhouse in Aurora, Illinois

Elba's Golden Steer

4.5 (696 reviews)

7635 Roosevelt Rd, Forest Park, IL 60130

Steak house
Bar
Restaurant

About Elba's Golden Steer - steak house in Aurora, Illinois

Classic chophouse offering steaks, ribs & signature French Onion soup & martinis, since 1969.

Customer Review Summary

Elba's Golden Steer is a nostalgic, old-school steakhouse known for its prime rib and classic atmosphere, though opinions on the food and service have become mixed recently. Several patrons praised the French onion soup, baked clams, and steak options as delicious, while others reported disappointing experiences, citing issues with food quality and service. Many reviews indicated a need for updates within the restaurant, with some claiming the interior appears dirty. Guests have noted inconsistent service, including failures to deliver orders and slow responses to requests. While some diners enjoyed their meals and praised specific waitstaff, others felt the food had lost its previous quality, describing it as flavorless or poorly prepared. Overall, the restaurant has a history of good food and ambiance, but recent visits suggest a decline that has left some customers uncertain about returning.

Key Features

Service options

  • Outdoor seating
  • Takeout
  • Dine-in

Highlights

  • Fast service
  • Great cocktails

Popular for

  • Dinner
  • Solo dining

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair accessible entrance
  • Wheelchair accessible parking lot
  • Wheelchair accessible restroom
  • Wheelchair accessible seating

Offerings

  • Alcohol
  • Beer
  • Cocktails
  • Coffee
  • Comfort food
  • Hard liquor
  • Vegetarian options
  • Wine

Dining options

  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • Seating

Amenities

  • Bar onsite
  • Restroom
  • Wi-Fi

Atmosphere

  • Casual
  • Cozy
  • Historic

Crowd

  • Family-friendly
  • Groups

Planning

  • Dinner reservations recommended
  • Accepts reservations

Payments

  • Credit cards
  • Debit cards

Children

  • Good for kids
  • High chairs
  • Kids' menu

Parking

  • Free parking lot
  • Free street parking

Customer Reviews

Rating Distribution

4.5 out of 5
5
488
4
122
3
43
2
10
1
33
Based on 696 reviews

Lisa Graziano

1 month ago

This place is awesome old school steak house❤️ est 1969 Love the soup, salad and potato with the dinner entree! Had baked clams, de longhe mushrooms, and fried giant shrimp for apps. The prime rib was amazing!

Becky Hart

1 year ago

I have passed this restaurant for over 40 years and never went in to eat. I decided for my friend's birthday we would give it a try. The restaurant is small, and needs to be completely updated. We sat in the bar area because the dining area was so extremely loud with people talking. The bartender was also working as the waitress and came over to take out drinks orders. We both ordered a beer. They do give you a large loaf of bread and butter which is nice but our bread wasn't soft on the inside and would have been nice if it was warm. I ordered the French onion soup and the steer burger with Swiss cheese and no bun while my friend ordered the beef soup and ribs. We both got salads that came with the meal. The salad had very little to it one large crouton (which was delicious) one small piece of tomato, one slice of cucumber and very little lettuce. The French onion soup was delicious I loved it but for $8 thought it would come in a larger bowl. My meal came out wrong as the waitress brought me a small round piece of meat with juice. I was very confused. So I explained that I ordered a burger well done with Swiss cheese she thought I ordered the steak burger. Not sure how that piece of meat is considered a burger either and it cost $32 compared to my $13.99 burger. Anyway, they took the meat back and eventually I did get my burger. It was just okay and the fries were not good. No flavor to either item. My friend said his ribs were good but I wondered if he was just being polite because it was his birthday meal (he didn't eat many of them). After dinner the waitress did bring a complimentary birthday slice of cheesecake which was super nice of her. The cheesecake was a good New York style cheesecake. Overall, the place is nostalgic and I am glad I finally tried it. I'm not sure if I would go back.

Jerry Camacho

1 year ago

This establishment has been around for many years, it always had top notch service, amazing pastas, awesome prime rib and premium quality steaks cooked to perfection. Sad to say, not anymore. The place looks filthy and the whole interior is in a desperate need of an update. Sadly, the food quality and service have also dropped since my last visit. Their steaks are just ok, and service is hit or miss. You constantly have to ask the staff for water, hot sauce, steak sauce and other items. They even forgot the order of one person in our party, we were all almost done with our meal while, one of us was still patiently waiting for their dinner which never came out, so they took it off the ckeck. I hope that they can turn things around, and fast.

Donald Kamm

This review is painful for me as I have been coming here for years. As time passes, I watch the place go from a place with a supper club atmosphere that had decent food to a shell of what it was. Our last visit was our LAST visit. We used to rave about the French Onion soup which has become flavorless broth with scant onion and the cheese has obviously been downgraded because it wasn't even melted on top last week. The salad was the highlight and it is a very plain salad with a slice of onion and a half wedge of tomato on iceberg lettuce with some croutons. I had the Friday Night special - It was the Prime Rib. Prim may be the cut, but the grading on the beef had to be select or worse if it goes lower. Absolutely flavorless, chewy, and dry. It was medium rare. My dinner partner had the Greek chicken which seems to have been reduced in size and taste. When they sat it down, he immediately said "Did they give me the Greek chicken? Its never looked like this before." Then he tasted it. Flavorless and dry. They serve a potato side with it and how can you mess up a potato? They baked was undercooked and hard, the cottage fries were undercooked oily discs or hard potato. I knew they sold it last year, but the new owner clearly is trying to take a loss and write it off I guess. Another great restaurant gone after we had eaten there monthly for four years. Hoping we can find something else nearby.

HoneyTea Lovely

The only problem i had was that we got served a thin cheap steak and everyone else that was there gotten thick amazing steak for the same price we paid. Our waitress felt bad and decided to order us dessert on her. Idk if it because we was the only black couple there but the food wasn’t what we expected.

Regina Reif

9 months ago

We had our monthly dinner club here and were very pleased we tried this!! Delicious food. Great service. Reasonable prices for the food we got! And the ambiance was old school great- Highly recommend!!

Crystal Ortiz

My partner and I came here for w celebratory dinner, and we left beyond satisfied! He got the filet mignon and I got the Takis medallion and both dishes were flavorful, the meat was super juicy and tender, and the sides were great accompaniments. And our margaritas? Delicious! Will definitely be back!

bepos1luv ok

1 year ago

Old school vibe with great service and food. Down to earth people & enjoyable ambience. If you get Sharon as your waitress, you struck gold. For starters, Scallops De Jonghe was succulent. Soup, salad and bread was fresh and filling. Entree, Ribeye was tasty and good and Steercheeseburger was juicy and delicious. Cosmos on point.

Location

Contact Information

Hours of Operation

Friday 3–11 PM
Monday 3–10 PM
Saturday 3–11 PM
Sunday Closed
Thursday 3–10 PM
Tuesday 3–10 PM
Wednesday 3–10 PM

Price Range

$30–50