The Beefeater – it pretty much sums itself up in its name and it’s damn proud of it too! It is Medicine Hat’s premier “beef eating” establishment and probably one of the most expensive places you can eat at within the city (save M Grill and DeVine). I maybe should reword that for some people, it is an expensive place to eat if you are going there for a really nice cut of steak, such as a Filet Mignon or sirloin cut – but really you get what you pay for. Otherwise though, there is a standard selection of chicken, seafood, and other beef meals (ribs, burgers) that are reasonably priced and like I said, if you want the nice stuff, you’re going to pay for it. I even noticed a $10 hamburger – I was kind of intrigued since it seemed quite reasonably priced for the type of place. Throw the $1 salad and soup bar into the mix, and it’s actually a pretty good deal if you’re looking for a “fancy-ish” night-out.

Let’s talk about the soup and salad bar. There’s normally two soups available, piping hot and both delicious. Usually they serve a beef soup (such as beef barley) and an other alternative soup (such as french onion). Both are delicious, and the beef variety of soups they serve seem very “home-made” in the sense that it seems like they cooked the beef themselves and thrown it into the mix – this isn’t condensed soup grade beef (like Campbell’s), it is prepared in the kitchen. There’s a huge selection of salads: lettuce, macaroni, 6 different dressings with all the fixings. This is all for $1, unlimited servings, granted you buy an actual meal. Continue reading…

I’m writing this review based on my very first experience there, which may not be a good thing to do – I might follow it up when I go next, but my first impression of the place is really good. I loved everything about it, and my Filet Mignon (we went all out) was amazing, as was the soup/salad bar. The ambiance and environment was a bit too “traditional” for my tastes, as the tables seemed to be set in a traditional manner, where chairs and tables seem out of place in certain areas instead of the booths  and sectioned tables we see in modern restaurants. I did; however, love the giant grill encased in a window for all to see the succulent steaks being prepared by a chef.

It was actually my first time ever eating a fillet cut steak and I wasn’t ever even aware that steak could be that tender. It was literally like a hamburger (in terms of tenderness – not taste). I mistakenly got mine “medium rare” but later, in a mix-up got my father’s “medium” instead – but I was glad I did. He explained to me (this is going into a bit of meat talk now), you should always order a “cook” above what you want, that way if it’s over it is still okay, and if it’s under, it’s the way you want it, but if you get a “medium rare” you might be just getting a very red (bloody) peice of meat if it’s any less.

I would definately recommend this place for the beef-enthusiast or a newcomer (like myself) to fine cuts of steaks.