Dale's Restaurant, Florence

Went to Dale's for the first time in many years. It has dropped off considerably. The bread that is brought to your table consists of flat strips which aren't very tasty and are somewhat awkward to handle. My ribeye was not trimmed of the stringy fat which is hard to cut and was somewhat overcooked for medium rare. The comments about the 70's themed decor are spot on. The service is very professional and attentive but food is disappointing. This place really needs to be brought up to date. Next time I want steak I'll go to George's.

In my opnion this is the one of my favorite spots to eat. Anytime I have a special occasion that involves going out to eat, this is the place I pick. The food was and always has been more than wonderful. This place compares to Mortans and Old hickory in the opery land hotel in nashville. The only complaint that I have is it is a little too dark to read the menu if you have bad eyesite. The staff and service is wonderful. Definately a very special place for me.

A very strange restaurant. Standard bar appetizers, fried mushrooms, jalapeño poppers and cheese sticks, which would be fine but they are definitely not made in house but your typical frozen variety. The salad a plate of dried iceberg and a single cherry tomato for garnish with whatever bottled dressing you request. The French Onion soup was not French Onion soup. It was beef base (jarred beef stocked) and water with a little minced onion and boxed croutons thrown in... it tastes like MSG and Salt. There was no broiled cheese crust like a French Onion soup must have. My T-Bone was VERY dry.... i'm almost 100% positive it was precooked and reheated upon order. The baked potato was dry and gummy....most definitely cooked the previous day and reheated in the microwave. I do not recommend this place for anyone of any palette.

From the moment you walk in the door you know Dale's has seen better days. The tired 70's steak house intererior isn't the only thing that needs refreshing. Once seated at your table you will notice the cloth and the silverware should have retired long ago. But it does set the proper expectation for your food. The menu is lack lustre and gives no indication that you can expect anything other than what could be found elsewhere for much less. I did settle on the 14oz ribeye with soup and steamed broccoli. I asked for it pittsburg rare. The first thing to arrive was a basket of limp bread sticks, rather bread flats. They were neither warm nor particularly tatsy, which for the price you might expect something baked in house or at least fresh. The soup was delivered soon after. I have never had French Onion soup with such a salty bite, if you can get past the salt it does have a good flavor but lacks any depth. (I suspect they use boullion and not stock as their base) I expected the croutons to have a toasty crispness but these appear to have been soaking in the soup under a hot lamp for at least an hour. Do not expect a nice baked gruyere or provolne topping your soup either, it's not going to happen. The salad was cool and fresh, no complaints, a basic lettuce and tomatoe. When the steak was delivered was when the realization sunk in - Dale's is living on reputation only!! This cut of meat looked as though it came from wal-mart, it was big and flat and round. I expect a $27 cut to be 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick and trimmed. I had also asked for pittsburg rare (nicely charred outside with cool red inside), what I got was medium rare. The taste and texture were alright but nothing spectacular. The staff are dressed professionaly and conduct themselves well. The service was efficient but not attentive. The staff seemed to be going through the motions, lacking excitement or enthusiasm for their job. No coffee or desert tray was offered after the meal and I didn't want to ask about an after dinner drink. All in all the experience was not worth repeating. If I want to pay the price for a steak I will go to Pauli's in Huntsville or to Morton's in Nashville. So the lesson here is save your money or for equivalent food at a lower cost, go to Legends, Outback or any of the five or six steak places in town. If you are still set on spending $40-$50 a head take a trip to the 360 or Bronzeback Grill at the Marriott.

Love the the food, priced to high

I've always enjoyed my visits to Dale's. I live in Nashville, TN and organize a golf outing each year for the guys I work with. We have a tradition of eating at Dale's on the Friday evening before our golf begins the following morning. Eating at Dale's is one of the highlights of the trip.

The cost is way to expensive for the food. You would be a lot better off to go and buy a bottle of Dale Steak Sauce and prepare it at home!

I think Dale's gets a lot of hype that is undeserved, in my opinion. Great atmosphere, great service. If only the food matched it all. I had always been told they have great steak. But, I felt it was subpar based on other steaks I have had in the area (Logan's Roadhouse comes to mind). We usually get the shiskabob and while a good taste, it nothing out of the ordinary. My ex-wife and I went there many times, mostly for the onion soup which I find very good. All in all, we had good experiences there. But, there are other restaurants in the area that, while not getting the publicity, are better.

The best food and service that I have ever had. It could be the best dinning I have ever had.