Just had dinner with my husband and daughter. Husband had the "Ugly" steak, 12 ounce ribeye with a blackened peppercorn crust. Very good, says the coating enhances the flavor, doesn't cover it up. Steak was cooked perfectly and very moist. The cup of French onion soup was good with lots of onion pieces, good beef flavor, bread and cheese topping like you'd expect from a bigger serving. The black bean chili also had very good flavor, very thick, and topping of sour cream and green onion slices was great. I had the combination grilled seafood with garlic peppercorn crusted salmon, baked Orange roughy, and two bacon-wrapped shrimp stuffed with cheese. They really have this coating technique mastered. I could still taste the salmon but the coating made it interesting, not overly spicy. Shrimp was also very good, crispy and flavorful. Only negative things were that the low-fat French dressing was not good and the Orange roughy was just okay. We've been here many times for lunch and all the sandwiches we've tried have been great. The onion rings come as a giant serving; you don't need more than one order for the table. Highly recommended!
(4)
Heather M.
Recently under new management, the updates to the menu and cuisine have brought the dining experience to a new level. The service was excellent the past several times I've visited. The ribs were very tender, and large portion sizes. We'll definitely visit often.
(4)
None Y.
I've never had a bad meal here. The salad bar is good. The chicken marsala is good as was their bbq. Service is fast and courteous.
(5)
Jessica M.
I have visited Red Ox as a patron for dinner and small banquet attendee. I would say that there only a few things that I enjoy from here. The salad bar is decent if fresh and the bread sticks are amazing! This is a Macomb favorite for locals as they have many loyal customers but I'm just not a huge fan of the quality of food for price. They are known for the ugly steak which is similar to a Cajun seasoned/blackened steak but between this one and a few others I've tried, I've decided that I can make better steaks at home. A semi-nice sit down experience but it is locally owned and operated which is a redeeming factor.
(3)
Michael D.
I was introduced to the Red Ox by a coworker a while ago and I make a point of stopping for dinner when ever I'm in town. The food is always good and the service fast and friendly. I love the signature "ugly steak" but e erythema I've tried has been delicious.
(5)
Harry W.
The Food is Great. The ugly steak is very well done. Service is attentive and appropriate. The decor is way old fashioned and stuffy, and left me with the feeling that the place hadn't been cleaned in a while.
(3)
Nicky S.
Very good just as I remembered. We went there twice on my visit to WIU. We sat in the supper club one night and the restaurant the other night. Food was really good. The onion rings are wonderful! I highly recommend them. The salad bar is wonderful and the shrimp dinner I ha was great. Service staff was very nice and very good. We never had to ask for anything. My son LOVED the kids chicken meal too. Great place for real good home cooked food.
Had lunch here today for the first time and was very impressed. I knew walking in that it would be good as most diners were over 55 years old. Service was delightful. Menu had lots of choices and there was an extensive salad bar too. Prices were reasonable. A great choice for lunch or diner. Looking forward to eating here again next time I am in town.
(5)
Gregg S.
Cheap food. Lots of it. Not much else to choose from, in this village. I had the 6oz steak, soup, side & dessert for $12.00. Nothing fantastic. Nothing great. Just so-so.
(2)
Alexandria N.
I actually found this place through yelp. My parents came into town and we wanted to try something new. The service was GREAT! They were asking if we needed refills before we even realized we needed refills. Breadsticks were AMAZING! They put Olive Gardens to shame. Food was expensive, but tastey. Food was good, but I gave it four stars because I have had better. Overall not bad!
(4)
Sal H.
Other than the dumbass screaming to his dinner companions that he just bought a box of SHUT UP for his wife, dinner tonight was extraordinary. And actually, the man criticizing his wife just looked like a jerk, and we had a laugh at his expense. But on to more important things... the food and the service. You know how they say that couples start to look and act alike? We order food that way. ME: "I'll have an iced tea, no lemon." HIM: "Same." HIM: "I'll have the raspberry vinaigrette on my salad." (Don't judge. He's full of testosterone!) ME: "Same" Blahx3, right? You get the point. So I bust him a little for copying me on everything, and he calls me a jackass. We are silly that way. That's how we are. Our playfulness was completely opposite of dumbass above. Jackass -- funny. Our waitress, Jennifer, laughed with us. Not in that cloyingly "hahahaha -- I'm hoping for a big tip" kind of laugh. She was just authentic, which is rare to come by. I can be phony, so I know from experience. He orders the Mahogany Pork Chops with french fries. I ask Jennifer to recommend one of the two salmon entrees, so she points me to the Garlic & Peppercorn one. We shared a shrimp cocktail, which has the perfect zing of horseradish. I just moved back to Illinois after 20 years in exile and boy-oh-boy did I miss tomatoes like the ones that came on our salad. You remember, the salad with raspberry vinaigrette? Delish. Croutons were extraneous... didn't really enhance but didn't detract from the meal. When our entrees arrive, neither one of us can speak because it is so good. When we do stop chewing long enough to say something, it is -- "Wow, this is the best pork chop I've had in... " His voice trails off because he's now buzzing about the applesauce. He fills his fork up with chunky apples and insists I try it. Dayum! If my own salmon weren't so spectacular, I would have done that "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT" point you do to sneak something off someone else's plate. But nothing could distract either one of us. To tell you the truth, I may have overplayed that in the past... so he would have seen right through it. He likes his french fries crispy, and I think these had some cornstarch on them to make them, "the most perfect french fries I've ever had in my life." He just turned 40 last week, so I'm giving him hell about it. Forty years of french-fry eating, and these really and truly were the very best. Just as we were talking about how we had to review the restaurant when we got home, the owner or manager came to check in with us. Perfect timing. We're not fussy folks. I'm probably not going to notice if my meat is cut along the grain or across the grain. What we can say is that the food was above our expectations, and the service was charming in every way. So go here. Ask to sit in Jennifer's section if she's working. Order the salmon or the pork chops or the ugly steak. Tip her well. Enjoy your meal. Don't insult your wife. Oh, and we recommend the raspberry vinaigrette.
(5)
Glenn W.
Had a great dinner tonight and excellent...EXCELLENT Service from Wayne tonight. This restaurant sure has picked up on it's game in the last months....Glad we've got'em in Macomb.....
(5)
Carol K.
For a minute, I thought I was up in Wisconsin rather than in Western Illinois, as the Red Ox Restaurant and Lounge has all of the elements of a Wisconsin eatery. You know when you see on the sign "ham loaf" as that day's special that you are not in a big city any more. We stopped in for lunch and and were greeted and seated all within a couple of seconds. Given that this is a small town, everyone knows each other so there were many friendly greetings being sent our way from around the restaurant. The service was great- friendly, helpful and patient. Patient, as the menu is quite large- starting with appetizers and soups, moving to luncheon sandwiches and then there were at least two pages of dinners to look over. I settled on one of the specials of the day which was a turkey croissant served with a cup of the clam chowder. Again- the similarities to Wisconsin Supper Clubs flashed though my head as supper clubs have some of the best comfort foods around. The soup was thick and chunky with big pieces of clams and potatoes and the sandwich flaky and buttery. Perfect for this Fall day. The Red Ox has been owned by Jim Gardner since 1978- in fact he stopped by our table to say hi! It is known in the area for it's steak, pasta and seafood, and according to Jim has an "amazing buffet" on Friday nights and Sunday. I'll have to take his word for it. Definitely not a fancy place but one that I would certainly recommend to anyone in the area looking for some really good food. Oh, and if you see Jim, tell him I said hi!
(4)
Veshal L.
My family and I went there about March or April of 2010. I had the chicken marsala which was a special from the chef, I believe, though I could be mistaken. My son (17 years old) ordered the fettuccine alfredo, my fiance had the ugly steak, and my daughter about 5, ordered something with chicken. Cannot really remember what she had ordered. The food took a while to arrive, but that was fine since we had heard great things about the restaurant and their service. The ugly steak was good, no complaints. I do not recall any problems from my daughter on her meal either. My son however, did not like his alfredo at all, nor the breadsticks. I offered to trade my meal with him. I had taken one bite of my food, and it was excellent. I then went on to eat my son's alfredo, and it was terrible. It tasted like the alfredo sauce out one of those mass-produced jars in the supermarket. The noodles were definitely over done and sticky, almost mush-like. The breadsticks were hard and not warm at all, and tasted like they just had some Lawry's Seasoned Salt sprinkled on them. Normally, I try to just get through a so-so meal and just order something else. However, this was just terrible, that it left me worried about trusting the other non-specials on the menu. I told the waitress that both my son and I did not like the fettuccine alfredo, the noodles were overdone, the breadsticks were hard. I could not understand it because the restaurant's specialty items (the ugly steak, and the special chicken marsala were great). The waitress offered to bring another chicken marsala, but since my family was halfway done with their meal, waiting another 30 minutes for my meal to even come did not appeal. I then asked her to take the alfredo away and to just bring me a side of toast. When she brought the ticket, she told me she took off the fettuccine alfredo, but had to charge me for the toast. I could not believe it. I was hungry, the dish was terrible with overcooked noodles and hard breadsticks, and I was charged for the side of toast. It wasn't the money, but I felt that it should have been complementary after the ordeal.
(2)
Barbara M.
After driving for four hours straight from Chicago with my teenagers to bring my 18 year old to Western Illinois University, we stopped in here for lunch, as we were famished....and boy am I glad I did. This place is really good. We were greeted right away upon entering and seated just as quickly. The menu here is large but the prices are not and the waitstaff were so friendly and answered all of my questions on what to order. All the waitresses wear purple WIU shirts because of course it's a college town and most of them probably go there. My sons of course ordered mozzarella sticks for an appetizer and cheeseburgers and fries for their meal......no big surprise there. I opted for the reuben sandwich with swiss cheese on dark rye with coleslaw on the side. The sandwich was a good size and there was not one bit of fat on that corned beef and I ate every bit. It was the perfect wholesome meal to hit the spot after a long drive. Next time you're planning a trip to Macomb, or just driving through, do yourself a favor and stop by the Red Ox, you won't be sorry.
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Specialities
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch, Dinner Parking : Private Lot Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes
Susan H.
Just had dinner with my husband and daughter. Husband had the "Ugly" steak, 12 ounce ribeye with a blackened peppercorn crust. Very good, says the coating enhances the flavor, doesn't cover it up. Steak was cooked perfectly and very moist. The cup of French onion soup was good with lots of onion pieces, good beef flavor, bread and cheese topping like you'd expect from a bigger serving. The black bean chili also had very good flavor, very thick, and topping of sour cream and green onion slices was great. I had the combination grilled seafood with garlic peppercorn crusted salmon, baked Orange roughy, and two bacon-wrapped shrimp stuffed with cheese. They really have this coating technique mastered. I could still taste the salmon but the coating made it interesting, not overly spicy. Shrimp was also very good, crispy and flavorful. Only negative things were that the low-fat French dressing was not good and the Orange roughy was just okay. We've been here many times for lunch and all the sandwiches we've tried have been great. The onion rings come as a giant serving; you don't need more than one order for the table. Highly recommended!
(4)Heather M.
Recently under new management, the updates to the menu and cuisine have brought the dining experience to a new level. The service was excellent the past several times I've visited. The ribs were very tender, and large portion sizes. We'll definitely visit often.
(4)None Y.
I've never had a bad meal here. The salad bar is good. The chicken marsala is good as was their bbq. Service is fast and courteous.
(5)Jessica M.
I have visited Red Ox as a patron for dinner and small banquet attendee. I would say that there only a few things that I enjoy from here. The salad bar is decent if fresh and the bread sticks are amazing! This is a Macomb favorite for locals as they have many loyal customers but I'm just not a huge fan of the quality of food for price. They are known for the ugly steak which is similar to a Cajun seasoned/blackened steak but between this one and a few others I've tried, I've decided that I can make better steaks at home. A semi-nice sit down experience but it is locally owned and operated which is a redeeming factor.
(3)Michael D.
I was introduced to the Red Ox by a coworker a while ago and I make a point of stopping for dinner when ever I'm in town. The food is always good and the service fast and friendly. I love the signature "ugly steak" but e erythema I've tried has been delicious.
(5)Harry W.
The Food is Great. The ugly steak is very well done. Service is attentive and appropriate. The decor is way old fashioned and stuffy, and left me with the feeling that the place hadn't been cleaned in a while.
(3)Nicky S.
Very good just as I remembered. We went there twice on my visit to WIU. We sat in the supper club one night and the restaurant the other night. Food was really good. The onion rings are wonderful! I highly recommend them. The salad bar is wonderful and the shrimp dinner I ha was great. Service staff was very nice and very good. We never had to ask for anything. My son LOVED the kids chicken meal too. Great place for real good home cooked food.
(4)Dew W.
The pros; Friendly greeter, bartender, and waitress. The salad was fair, the breadsticks were very good. The cons: The grilled salmon "served over dill sauce" was overcooked and dry, there was hardly any dill sauce to speak of. The filet mignon was ordered cooked medium, it was served well done and very dry. They also served a very small baked potato . I could forgive one entrée being slightly overcooked or undercooked but when both entrées are well overcooked it's inexcusable. In the past we've always had a good experience dining at the Red Ox, after our last dining experience we will not be returning.
(2)Marian D.
Had lunch here today for the first time and was very impressed. I knew walking in that it would be good as most diners were over 55 years old. Service was delightful. Menu had lots of choices and there was an extensive salad bar too. Prices were reasonable. A great choice for lunch or diner. Looking forward to eating here again next time I am in town.
(5)Gregg S.
Cheap food. Lots of it. Not much else to choose from, in this village. I had the 6oz steak, soup, side & dessert for $12.00. Nothing fantastic. Nothing great. Just so-so.
(2)Alexandria N.
I actually found this place through yelp. My parents came into town and we wanted to try something new. The service was GREAT! They were asking if we needed refills before we even realized we needed refills. Breadsticks were AMAZING! They put Olive Gardens to shame. Food was expensive, but tastey. Food was good, but I gave it four stars because I have had better. Overall not bad!
(4)Sal H.
Other than the dumbass screaming to his dinner companions that he just bought a box of SHUT UP for his wife, dinner tonight was extraordinary. And actually, the man criticizing his wife just looked like a jerk, and we had a laugh at his expense. But on to more important things... the food and the service. You know how they say that couples start to look and act alike? We order food that way. ME: "I'll have an iced tea, no lemon." HIM: "Same." HIM: "I'll have the raspberry vinaigrette on my salad." (Don't judge. He's full of testosterone!) ME: "Same" Blahx3, right? You get the point. So I bust him a little for copying me on everything, and he calls me a jackass. We are silly that way. That's how we are. Our playfulness was completely opposite of dumbass above. Jackass -- funny. Our waitress, Jennifer, laughed with us. Not in that cloyingly "hahahaha -- I'm hoping for a big tip" kind of laugh. She was just authentic, which is rare to come by. I can be phony, so I know from experience. He orders the Mahogany Pork Chops with french fries. I ask Jennifer to recommend one of the two salmon entrees, so she points me to the Garlic & Peppercorn one. We shared a shrimp cocktail, which has the perfect zing of horseradish. I just moved back to Illinois after 20 years in exile and boy-oh-boy did I miss tomatoes like the ones that came on our salad. You remember, the salad with raspberry vinaigrette? Delish. Croutons were extraneous... didn't really enhance but didn't detract from the meal. When our entrees arrive, neither one of us can speak because it is so good. When we do stop chewing long enough to say something, it is -- "Wow, this is the best pork chop I've had in... " His voice trails off because he's now buzzing about the applesauce. He fills his fork up with chunky apples and insists I try it. Dayum! If my own salmon weren't so spectacular, I would have done that "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT" point you do to sneak something off someone else's plate. But nothing could distract either one of us. To tell you the truth, I may have overplayed that in the past... so he would have seen right through it. He likes his french fries crispy, and I think these had some cornstarch on them to make them, "the most perfect french fries I've ever had in my life." He just turned 40 last week, so I'm giving him hell about it. Forty years of french-fry eating, and these really and truly were the very best. Just as we were talking about how we had to review the restaurant when we got home, the owner or manager came to check in with us. Perfect timing. We're not fussy folks. I'm probably not going to notice if my meat is cut along the grain or across the grain. What we can say is that the food was above our expectations, and the service was charming in every way. So go here. Ask to sit in Jennifer's section if she's working. Order the salmon or the pork chops or the ugly steak. Tip her well. Enjoy your meal. Don't insult your wife. Oh, and we recommend the raspberry vinaigrette.
(5)Glenn W.
Had a great dinner tonight and excellent...EXCELLENT Service from Wayne tonight. This restaurant sure has picked up on it's game in the last months....Glad we've got'em in Macomb.....
(5)Carol K.
For a minute, I thought I was up in Wisconsin rather than in Western Illinois, as the Red Ox Restaurant and Lounge has all of the elements of a Wisconsin eatery. You know when you see on the sign "ham loaf" as that day's special that you are not in a big city any more. We stopped in for lunch and and were greeted and seated all within a couple of seconds. Given that this is a small town, everyone knows each other so there were many friendly greetings being sent our way from around the restaurant. The service was great- friendly, helpful and patient. Patient, as the menu is quite large- starting with appetizers and soups, moving to luncheon sandwiches and then there were at least two pages of dinners to look over. I settled on one of the specials of the day which was a turkey croissant served with a cup of the clam chowder. Again- the similarities to Wisconsin Supper Clubs flashed though my head as supper clubs have some of the best comfort foods around. The soup was thick and chunky with big pieces of clams and potatoes and the sandwich flaky and buttery. Perfect for this Fall day. The Red Ox has been owned by Jim Gardner since 1978- in fact he stopped by our table to say hi! It is known in the area for it's steak, pasta and seafood, and according to Jim has an "amazing buffet" on Friday nights and Sunday. I'll have to take his word for it. Definitely not a fancy place but one that I would certainly recommend to anyone in the area looking for some really good food. Oh, and if you see Jim, tell him I said hi!
(4)Veshal L.
My family and I went there about March or April of 2010. I had the chicken marsala which was a special from the chef, I believe, though I could be mistaken. My son (17 years old) ordered the fettuccine alfredo, my fiance had the ugly steak, and my daughter about 5, ordered something with chicken. Cannot really remember what she had ordered. The food took a while to arrive, but that was fine since we had heard great things about the restaurant and their service. The ugly steak was good, no complaints. I do not recall any problems from my daughter on her meal either. My son however, did not like his alfredo at all, nor the breadsticks. I offered to trade my meal with him. I had taken one bite of my food, and it was excellent. I then went on to eat my son's alfredo, and it was terrible. It tasted like the alfredo sauce out one of those mass-produced jars in the supermarket. The noodles were definitely over done and sticky, almost mush-like. The breadsticks were hard and not warm at all, and tasted like they just had some Lawry's Seasoned Salt sprinkled on them. Normally, I try to just get through a so-so meal and just order something else. However, this was just terrible, that it left me worried about trusting the other non-specials on the menu. I told the waitress that both my son and I did not like the fettuccine alfredo, the noodles were overdone, the breadsticks were hard. I could not understand it because the restaurant's specialty items (the ugly steak, and the special chicken marsala were great). The waitress offered to bring another chicken marsala, but since my family was halfway done with their meal, waiting another 30 minutes for my meal to even come did not appeal. I then asked her to take the alfredo away and to just bring me a side of toast. When she brought the ticket, she told me she took off the fettuccine alfredo, but had to charge me for the toast. I could not believe it. I was hungry, the dish was terrible with overcooked noodles and hard breadsticks, and I was charged for the side of toast. It wasn't the money, but I felt that it should have been complementary after the ordeal.
(2)Barbara M.
After driving for four hours straight from Chicago with my teenagers to bring my 18 year old to Western Illinois University, we stopped in here for lunch, as we were famished....and boy am I glad I did. This place is really good. We were greeted right away upon entering and seated just as quickly. The menu here is large but the prices are not and the waitstaff were so friendly and answered all of my questions on what to order. All the waitresses wear purple WIU shirts because of course it's a college town and most of them probably go there. My sons of course ordered mozzarella sticks for an appetizer and cheeseburgers and fries for their meal......no big surprise there. I opted for the reuben sandwich with swiss cheese on dark rye with coleslaw on the side. The sandwich was a good size and there was not one bit of fat on that corned beef and I ate every bit. It was the perfect wholesome meal to hit the spot after a long drive. Next time you're planning a trip to Macomb, or just driving through, do yourself a favor and stop by the Red Ox, you won't be sorry.
(4)