After leaving Bricktown, we headed back south, closer to our hotel, to Stockyards City to find Cattlemen’s Steakhouse which was recommended to us by Michelle and Kylie (thanks ladies!).  According to the Stockyards City website, this area of town honors Oklahoma City’s pioneer history and caters to the every day cowboy and cowgirl.  This was quite evident in the shops and restaurants we passed.

Cattlemen’s Steakhouse was easy to find on the main street and we were looking forward to what was in store for us.  We had called in advance to find out if it was a place that needed reservations or had a dress code – the answer was no to both When we arrived, we didn’t have to wait which we appreciated (we were hungry!). Cattlemen’s is the oldest, longest-open restaurant in Oklahoma City – it opened in 1910.  The building has grown over time and started as a cafe at one end of the building.  We were seated in the dining room which was dark, leathery, and covered in photos of cattle and cowboys (real and hollywood versions).

It’s not very clear, but the wall behind the Husband is a photo of tons of cattle.  It spans that entire wall (there’s a better version of it on the Cattlemen’s website).

The menu itself is quite simple, as a good steakhouse should be.

The front page told us a brief history as well as their intention for the restaurant. The inside consisted of two pages.  One page for the steak cuts and a second page for those of you non-red meat eaters accompanying your red-meat eaters out for dinner Being a steakhouse, we stuck to the left side of the menu.

If you haven’t picked up on it, the Husband and I like to try local beers whenever possible.  Each restaurant we’ve been to on this trip, the Husband asks if they have any beers from _____ (fill in state we’re in).  In Cattlemen’s case, not only did they have Texas beer, they had a specific beer brewed for Cattlemen’s – the Double Deuce (named for its size – 22oz).  The Husband thought it was a fine beer – one he would order again there for the novelty, but probably not anywhere else.

To start, we knew we had to try the Lamb Fries, as recommended by reader Kylie and our friend Rhonda.  When our waiter brought us the dish, he told us not to ask what they were and just to enjoy them It came with cocktail sauce and lemon, as if it were seafood, and I guess it did taste slightly like fried oysters (as others proclaim it does).  I won’t tell you what it actually is – you can check it out on wikipedia here if you’d like.   We thought they were fine and we enjoyed the experience, but I don’t imagine we’d get them again. Each steak dinner comes with steak, salad, and potato (I think your choice of potato).  For our salad, it’s a reasonably sized side salad with your choice of dressing.  The Husband and I each went with the house dressing on our waiter’s recommendation.  It’s quite mild and creamy, not too much flavor to it, but I enjoyed it. With that salad, we received a basket of bread, though more like croutons? I didn’t have any, but the Husband enjoyed a slice with the salad.

In preparation of our potatoes, we were brought a plate of butter, sour cream, bacon, and chives.

Then, what we were waiting for – our steaks We each got the filet, which was wrapped in bacon.  However, the Husband got the regular size (on the left) and I had the petite (on the right).  It may be hard to tell, but the petite was about half the size perhaps).  We each got ours medium rare and they were delicious.  Melt in your mouth good, without any extras like butter like a lot of chain restaurants use.  We each went with the baked potato as well and I was glad to see reasonably sized potatoes.

Along with these, we also received two warm rolls that were soft and pillowy.  They tasted particularly good dipped in the steak juice.  Yum!

Overall, we were happy with our meal and glad we got to experience this quintessential Oklahoma City restaurant.  We loved the history and enjoyed the steak.  Our server was very friendly and spent a bit of time chatting with us between courses.  While we had originally planned on visiting Nonna’s for dinner in Bricktown, we were glad we had the chance to check out Cattlemen’s Steakhouse.