Food Network at Cattleman's Roadhouse

I went to the Hurstbourne Ln Cattleman's location and was underwhelmed.

Our Best is the restaurant you are thinking of.......

We went to the one on Hurstbourne once, and it will probably be the last time. The salad bar was lackluster. The steak was ok, but way over-seasoned, the chicken fingers were excellent, and the ribs were just gross. The sides were not memorable. We were disappointed with just about everything except for the chicken fingers and the service.

Are you thinking of Our Best Restaurant? Kind of a knock off of Cracker Barrel.

We went to the one on Hurstbourne once, and it will probably be the last time. The salad bar was lackluster.

Yeah, see, something's not right. The salad bar in Shelbyville is impressive. Maybe one of the best salad bars in the area. I hope Bill or Stuart know about hotbytes and will see this thread.

I.worked at Garrett s on Shelbyville rd and thought the food was better on the brunch at are location than the limekiln lnstore and part of that was the guy in charge of the recipes was at are store and a stickler for quality so who knows Ronnie might be somthing like that

Yeah, it's weird. I know Bill and I know that those steaks are the same from store to store, as are most of the other ingredients. There's not much he doesn't make in house (maybe salad dressings are bough in, etc.), so there is extra room for quality variance, when you have each location making everything from scratch. The ingredients are top notch, but the consistency of execution is what seems to be coming up short. I know the problem all too well...

I am a frequent reader of hot bytes, and felt compelled to respond. I hate when I read that some posters had a bad experience at Cattlemans Roadhouse. Cattlemans Roadhouse is a casual family steakhouse known for our Signature Salad Bar and quality aged beef- not everyone’s type of restaurant. Our salad bar is all homemade salads and we pride ourselves with its freshness. If you come to Cattlemans expecting a Jeff Ruby’s experience, you will be disappointed. We have issues with the Hurstbourne location in having enough staff with high standards. We are our toughest critic, and have made numerous changes in the 2 years we have been open. My current management team is great. We put our longest tenure manager, Tony Allen (Ice- 23 years) in that restaurant to raise the front of house service standards. We use aged beef at all our locations-our premium steaks are Creekstone Angus served at white tablecloth restaurants at twice our price. It certainly is not Ponderosa meat. Our Hurstbourne restaurant has had its issue with overcooking steaks, but we feel we have finally worked this out. I would like guests that have been unhappy with our restaurant to let me know . I would be happy to send you a gift card to give us another try.
Thanks,
Bill Hisle
Owner
Cattlemans Roadhouse

[Robin Garr]

I would like guests that have been unhappy with our restaurant to let me know.

Bill, thanks for the candid post. The quote I highlighted says it all: A restaurateuur who is willing and eager to listen to customers is on the right track, in my opinion. Welcome to the forum!

Im willing to give the Hurstborne locale another try. Our first experience there was last year and we left feeling like we just wasted a Saturday night on a 'Ponderosa steak'. I do recall that the staff there were very pleasant but the food wasn't memorable at all.
Maybe a trip to the Shelbyville location will be of more benefit to us.

I have been to the Shelbyville location a number of times and it was fine. As Bill said, they are not trying to compete with Rubys/Mortons/Ruths. I have no experience at the other locations.

I know Bill and Stuart and they work hard at the business. Hope the problems are solved.

We too went to the restaurant in Louisville about two weeks after it opened. We were not impressed given the competition in Louisville and never went back. Given the impressive thoughtful reply by Bill we will give it another try. I like the way you responded.

Though I've had no desire over the past year to try the Hurstbourne location a second time, seeing so many people stand up and vouch for both the owner and the Shelbyville location is making me say 'well, maybe....'. I've never been to someplace like Jeff Ruby's or Ruth's Chris and don't expect I ever will unless I hit the Powerball tonight. I just want a good grilled steak and home-made tasting sides. Nothing fancy. If Bill Hisle is willing to put his money where his mouth is in the hopes that we'll give it a second chance and be converted, then I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and take them up on it.

BAM. There you go. I told you. Bill Hisle is top shelf and if he's got the Ice-man steering the ship over at Hurstborne you can guarantee that you will be taken well care of. I've known Ice for 20 years and he is tops as well.

I'm super glad Bill saw these posts and had a chance to respond. I have absolute confidence that these issues will be addressed and the standards at Hurstborne will be met and maintained.

Yeah, see, something's not right. The salad bar in Shelbyville is impressive. Maybe one of the best salad bars in the area. I hope Bill or Stuart know about hotbytes and will see this thread.

I can vouch for the salad bar at the Frankfort location, as well.

I would like guests that have been unhappy with our restaurant to let me know .
Thanks,
Bill Hisle
Owner
Cattlemans Roadhouse

I had the pleasure of working with Bill on two catered family events. He was a total professional and had great judgement about the menus and delivered an astounding dinner for 100+ people. His restaurants have always been the kind of places that serve excellent food at a very reasonable price. I'm betting on Bill to satisfy the critics.