Alex Madonna’s Gold Rush Steak House

I gotta say growing up in Santa Maria eating Santa Maria style BBQ I have rarely found places outside the area that I have enjoyed at all. I have lived in Houston Texas and eating all kinds of steaks there and various places along Interstate 40 on my way to California and back.
Their filet mignon is the best I have ever eaten. My wife and I really over ate our first meal there together. We were celebrating our 9^th year weeding anniversary (well a couple of weeks after). The cake reminded us of our wedding receipt cake, only theirs was 1000 times better. The receipt cake was backed in Vallejo and didn’t have fresh strawberries like the Steak House does. So it was totally amazing and much cheaper.
The second dinner we had there we ate the prime rib. It was just as huge as the filet and you could taste the oak wood fire they used to cook it in. Simply amazing. Best prime rib we have ever had. We had a piece of cherry pie with ice cream and it was the bomb.
I like the filet the best! We will be going back again hopefully for years to come, they rock!

Wonderful meal. Had dinner on a Saturday night with the big band playing swing music. Had a minor issue with my steak being overcooked and they handled it perfectly and brought a new one. The resulting ribeye was the best I’ve ever had, cooked just right. The wine list is local and good and priced very reasonable. Service was impeccable. Dessert was so good it should be illegal. Kitch and steak, such a good combination. I recommend!

Food was good, music is way too loud. We arrived early and there were several tables available, but we were put next to the stage in a booth. I wish the hostess would have given us an option to sit elsewhere. 30 minutes later, the music started and we could no longer hear each other-couldn’t get out of there quick enough. There needs to be better communication with the patrons. We had no idea a band would play when we were seated-​we will go elsewhere in the future.

Without a doubt the best Filet Mignon steak I have ever had — cooked over an oakwood fire to perfection and the baked potato was great as well. We’ve been here a few times since about 1975 and the Madonna Steakhouse never disappoints– the service was excellent also!

We had dinner here while staying at Madonna Inn. They brought us a booster seat that would fit in the booth for my toddler son, and he actually behaved playing with the glass of crayons they gave him.
The place is very pink and fun, which added to the experience. They brought out cheese, veggies, and bread to snack on while we waited for our food. My husband got pork chops, while I got the salmon. They came with soup/​salad, which were both fresh and flavorful. Both came with a side of peas, which were pretty good. I asked for my baked potato to come with toppings on the side, but it came topped with everything… though luckily we were all full by then, so it didn’t matter. I could have complained, but I was just happy that the kiddo was behaving and knew this would only be for a limited time.
In a nutshell, this place is worth experiencing at least once… the food itself isn’t mind-​blowing but still pretty solid.

Went here to have the experience. The décor lived up to my expectations of gaudiness. The drinks were small and tasteless. The anti-​pasto plate was good and the rolls were warm. The salad was overdressed with dressing that obviously came out of a bottle. The Prime Rib was cooked to perfection, but the rest of the plate was bland, bland, bland. The barely warm green beans tasted as though they had been sitting in water on a buffet table and had absolutely no flavor. The potato was simply a potato.
The winner of the night was dessert, but we expected that.

Menu options for a non meat eater are very limited. If you are not a meat or seafood eater, you are even more limited. Was going to order the steak tacos and they were out, so had to order something else. Had the sliders that were ok. Nothing special about them. Someone got the rib-​eye and liked it. Another person got a seafood dish and liked it. Again, if there were a few more options for those who are not meat eaters it would be better. Why don’t they offer a pasta dish that does not have seafood in it? We came here to celebrate a birthday. The cakes were pretty, but did not taste good at all. Had a strange flavor mixed into them, almost tasted like dish soap. The service was good, no complaints about the service. We were seated near the dance floor and the music was so loud that you couldn’t hear the person sitting next to you. Had to shout and yell just to have a conversation.

My family decided to stay to Madonna Inn on our trip to Bay Area. We made reservation for middle of the week to this steakhouse on the premises. The place is only open for dinner during the week. It is very decorative in bright colors, but it is a cute place to dine at.
We ordered salmon and pork chops which come along with soup or side salad along with tasty breads and pickled veggies with cheese and salami meat. The food took a while to come out, but it is expected since this is a steakhouse. The pork chop was big and cook through as medium as I have requested. The salmon was also good. The sides were mashed potato and seasonal vegetable.
We did not get the dessert because we can go over to café and get a slice of cake which they were offering at the same price, but we were and chose to skip the dessert.
Overall, the experience was good and food was good as well.

Came here on a whim, I’d heard the steaks were great and in my opinion very good and cooked to perfection. The rest of the meal well… sucked. Asparagus baked half cooked have not, some burned, pathetic. Mushrooms had been sitting in juice on a steam table since they opened at lunch, I’m guessing, baked potato was cooked at the same time this morning judging by the off white grey and brown color.
In short a very cool place that lost the «care» a true chef would have kept to preserve the quality the landmark established over the years.
–Foodguy

Not sure why all bad Unilocal reviews for this place. Our server was great and recommended some
Yummy local wine. My boyfriend ordered a delicious cocktail with Apple pie moonshine.
I got the halibut and he got the ribeye. He rated the steak top 5 ever had and we dine out a lot in San Francisco.
The veggies are amazingly fresh. They tasted like they had just come in from the garden.
Try this place. It really doesn’t deserve the lower ratings on here and we have a lot to compare from as frequent diners in San Francisco.

I love this place! Such an adorable little date night! The ambiance is so unique and romantic. We got a Madonna Inn bottle of champagne for $ 25 (not bad at all!), we each ordered our entrees (about $ 30 each) — but it came with a salad and a side. We finished with the Pink Champagne cake — which was absolutely to-​die-​for. We were out of there for about $ 100. Fat and happy! The live swing band was a nice treat, too! Can’t wait to go back!

This place seems to get a lot of mixed reviews but the two times I’ve eaten here, I’ve really liked the food. I’ve had the top sirloin and the halibut steak and both were cooked just right. The first time they brought me a huge slice of the pink champagne cake for my birthday, and for our anniversary they brought us the black forest cake. They are very generous with the portions.
We had Jordan as our server both times and he’s awesome! Really friendly guy.
I usually make reservations but I don’t think they are necessary unless you go on a busy night; the times I’ve gone it’s been very quiet.
There’s a small bar off to the side but it’s nothing to write home about. It’s got a clear view of the dance floor so that’s fun.

Great atmosphere — decent food.
So while staying at the Madonna Inn recently, you know I had to make reservations to dine at this one of a kind restaurant. As gaudy as it may appear to others, I have to say, I am a complete sucker for it and absolutely LOVE the overly pink, cheesy, Beverly Hills glam like atmosphere… just love it.
We made prior reservations for 6:30 this one Saturday evening. Prior to dining in, we took the opportunity to sit in (the also) very pink bar area. A bar adorned with over sized Alice in Wonderland like chairs and a gorgeous over the top parlor style bar. They have a nice signature cocktail menu with of course, some pink style drinks lol. The French 75 drink sounded most appealing to me. I having had one before, I knew I would most likely enjoy it –which I did. Not to mention, it was a little strong :)
We then proceeded to the restaurant for dinner. We were seated immediately in a beautiful little booth. Service from the get go, was absolutely PHENOMENAL! I forget our lady servers name, but she was soo incredibly charming and sweet and just outstandingly attentive! Definitely 5 stars for her alone. Now to the remaining dining experience. They have a standard steak style menu, with all the the usual suspects. My honey and I were both in a Rib Eye mood, so we both went with the Rib Eye– I requested mine to be cooked medium rare and my honey chose medium. It comes with a baked potato and sauteed veggies; I oped out on the potato and just subbed for more of the veggies. For my drink, I chose a glass of their signature brute. A complimentary small array of cheese, salami, peppers and olives were delivered to our table prior to eating. It was just average. Dinner rolls later were brought to us — I had one little bite and it was pretty good — soft and buttery, the only type of rolls I will eat. Our steaks than arrived looking quite delicious. My steak was cooked medium rare as requested. Now for tasted, I thought it was good, but nothing exceptional — my hubby absolutely LOVED his steak.
Overall, aside from the decent food, the absolute highlight of the evening was the outstanding service and entertainingly appealing atmosphere. And although the food alone is nothing I would ever drive out of my way to have, I certainly would dine in here again.

We stayed at the Madonna Inn over a weekend about a month ago & we ate here for dinner on the Saturday night. I loved this place. The décor was amazing & so eclectic. Our waitress was great & the drinks & food were great. It was pricey, but I’d come here again. Also, the live music was spectacular.

Overall I was completely disappointed. Service was hands down the worst I’ve had in several years. Appetizers came out as the same time as entrees, which both took over 45 mins. In that time frame we only had our drinks refilled once, the bus/​water boy came to our table 7 – 8 times throughout the night. Brought the forgotten steak sauce (for my son) and even handled our dessert order cause we waited 20 minutes after eating to even get our check/​order desserts. We ended up just getting it to go. Bring your own steak knife, cause the serrated knife I was given was completely worn down to butter knife status, and was impossible to get waitresses attention for a new one.
The décor and presentation is awesome tho. Loved the bathrooms. I would give it once more chance, but def not what you want in a steakhouse as of right now

Go because it’s overwhelmingly PINK and FANTASTIC.
Be sure to make a reservation and dress a little more formal. I don’t believe they have a specific dress-​code, but the older crowd keeps it classy and you don’t want to look like a dirty millennial.
Also, DANCING!

When I arrived, I didn’t know what to expect-​the reviews for this place are fairly mixed, and with good reason! The food was great, but between the prices and the initial wait time to be seated, it’s not my first choice in restaurants.
To be fair, we didn’t make a reservation for Thursday night dinner, but the time we were given at check-​in was 30 minutes (enough time to check in the people with reservations for that time). We were seated over an hour later.
I think they recognized this oversight, so to make up for this, we had beyond great service! We ordered a few drinks and appetizers before ordering our entrees. My only hesitations when ordering was after looking at the prices-I’m not stingy, but it was on the pricy end.
The food was great! The mozzarella sticks and garlic cheese bread we ordered were gone in five minutes, and the bread selection was awesome! I ordered the swordfish, and had tried each of my table mates’ plates-​everything was enjoyable! The swordfish steak was HUGE, and was accompanied with green beans and an amazing baked potato! For dessert, I split the coconut cream pie-​delicious!
Overall, I enjoyed the food and service, but next time I’m at the Madonna Inn, I think I’ll stick to the Copper Café.

If you go here, it’s only for the atmosphere. The prices are horribly expensive for bland, tasteless food.
The interior is beautiful and very unique. If you like pink and baroque décor, it’s worth stopping by. There is also a dance floor where couples come on the regular to swing dance. Very cute.
Otherwise there’s nothing special about this place. They are money sucking machines. I have been here 3 times and honestly can’t say I have ever been satisfied with anything on the menu.
The cake is «ok». It looks a lot better then it tastes… Most of the time it’s really dry and bland.
In my most recent visit, I ordered a salad. I nearly laughed when they placed it in front of me, it looks like they bought a pre made salad from the grocery store and put it on a plate. Why am I spending $ 25 on a salad when I could have bought all the ingredients 5 times over?
I barely touched it. It was gross. Very similar to a salad you would get at Applebee’s or something. Covered in cheddar cheese and one tomato… Gross. Took two bites and pushed it away. I was surprised that the waiter still charged me for it.
The service is painfully slow.
Don’t expect anything to be delicious. Again, if you go here it’s only to enjoy the unique atmosphere of the Madonna inn. It’s a tourist trap.

The décor is hilarious! So gaudy that I can’t even describe It … But there are tons of pictures on the web.
The highlight was salsa dancing which was a beyond pleasant surprise (Tuesday night) in San Luis Obispo anyway .
I did know it was a traditional steak house but even traditional food can have some umph. I found the food here extremely boring. Dishes have zero imaginations. Strait from the 50s cook book in the ingredients, flavor and presentation. My grilled portobello entrée with baked potato had as much sour cream and cheese as I would eat in a year!
Also, there was zero seasoning on my dish, not even salt and pepper. And the rolls are offensive for the caliber of place it is pretending to be. It’s the cheapest dinner roll you get at a junk food restaurant.
We got a complimentary antipasti starter which was very nice. But I think it did more harm to my impression of he restaurant than good. It was a nice gesture but I the salami and cheese were pedestrian.

Somehow, our experience at the steak house with both terrible and terrific at the same time.
SERVICE.
We made reservations, and while I don’t know if they were necessary, it was a nice guarantee to be seated without waiting. Our waiter (older guy) was pretty absent th entire dinner. He took our initial orders, and then disappeared from the face of the earth. We had to flag down whatever busboy was nearby whenever we wanted more water/​to order drinks/​to ask for the check. On the plus side, the busboys who helped us were friendly, helpful, and awesome overall.
CLEANLINESS.
I know the Madonna Inn’s thing is ‘blast from the past’ or something, but it’s still a fairly unclean place, with tons of bugs. Random flies were found in my boyfriend’s drink (despite not going outdoors), and the appetizer plate we were brought had a crawling thing on it too. Not great.
COCKTAILS.
Maybe we just had a bad bartender, but their cocktails aren’t great. Just stick to something bottled, and you’ll be fine. Their hose sparkling wine was pretty good.
BUFFALO WINGS.
So heavily breaded, it was terrible. The breading had hardened during the excessive frying process, and we had to scrape layers of it away, before finally seeing the smallest chicken wings that we’d ever seen. I’m guessing this is a tribute to the food preferences of the 50s, but if you’re going to charge the prices of today, maybe improve the quality a bit too.
PRIME RIB.
Surprisingly, very well done. I received a generous cut of meat, cooked to my specifications, with an overload of horseradish on the side. I couldn’t even finish my meal (and with no room fridges, that was a bit of a bummer).The boy was a fan of his steak, too. Pleasantly surprised by our entrees, overall.
If you’re dining here, I find that drinking helps make it funnier when things go terribly. The younger servers/​busboys are delightful and helpful, which is great. Avoid the wings, and stick with a meat-​heavy dinner, and you’ll have an… interesting time.