Alex Madonna’s Gold Rush Steak House

It was my first visit to the steakhouse and it was a wonderful experience. Our waiter was on top of my dairy allergy making sure I would not have an issue. Highly recommend them, they had the friendliest staff who went over and beyond my expectations.

Went here for our 30th anniversary dinner. Fantastic experience at an iconic place. Jamie was an excellent server, food was outstanding (maybe best baked potato I've ever had, too), atmosphere was fun--just a great, memorable experience. Try the pink champagne cake, too.

Let me start off by saying the service is top notch! We started with a great interaction with Ethan, so friendly and welcoming. Sharon and Joseph took amazing care of us!!! Ok now the only thing that wasnt my fav but wasn't horrible was the portabella mushroom sticks. They were a bit too heavy for me, thick fried coating, but my spouse loved them. I got the pink cloud, alcoholic, and it was tasty. It does get sweet, I drank half of it before dinner because it doesn't mix well with swordfish. Speaking of the swordfish, holy **** it was sooooo good!!! My spouse got the French filet and she about collapsed on how well seasoned and the perfection of the medium cook on this steak. Since dinner steamrolled us in a good food coma we ordered the pink champagne cake to go and to eat later in our fabulous room! If I could give twenty stars I would. This Texan is super impressed!

Over the top opulence is the decor. Amazing, hickory grilled steaks is the choice. Visiting the area and decided to pop in for dinner. I didn't realize what an experience I was about to have. I sat down and was immediately greeted by my server. I ordered my drink and learned about the daily soup selection and dinner specials. I went with the scallop and filet mignon special. Everything was prepared to perfection. I almost finished my entire plate, but was unable to. I was hoping to leave space for the amazing desserts the Madonna Inn is famous for, but was unable to. This gives me all the more reason to return again. I highly recommend a visit.

A fun atmosphere, loved the whimsical decor and I was looking forward to having dinner here after what my friends had said about the Madonna Inn but ended up sadly disappointed. My friends had been out around SLO that day and we had a huge lunch so we weren’t very hungry but we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to eat at the Madonna Inn as we were visiting from out of town and may not have another opportunity. Our waitress greeted us at the table but was dismayed that we all ordered only appetizers, saying “You’re supposed to order an entree, just so you know for next time.” Upon review of both the menu and the website, this policy is not stated anywhere and it’s clear the waitress was just upset that our bill would inevitably be cheaper and therefore she’d receive less tip. The chicken on my Caesar salad was pretty unremarkable for a nearly $30 salad but the portion size was a very generous entree portion. None of the appetizers were appetizer sized so we were actually quite happy we didn’t order a main. My friend had the mushroom appetizer and immediately had to use the restroom for an extended period afterwards. For dessert we ordered the pink champagne cake, which I was very excited to try. The cake was gorgeous but flavorless- considering the price I would expect it to have a nice presentation with a side of berries or ice cream. I don’t mind paying more for better quality but the food wasn’t the greatest and we didn’t appreciate the waitress’ comment especially after realizing the policy either doesn’t exist or isn’t advertised anywhere. That said I would still recommend going because the whimsical decorations and live music were excellent, it was a fun look into the past and we enjoyed the coats in the gift shop. It will likely be a long time before I am able to return but I hope by then the service and food quality is one able to wow the customers the same way the decor does.