My spouse and I dined at Shula’s Steak House for lunch on
a Sunday afternoon in mid-December 2015. Shula’s has occupied space in Downtown
Allentown since July of 2015; previously, the restaurant was located at the
Promenade Shops in Center Valley (in the space now occupied by Bar Louie). The
restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner. Shula’s accepts reservations via
telephone and using the Open Table reservation system. Valet parking is
available for $6, or you canfind a space on the street or in a nearby parking
lot or garage (especially if an event is not going on at the PPL Center across
the street). Shula’s Steakhouse is part of the Shula’s chain of restaurants,
with several different restaurant concepts spread over 30 locations.
The current restaurant space is vastly different than it
was at their previous location. The new property is bright, light, and airy,
with windows lining two complete walls (the windows facing Seventh Street and
the ones facing Arts Walk). On the ArtsWalk side, the windows to one side of
the four-sided bar can be opened in nice weather (as it was on the day that we
dined – a rarity for December!). Also on the ArtsWalk side, sidewalk dining is
available in the warmer months. Inside, the restaurant offers high-top seating
in the bar area (the bar itself has a marble top and features four TVs that can
be seen both inside and outside the restaurant), booth seating towards the
middle of the restaurant, and regular tables at the rear and side of the
property. It also looked like the restaurant offers a private dining room,
although the sliding semi-transparent doors were closed and we could not see in
to know for certain. The walls are decorated with black-and-white sports photos
(as the walls were at their previous location), but very little else screams
“sports”. A long but high faux gas fireplace provides an attractive focal point
in the dining area. The flat, shallow restroom sinks contained tiny river
rocks, which gave the restrooms a slight spa-like feel. (We thought that it
looked so pretty and interesting that we recently purchased some rocks to put
in a similar sink at our home.)
Prior to our visit, we had heard that Shula’s changed their lunch menu, and
we were pleasantly surprised to find that was true. (We did not see an updated
menu online, however.) Many more sandwich options are available (burgers, steak
sandwich, short rib grilled cheese, prime rib sliders) than previously, and the
entrée options seem more comprehensive and better priced. We started with the
calamari “fries”, which we have ordered before, but next time we will try the
housemade potato chips (topped with blue cheese, scallions, and bacon), one of
the mini-taco plates (chicken, shrimp, or short rib), or one of the flatbreads
(mushroom or traditional tomato and cheese) We ordered from the lunch entrée
menu, selecting the surf and “turf”, which included two amazing filet
tenderloin medallions and two scallops (served alongside smashed potatoes and
grilled asparagus, the scallops were placed on a bed of grilled corn, which was
unique), and the crabcake (served with french fries and cole slaw). The
bartender described the crab cake as “lump with no filler”, and although he was
correct about it having no breadcrumb filler, it was just regular shredded
crab, not what we consider lump crab (which is admittedly hard to find at
Lehigh Valley restaurants). For dessert, we shared the carrot cake, which had
an overly sweet icing (described as cream cheese, but tasting heavily of
confectioner’s sugar). Next time, we will try either the chocolate souffle or
the key lime pie for dessert.
Because we sat at the bar, the bartender served us, and
he did a great job. He was very friendly and pleasant, and he offered menu
suggestions, which we accepted. (In fact, had he not recommended the surf and
turf, we would not have ordered it, because when we glanced down the menu, we
assumed that it would contain lobster (which we did not want) and steak,
instead of scallops and steak, which was appealing. (The menu accurately
describes the dish in smaller print below the main listing, but we would not
have read the fine print without the bartender’s suggestion.) The bartender was
accessible without being intrusive.
Overall, we were happy with our lunch at Shula’s
Steakhouse. Prior to this visit, we felt that the lunch menu did not offer
enough choices for us, but now that the restaurant has expanded their
offerings, we will be happy to return!
