Cayuga St Steakhouse

A Hidden Gem with Standout Service in Fulton

By Julie McMahon

Dining out area at Cayuga St Steakhouse: Main room is filled with green-backed booths and wooden chairs, a mostly wooden interior with local art for sale hanging on the walls.

Cayuga St Steakhouse is a very unassuming, down-to-earth place.

It’s nestled into a strip mall and you enter through a simple bar area — but from the jump, the service was excellent and the food was equally as extraordinary.

We started off strong with one of the seasonal drink specials, and the Rhode Island calamari appetizer ($16.64).

The drink menu was supplemented with seasonal specials, and we chose the caramel apple cider martini ($11) — a delicious, though quite sweet drink. The butterscotch schnapps and cider made for a great combination, with a dash for sugar in a caramel drizzle and cinnamon rim. We also went for a Big Ditch Hayburner IPA ($7.28), that tasted as it should. We were happy with the moderate selection of craft beers among the old standbys like Stella Artois and domestic light beers.

The Rhode Island calamari was when the meal began to take a pleasant turn.

These calamari came with fresh diced tomatoes and banana peppers, as well as fresh herbs, which made for a great preparation for this dish. The flavors were fresh and acidic, and the calamari was good quality, not too rubbery.

Soft music played in the background as we enjoyed the beginning of our meal. We were nodding along to James Taylor and John Denver when our server Taylor commented she had curated the playlist. We bonded over the music being made up of family favorites. Taylor, who was also mentioned favorably in several Google Reviews of the steakhouse, stood out for her bubbly personality, attentive service and good recommendations. She plugged the calamari as well as the blackened creamy garlic steak, which we ordered for dinner.

Rhode Island calamari: The flavors were fresh and acidic, and the calamari was good quality, not too rubbery.

It was very quiet on a Wednesday night at 7 p.m., about an hour before closing but a few people populated tables and the five seats at the bar, which opens up into a large dining room with 12 or so tables. The room is filled with green-backed booths and wooden chairs, a mostly wooden interior with local art for sale hanging on the walls.

The menu features steaks, other protein-focused entrees, pasta dishes, sandwiches, salads and burgers as well as a handful of appetizers. There’s a good selection of American foods, with not too much attention given to dietary restrictions in case that is a concern.

Upon our asking, our server recommended the blackened creamy garlic steak ($24.96) which came with a side salad that was a decent-sized portion, chock full of fresh veggies including olives, banana peppers, tomatoes and onions. The dressing on the side was a classic balsamic, which we opted for from a list of typical house dressings.

Blackened creamy garlic steak ($24.96): The silky smoothness of the creamy white garlic sauce and linguine noodles made for an unexpectedly good combination with the steak.

The pasta was as good as promised. The steak had a really nice sear on the outside so that each medallion cut for us had a good texture and flavor. The silky smoothness of the creamy white garlic sauce and linguine noodles made for an unexpectedly good combination with the steak, cooked to medium just as ordered.

Our other entrée was the Cayuga Street burger with bacon and cheddar and a side of sweet potato fries ($16.12). This was ordered medium but served a little more on the medium well side — still very yummy, and also had a sear on the outside of the burger. A good soft bun held up to the moisture of the other ingredients.

Crunchy vegetables were stacked so high the burger was hard to get in my mouth, but worth the struggle. The overall flavor was great. The crispy sweet potato fries were served with maple aioli that was very tasty. The flavors were sweet on sweet but still tasted very good for those with any level of sweet tooth.

Big Ditch Hayburner IPA ($7.28) and caramel apple cider martini ($11) — a delicious, though quite sweet drink.

As we wrapped up our meal, our server listed off a variety of desserts that all sounded fabulous, but we went with an old favorite, crème brûlée ($8.32), which came out in a deeper dish than we’re used to for crème brûlée. This made room for more creamy custard, but a lighter layer of burnt sugar. It had a rich vanilla flavor and all the right textures. Though slightly different than a classic crème brûlée, it did not disappoint.

Our bill came to $91.07 (a discount was offered when paying with cash, but we had a card), which we found extremely reasonable for a steakhouse experience.

We wouldn’t have necessarily stumbled into this place on our own, but found it to be a very affordable hidden gem in Fulton, to which we’d return.