Pheasant Restaurant & Lounge

What a lovely place! We had chislic first at the bar as an app with some house cocktails, and they were delightful - only made better by our bartender. Dinner , we talked through all our options and given fabulous wine recommendations. Our entrées were so incredibly lovely and we followed dinner with olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting in back. Overall, we had a decadent evening and will be back soon. Need to have dessert next time.

I really liked the sensitive customer satisfaction in your restaurant. I see that it is a very clean restaurant. I was amazed by the cleanliness of the glass. Although I am a very meticulous person, I have never seen such a clean glass before. I want to appreciate you. Your employees are very warm-blooded and smiling. I congratulate your employees.

Food was good. Service was very nice. The bartender made amazing Manhattans! We would have probably ordered 2-3 each but they only had enough supplies to make us each 1. Very odd considering they had a full bar to not have a back up bottle of booze. We all really enjoyed ourselves and would definitely go back.

Had the most amazing food this past weekend. Very authentic and delicious!

We had the best experience! While this restaurant is seemingly upscale it has a great array of delicious food at a reasonable price! We were even allowed to bring our doggie on the patio. Our server Maddie was very attentive and friendly. The pork chops with the bacon, pecans and blue cheese was fantastic. Don’t skip the cheesecake for dessert, so good!! We will be back!!

Bison filet and add the mild goat cheese compound butter on the side. Best decision EVER! The steak Melted in my mouth and complex taste kept me happy. I am so glad we visited this place. I just wish they had a sweatshirt or shirt to buy with name and logo. I would have purchased. But no worries I will be back next time I am town.

Spend you money elsewhere!!! The day we went was a Saturday because many locals touted the brunch as "something to be impressed with". NO. NO. No. The effort in cooking is there but the ingredients were "sub-par". My dining companion had a waffle stuffed with bacon and cheese. However, they did not use real cheese - even though South Dakota offers many local options for such...they used Velveeta which is a processed cheese substitute. It was so obvious from the color (see picture) and then of course the consistency and taste was weird. The taco salad was another disappointment - some beef scattered over house greens with a layer of broken "Doritos" scattered about. No taco salad "shell", no homemade chips, it was ghetto. Great atmosphere, awesome server...cafeteria food.

We stopped in for a family lunch this past week. The food was pretty standard, nothing special. Our server was friendly and helpful. The handicap entrance was lacking ease of use for anyone with even minor physical challenges. To be noted though, this restaurant has a long history in the community and was recently recognized with the James Beard award.

Super cool restaurant! Was passing through town while working and spotted by for a bite, glad I did. I tried the pheasant salad sandwich with a side of firefries - both were delicious. Wish I could've had a couple cocktails but will have to be next time. Service was excellent and all staff were extremely polite.

Most of the food was okay, nothing great or noteworthy. Stir fry rice seemed to be drenched in soy sauce so that detracted from the dish. We ordered the appetizer that was basically bread with oil & vinegars. Most restaurants provide bread with the meal at a dinner service but we ordered 2 of these for a table of 5. There were only @ 6 small slices of bread in each basket for $9 each. We asked for more bread so they charged us an additional $18. This is ridiculous. Very disappointed. Service was marginal as well but the waitress was new so I will let that go.

We had another fabulous supper tonight at Pheasant in Brookings South Dakota! My husband and I both had filet mignon with balsmic and goat cheese butter. It was cooked to perfection and the flavor was outstanding! We ordered a bottle of red wine...Honoro Vera that was a very good compliment to the filet. Thank you Pheasant!

The bread was ridiculously overpriced. Some cold dry rolls and oil and vinegar, we were charged $18!!! The food was below average too. Chicken breast was chewy and baked potatoes were blah. atmosphere was cool but save your money and eat elsewhere Our server was good as well.

Pheasant doesn't show up on the menu too often and since I was passing through this part of South Dakota, I made it a point to detour to the Pheasant Restaurant for a pheasant sandwich. This is a fancier sit-down place, ideal for a date night or a business meeting. I sat at the bar where I had great service and enjoyed my meal. The pheasant salad sandwich was delicious but I really couldn't tell that it was pheasant rather than chicken. Don't get me wrong - it was a tasty sandwich. But once the chopped pheasant was mixed with mayo and apples and the like, there wasn't anything special about it. The marble rye bread was also great. I'd glad to have tried it but I don't know that I would go out of my way again. [Review 17849 overall - 55 in South Dakota - 1370 of 2022.]

I was fortunate enough to eat here 2 times this weekend. They were two of the most delicious meals I have had. I ordered the Spatzele with Red Pepper sauce for dinner. It had just the right balance of zing and creaminess. Every bite was a taste treat. Before dinner we had the sunflower seed and corn hummus. It was a huge serving with fresh vegetables and pita. Could have fed many people. The service was timely and attentive. We came back for the Norwegian waffles and smoked tots. Heaven with and elderflower mimosa. Thank you for two memorable unique and glorious meals

The bacon blue chops were fantastic! And really good fish and chips. Server was really pleasant and nice.

Easy to get to, even though there was some construction nearby. Walked in and were greeted right away. Party of 7, seated right away. Varied menu with plenty of options. Everyone on the table was happy with their food and the service was really pleasant. Give them a go if you are hungry and near.

Clean! Great food, interesting menu and beer/cocktail options. Comfortable with beautiful decor including lovely quilts. Great location. Super friendly staff made us feel very welcome. Easy parking.

We went here Friday evening, and it was great. I had the Pheasant Salad Sandwich, and it was one of the very best sandwiches I've ever had. My girlfriend enjoyed her fish 'n' chips. Very good beers on tap from Brookings-based Eponymous Brewing Company. We liked it so much, we came for breakfast on Saturday morning as well. We both really enjoyed the stuffed waffles. Decor/atmosphere is very nice. An extremely pleasant environment. I enjoyed sitting by the fireplace both times.

Meh. The service was as mediocre as the food. We just had lunch, maybe dinner is better??

Best gastronomic in eastern South Dakota! Enjoyed how the creative chef worked to assemble novel dishes from the historic foods of settlers and native people! Great food selections, wine and olive oil bar in the back. Definitely worth a visit!

Such a fantastic place! Whether it's a date night or special occasion, the Pheasant is always wonderful.

Some of the best service in town. Food is amazing for Brookings but perfection isn't to be expected. If you're looking for a nice place to eat while you're in town, the Pheasant is the way to go. Even Gordon Ramsey has been here.

Never had anything that wasn't good here. Do like the offset dining room for private meetings. Prices aren't extreme.

I've been looking forward to eating here and I was NOT disappointed. The servers were so friendly, and one of the owners, Michael, came to chat with us too. It's a beautiful, cozy and inviting atmosphere. I love the nods to Native American culture such as wojapi and bison offerings. I had the smoked tots (wow!) and hot beef Norwegian waffle. Holy smokes, y'all this place is the real deal. Brookings is lucky to have a spot like this.

Was highly suggested I try this by Pheasant Run Aviation flying service about half mile away where our N126M is sitting for several hours. Nice here. The Special has been recommended. A filet steak, baked tator with butter and bacon, and chile soup. Busy here this evening. Chili is excellent by any standard. And all was really good and great attention from lovely lass.

Unimpressed. Many of the locals reap praise about this place. I beg to differ. Despite the fancy wine cellar, what I had was horrible tasting and horribly priced for what I received. I ordered a "16 ounce" T-bone, seven of which was solid fat and three the bone itself. Do the math. The menu states that the steak was to be flame broiled, but the flames must have been really low, as it was barely seared. Steak requires high heat so that it sears versus roasts. For $33, the quality of the meat was disgusting. Pride should have prevented this from being served.

We were seeking a walleye dinner. It was delicately prepared. The crust was light, not over cooked, generous portion. Asparagus seasoning was good even if the vegetables was out of season. A bonus was the pheasant on the green salad which I sampled also. My friend really enjoyed this salad -beware the meat is served cold. Nic drink selection . Ambiance was distanced, servers wore masks. Service was quick. Priced accordingly. We will be back!

Food is always good and the staff are super friendly. I highly recommend the Pheasant!

This is probably the best "fancy" restaurant in Brookings. Reading the reviews and discussions with other locals, the food/service is hit or miss. I have noticed slower service at times, but the food has always been good. Definitely get the smoked tater tots if you are there for breakfast. Would recommend for dinner rather than lunch. There are two different menus and the dinner one is much better by far.

Great food, wine selection and service. Meet for a drink or entertain a client at dinner, the Pheasant is best place in Brookings. Jazz on Mondays is very cool.

The Saturday and Sunday brunch waffles are amazing. They are creative with flavors and never disappoint.

I'm telling you, if you find yourself in Brookings, SD (and who wouldn't? :)) you MUST have a meal here! I heard that even Gordon Ramsey has been here and liked it! I will say that they have spiffed the place up since we were here last. It's warm and inviting and contemporary. These guys are really doing nice things here! As for my Cajun Burger, may I just say that when Husband talks about beef in this part of the country being special, I can truly tell what he means here. YUM! And I do like their mango chardonnay dressing. When you dine here, another must is they are known for their ice creams! Go for it, trust me! (sorry, no pic of that as it went bye-bye way too fast)

Staff was doing an amazing job yesterday of keeping everything going. Love the Phenzini most of all. Most enjoyable place to be---outside, at the bar, the restaurant area and the wine room looked great, too. This was a wonderful find for food and just plain being in a good place. Loved the Barbara Beer painting, too.

This place was phenomenal from the decor, to the staff, and of course food and drink. We did come for brunch, but I have heard the dinner menu is just as amazing. The brunch menu is smaller, but such a wide variety of tantalizing flavors. It is a bit spendy, but well worth it! I have the waffle with lemon curd cream, raspberry jam, and the caramelized cheese. The flavors of everything we ordered were perfect matches. We also ordered the balsamic maple yogurt and the smoked tots- of course I got a video of that magic. The tots were my favorite! They also had several delectable brunch drink specials. They were beyond just a mimosa or a bloody, but they did offers those classics too. Take your date here, extra points if they're a foodie!

What a find in this part of the world. Food was great, wine selection was over and above. I had steak as one should in this part of the world and lovely dark red wine.

Service was friendly and food was good. I ordered chislic, salmon with salad, and cheesecake. It was my first time trying chislic, so I didn't know what to expect but I wasn't a super fan. I got the salad with the salmon and asked for balsamic dressing. The waitress brought out a Herb de Provence oil and pomegranate balsamic which was yum. Salmon was flavorful and cooked just how I like it . They were out of ice cream which I was excited for, but went for the rose cheesecake. Cheesecake was homemade which I appreciate...

I wasn't super hungry, so I came for a light dinner. It was open seating, which I like. They have been here since 1949, three generations (pretty cool!)They had lots of yummy stuff I wanted to try, but I had to start with the Chislic, a South Dakota traditional dish (chunks of lightly breaded lamb) (Great) and I also tried the Hummus Dipping Plate. (Good).

Went here for brunch the other day. We got two of the fancy waffles, very interesting concept and the food wasn't bad either. Service was nothing close to exceptional, we were the only people in the restaurant yet we seemed like we were not a priority. May have just been an off day. Will give this place a chance in the future for dinner, I have faith that it is a good place to eat. I am sure our experience was not the norm. The restaurant gave off the feeling that it would be better suited when it was busy, sitting alone with the weird music playing in the background threw a wrench in our experience. Wish I could give it 3.5 stars

Came here and we had 3 people in our group. Everyone enjoyed their meal and the service was great. Very nice, quick and attentive. I had the shrimp, we also had someone with the filet and the lamb burger. Good atmosphere and enjoyable meal.

The food was cold and the service was poor. Not what you would expect for the establishment.

I am absolutely enamored by this restaurant. I find myself chatting with the workers or the owner (Michael) almost every single time I'm here. They are so friendly and welcoming that I always feel appreciated as a costumer. Additionally (and more importantly), the food is GREAT. As a vegetarian, I am used to seeing "Veggie burger" on a menu, surrounded by a fantastic variety of meat burgers. Here, they allow you to swap a veggie patty for any of their creative and fantastic burger creations. You could not imagine my delight upon seeing all my options! I highly recommend either the PB & JJ burger (peanut butter and jalapeno jelly!) or the Tiki Burger (lettuce, grilled pineapple, wasabi). And if you know what's best for you, you'll get a salad for your side with the mango-chardonnay dressing. Just do it. Trust me. Last but not least, if you're checking this place out for the first time, go for the Monday Jazz Night! The ambiance and atmosphere are simply DIVINE.

What a wonderful surprise! I would have never imagined that the small town of Brookings had this caliber of restaurant. Nothing against small towns or their food being that I grew up in a town smaller than Brookings but the usual fare is every fast food chain known to man with a few locally owned spots. Can I tell you that EVERYTHING is great at this restaurant! The food, the drinks, the desserts and the staff make you feel like family. I'm a fish lover so my usual dish is the walleye or salmon with whatever concoction Michael has decided to create with infused fruit and Trevor's artisanal ice-cream!!! OMG! If you do nothing but go for the ice-cream alone that is an absolute must. I will be spending a lot of time at the Pheasant!

The Pheasant Salad Sandwich was awesome - best food I've had in Brookings. However, $15 for a sandwich is waaaaay too expensive, hence the 2 star deduction. Otherwise, the service was quality and the ambiance was that of a wedding reception venue.

I respect a place that serves great food. Watch out for this place because they liquor you up make you wait for food and have well, one of the worst servers I have ever dealt with and I have managed a lot of servers in my time. Party of 3! We ordered a pattymelt, a French dip sand and a sauteed shrimp dinner. After an hour and 15 minutes and after inquiring about our food waiting another 10 minutes after that and with a 3 year old hungry, we left. Here's the reason why I am writing this, the server was not empathetic she yelled at us told us that it's customary for people to wait well over an hour for food and then said DON'T EVER COME BACK IF YOUR GOING TO LEAVE DONT EVER COME BACK. This person has no control. It's really to bad that a restaurant such as the quality that is driven by the management team at the Pheasant doesnt teach conflict/resolution with a more positive flair THAN DON'T COME BACK

In from out of town, first time here. To me this is a pretty cool old school spot. Super comfortable bar area with comfortable bar stools and padded elbow rest. Decent selection of booze as beer. Ordered the special tonight, spiced honey glazed salmon. Very good. I would definitely stop back to this place.

My husband loved this restaurant so he wanted me to try it. We ordered the bison burger and it was really good. Lean, well seasoned and not greasy at all. One recommendation, it would be helpful if the food was a little warmer. It seemed like the burgers had been sitting there for a few minutes based on the texture and how "room temperature" it tasted. It's not a deal breaker. Just a side note. Workers were wonderful, very accommodating and friendly. Curious about the fancy waffles. Might have to try them soon

Good, but not fantastic. Expected better food and service for the price. Shrimp were large. No sauce or melted butter. Steak was supposed to be a filet but tasted more like a sirloin. Cooked properly though a bit coarse for the cut. Walleye was great. Fries good. Bread great. Had to ask for water twice. Oil and vinegar great. Paid $75 plus tip for a beer, a wine and two dinners. This seems steep for the portion size and I'm from the Milwaukee area. Better food at lower prices with top notch service is available all over near us, so perhaps I'm a bit biased.

The Pheasant has decent food, but be careful ordering drinks here. They tend not to put a lot of liquor in certain drinks. Also, there food is very pricy and given in diminutive quantities. Don't get me wrong; I've had a lot of decent meals here, quality is great. But I wish they would fix the problems I mentioned. They've always been the way they are, and tend to look classier than they really are. Sorry, I hate writing reviews like this, but please take it as constructive feedback. I think this place has always had a lot of potential, and I would go here more if they stopped charging ridiculous prices and ripping people off.

We came to Brookings in June, after reading reviews we were disappointed to see it was closed so when we came in October we were excited to eat here. We made reservations for 7:00. We were greeted warmly and seated immediately. We also were helped with wine selection in their back room which was really cool. So at 7:24 we still had not gotten our chosen wine or had yet to order. Finally the wine bottles we picked were delivered and upon delivery of the $35 and $20 wines that we chose I was told the wine I originally picked was out of stock. I was given an alternative and price was adjusted but was left with a white wine on the table right next to my husband's red wine. Now I'm not a wine connoisseur but I'm pretty sure that white wine should be brought to a table with ice in a bucket. My husband had to get me a glass of ice to put in my wine glass, only way to chill the wine. Also, my husband ordered prime rib, we were told at 7:30 that it was too late in the evening to be able to have medium rare. That should have been our first red flag. At 8:30 he finally asked for the manager, which wouldn't come out from the back and sent our poor waitress out to tell us he was busy in the kitchen and knew we wanted to speak to him. The main dinning room was 50% full and we were told the back was full. We had a reservation for 7:00, regardless of how full they were, don't accept a reservation for 7:00 if you can't feed the diners by 8:00. I'm sorry to say that we will never go back. They really should figure it out, they aren't as highly rated as they show. Be careful, if you want to eat here, don't go hungry and don't expect to be less than 2-3 hours.

Good food, well presented. Excellent oil and vinegar room with a bit of a taste opportunity if you can catch the owner in a quiet moment!

Just stay away!! This place is not up to par and the customer is ALWAYS wrong. If you brave this place be prepared for very overpriced food for very very low quality.

Love this restaurant, super nice outdoor area with great South Dakota views. I had a Caesar salad with shrimp and asked for the shrimp to be "a little extra done". It was perfect! Generous portions! My friend had the steak ( not sure what kind?) but he asked for med rare and it was perfect! Would definitely go back!

We waited approximately 10 minutes before getting a drink or a server. The servers were handling phone calls and hosting duties along with serving. The bar tenders were not busy and were not helping their staff. The server was fantastic and made some good oil and app recommendations. The bread that they seemed to serve with every single item was dry and boring. We saw a man spending a lot of time talking with a few tables in particular. When we ordered wine, we found out he was the sommelier. He didn't really serve a purpose. He told us a random story about Gordon Ramsay and nothing about the wine we ordered. My husband ordered the red pepper spatzle with shrimp. The shrimp was off and the sauce was some kind of strange fake cheese mixture. My husband sent the meal back after one bite and was basically insulted by the manager on duty. The manager told us we were wrong and would not refund the meal. Our server was great and we purchased some oil, but we will never go back to this restaurant. The manager did not care about helping the staff out and sent the server out to talk with us about the meal. Very disappointing.

IT'S OPEN SEATING!!! Important to note if you've not been here before. Good dinner at a reasonable price. Had the Prime Rib and it was really good. They have a decent beer selection. I'm thinking their Olive oil and Vinegar selection probably dwarfs the beer but at least they have beer. And yes they even have Coors Light and others "As Seen on TV" beers for those of you that like to pretend you're drinking beer. Enjoy!!!

A group of us had dinner at the Pheasant this past Saturday night when we were visiting a friend in Brookings. I liked the layout of this place, it reminded me of a lounge type restaurant that you'd see in KC. I also liked that you could view the sunset from the dining room, another nice touch. The menu here is appealing, especially for a small town. I can't speak for everyone else, but I will for what I had. I started with a salad and was told balsamic vinaigrette was an option. I received my salad, along with a bottle of oil and a bottle of vinegar, so I made my own dressing. I ordered the "King Cut" of prime rib. I don't want to sound negative, but it was honestly the worst prime rib I've ever had. Way too salty, a huge thick cut, and half of it was fat. It was served with a small baked potato. There was no butter provided, only packaged sour cream. The service was good and other people seemed to like what they had, that's why I am giving it three stars. If I lived in Brookings, I'd probably be starving if this is the best place to eat.

Visiting Brookings for the weekend and cake for dinner. It was busy, a good sign. Trevor was very friendly and accommodating. Our server Rachel was very sweet! The food was really good and the atmosphere was very pleasant! We would definitely return if we were back in town.

I love the oil man! He is very helpful and knowledge. Beautiful place, great food, vegetarian options, wonderful fries that taste like potatoes! Not grease!!! great specials! Friendly staff! We will definitely go back we stopped for lunch on the way to Sioux Falls thought about stopping on the way back for supper. It was that good!