The modus operandi of the Longview Steakhouse is simple: honest hospitality and atmosphere.
The decades-old establishment has just taken gold in the Western Wheel’s 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards for Favourite Steakhouse, Favourite Restaurant Outside of Okotoks, and silver for Favourite Romantic Restaurant.
That’s all owing to the diners who chose their restaurant, said co-owner Samir Belmoufid.
“A lot of the time they bring the atmosphere and they bring the joy,” Belmoufid said. “To reciprocate, we bring our own love and joy – people are excited to go and we’re excited to do.
“In general, there are just a lot of very hospitable people in the area.”
While it may seem obvious that steak is the most popular item, Belmoufid said, the menu is ranging.
“Naturally the steakhouse steak is the most popular item, but it depends on what people have appetites for,” he said. “We do a lot of tenderloin because people enjoy the quality, that it’s extremely tender, and we do a lot of rib eyes.
“We also get a lot of very fresh seasonal fish, so we do seasonal fish like our halibut, or when the time comes for sea bass, we get a lot of that.”
The restaurant was started about 30 years ago, when the family moved out from Calgary.
"My parents had come from Calgary, they opened their first restaurant in 1986 and then they moved out here and that was the beginning of the Longview Steakhouse,” he said.
Initially operating a restaurant called The Rendesvous Restaurant, Belmoufid’s parents wanted to get their children involved in the family business.
“My oldest brother (Karim), the chef who does all the cooking here, was in the States playing basketball, my other brother was just going into Grade 12,” he said.
“We had another property in Longview that was vacant, so my dad said to them, it’s summer, you have to do something. So it was my dad’s summer project for them, and now it’s a lifelong commitment for all of us."
While the brothers now handle day-to-day operations, their parents are still very much involved.
While it may sometimes be possible to get a table on a walk-in basis, Belmoufid said reservations are typically recommended.
“If you’re making a dedicated trip, oftentimes it’s best to make sure there’s availability,” he said.
In crafting simple food very well, Belmoufid said honesty is at the heart of it.
“Our whole being is to be honest with what we’re doing,” he said. “We don’t try to present a pretentious business, it’s just us doing our work, doing what we love, and in a lot of ways it's a take it or leave it thing, this is who we are.
“In atmosphere we try to give it honest hospitality, treat people the way we would like to be treated and the rest takes care of itself.”
