Best steakhouse in Augusta for the Masters? Head to TBonz, the 'Unofficial Official 19th Hole'

09/04/2024 18:41

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Calling ahead to reserve a restaurant table isn’t unusual. But when Augusta visitors call ahead of Masters Week for their favorite waitresses, odds are they're calling TBonz Steakhouse.

Arriving in Augusta in 1986, TBonz soon cemented a place in Masters Tournament lore as the local “Unofficial Official 19th Hole”, where visitors can mingle with the tournament's caddies, broadcast crews and even a celebrity or two.

Diners also can sample the "best steaks known to man," according to TBonz’s ads. Perhaps significantly, TBonz hasn't been accused of false advertising.

Don't be dismayed by TBonz's smaller Masters menu. Years of experience have taught the staff to scale down the number of food selections, so the large golf crowds won't experience long waits. So at least for this week, TBonz won't have T-bones.

The simplicity of a 6-ounce fillet steak and a generously sized baked potato helps feed a need among Masters Tournament visitors.

That hardly takes away from what's left. She-crab soup is the only soup on the menu, but it might be the only soup you'll ever want after you taste it.

The 6- and 8-ounce certified Black Angus filets and the 14-ounce ribeye should show any steak lover the mastery with which each cut of meat is cooked to an ideal turn. Saying "medium rare" means you get medium rare.

TBonz's high-quality meat cuts actually led to a new commercial venture next to TBonz. In the restaurant's former catering space last year, co-owner Henry Scheer opened Mally's Market, a deli and eat-in cafe that includes a butcher shop.

“People always want to buy our meats,” TBonz owner Henry Scheer told The Augusta Chronicle in January 2023. “Some of our local customers, we’ll like sell them a loin or something, but then we thought, ‘Well, we can sell it to the public ’cause we buy such good meat.'”

On a sad note, this will be the first Masters without the outsized hospitality of TBonz co-owner Mark Cumins, who died in October 2023 at age 66. Cumins' habit of staying open late for partying caddies started growing the restaurant's reputation.

“Very sad news,” 2008 Masters Tournament champion Trevor Immelman posted at the time on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Mark was (an) Augusta and Masters Week legend. Always had a great time with him at TBonz. RIP.”