The Crown Room Albuquerque

This was one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. This is how an elegant, fine dining restaurant should be. So many other restaurants claim to be "fine dining", but a lot of them fall short when compared to our experience at the Crown Room. My husband and I dined here for the first time last night, to celebrate our anniversary. He mentioned it was our anniversary when he made the reservation, and the first thing the hostess said when seating us was "Happy Anniversary". I like the fact that she had actually looked at what was on the reservation and remembered it as she was not reading from anything when we arrived to check in, but was expecting us, even though we were about 15 minutes early for our reservation. When an establishment pays attention to details like that, it matters. When we were seated, we were asked if we wanted wine and cocktail menus, and were brought those first. The wine list is quite impressive, with a good selection of different wines and champagnes for every price point, that ranged from very affordable to $500.00 bottles. We were given time to select what we wanted to drink before we were brought the dinner menus. I really liked this because both of us had time to get a good look at the wine list and we didn't feel rushed. We were also poured water and given a choice of lemon, lime, or cucumber garnish. We opted not to order an appetizer, but instead we each ordered a salad to start. My husband got the wedge salad, and I got the bacon wrapped scallop spinach salad. My salad was amazing! The scallops were cooked to perfection, very tender, and the bacon added a nice flavor. We were also brought fresh sliced bread and butter to enjoy. For dinner, my husband ordered the house special, the 14 oz. New York center cut, medium rare, and I ordered the 6 oz. petite Fillet Mingon, medium well. Each came with our choice of starch, so he opted for the potatoes au-gratin and I for the baked potato. Before our meals came out, we were brought a palate cleanser of lemon sorbet that was topped with champagne. They do ask if they can add the champagne first, so you can opt to have just the lemon sorbet by itself if you wish. But it was very refreshing and a nice little treat. When our steaks arrived, they were both cooked to perfection. The steaks here are chargrilled which gives them a wonderful flavor, but they are also served with a side of demi-glacé, so you can add the sauce if you wish, or just enjoy the steak by itself. My baked potato was cooked nicely, but it was huge and I could only manage to eat about half of it, although I did enjoy it. My husband also enjoyed the potatoes au-gratin, and he liked the mix of russet and sweet potatoes. For dessert, we ordered the bananas Foster, which is prepared table side. They flambé the bananas in a mixture of butter, brown sugar, rum and liqueur, and serve them over vanilla ice cream. It was very good. My husband actually liked it, and he doesn't like sweets much. In fact, I thought I was ordering it for myself because I was sure he wouldn't touch it, but it's a good thing he helped me eat it because I wouldn't have been able to finish it myself as its a rather large portion and meant to be shared. At the end of our meal, I was given a single red rose and again we were wished a happy anniversary. From start to finish, we were treated exceptionally well. We were well attended to, but never felt rushed or interrupted. The courses were timed well with not too much or too little time between them. The food was wonderful, and the overall decor was very classic. The jazz music playing in the background suited the atmosphere perfectly, and I noted hearing both classic artists like Frank Sinatra and contemporary artists like Michael Bublé. I love this style of music in general, so maybe I'm being a little biased there, but overall, I was completely won over and I can't wait to return. The only major downside is not a reflection on the Crown Room itself, but the fact that it is located within the casino at the Downs racetrack, of all places. It's not in the nicest area of town, and and night, there are some interesting characters that hang out at the casino. We had never been to this casino, and after dinner we tried to check out the lounge, but we didn't like the atmosphere, so we quickly left and went somewhere else. I can't quite figure out what a perfectly elegant restaurant like the Crown Room is doing in a place like this, except that perhaps that's part of its charm - a true diamond in the rough, so to speak. I'd absolutely go back for this little gem, but I have no desire to come here for any other reason.

This is a great place! They have excellent food and service. And the chef was willing to make a special request, for a vegetarian. Thank you, Crown Room. : )