Timothy Blystone

Review of Al's Upstairs

I'm giving Al's a 3-star rating even though I beli...

I'm giving Al's a 3-star rating even though I believe it should be a 5. Let me tell you why.

On visiting the other night for our first trip there, my girlfriend and I ordered what was to be our first meal. She ordered the scallop dinner and I ordered the 10-ounce filet mignon with stuffed shrimp with Gorgonzola cheese.

The scallops were seared to perfection and tasted excellent but that was what my girlfriend ordered and I didn't get much of that meal.

I order the filet mignon, the big cut, with Gorgonzola & stuffed shrimp. The shrimp were good, average quality and taste and the stuffing was well prepared and tasted excellent.

The only bad part about this meal unfortunately was the centerpiece and that was the filet mignon. In my opinion it was not nearly as juicy as it should have been in fact it was a bit dry. I ordered the steak medium rare and it came out more like medium. This is an expensive cut of beef and it should have been cooked to Perfection juicy and tender and in a restaurant like this it should have been far above average quality. It was not, and for these Reasons I'm only giving a 3-star rating.

The service was excellent and the waiter was very attentive.

At the end of the meal a person who I believe to be the general manager came to our table and apologized for the steak we were given free dessert as a consolation for the poor quality of the steak. I felt like they should have offered to remake the filet but they did not.

On the plus side the Caramel Praline Basket with fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream was far above average in both taste and presentation. The tiramisu was very good although I found it a bit bland.

We will be returning to Al's upstairs Italian restaurant in the future and I have no doubt that I'll be able to give a better rating then, but for now it's a 3 and I'm really sorry it has to be this way because I honestly enjoyed dining there.

If anyone from Al's happens to read this and I hope you do just know this isn't a a lower rating out of meanness I feel like it's what is deserved because of the quality of the food that I was served. There is more you could have done but you did not, the fact that you handled it as well as you did is the reason that I'm giving you a 3-star rating and not a 1 or 2.