I don't often go in for fine dining, largely because I'm a casual dresser, and partially due to the expense. A friend and I were in town for the Queen concert, and she asked me to pick a good steakhouse near the venue for dinner. Bases on reviews, I choose Ireland's. We were not disappointed.
Reserved thru Google via OpenTable, and twisted a table rather than a both. The hostess actually acknowledged the request you out arrival. Huge bonus points.
Atmosphere is upscale but casual. Service extremely prompt throughout our entire meal. And the quality of the food was impeccable. Prices are high, but the entirety of the experience made it well worth the cost. Note that there was also a prix fix menu that was about the cost of going to a chain, but we were here for the good stuff!
We shared a bottle of Merlot, but I did not think to take note of the name. I am terrible at describing wine flavors, but this had a medium body and very smooth finish. Very versatile.
3 types of bread were served with 3 butter options. The breads were fantastic. 1 was a thin crisp. Another was a soft, dense and chewy pretzel roll, and the 3rd was a light, fluffy sesame seed roll. In addition to standard butter, we had garlic butter and orange blossom butter. All were subtle, but delicious.
I had the red bell pepper soup with asparagus tips and lump Crab in mascarpone cheese on the side. It was a hearty, nicely spiced beginning. My friend had the French onion soup, and I could feel the decadence of it just looking at it.
She had the Wagyu steak and I chose the buffalo tenderloin. Both were perfectly cooked medium rare and seasoned to perfection. There were 4 salt options on the table that I wanted to sample, but there was simply no need.
The buffalo tenderloin came with a small bit of arugula and cherry tomato on the side and fried onions on top. I found them to be unnecessary with such a wonderful steak, but they are easily put aside, unlike a sauce, so they were really no bother at all.
We shared 3 sides. I chose sauteed mushrooms and sauteed spinach, and my friend chose the au gratin potatoes. I'm usually lukewarm on au gratin potatoes, but they were the star of the sides. I could have made an entree of those alone! The spinach and mushrooms were well prepared, with the spinach needing a touch more seasoning, but the potatoes stole the show.
Sadly, due to time constraints and the fact that we were legitimately full, we did not try dessert here. Maybe next time I'll get smart and save room. They did bring out a small sweets plate with dark chocolate dipped orange slices and coconut macaroons (is that the right term? Pic below) that were a very pleasant finishing touch.
I can't think of a single thing that was lacking in this meal. If I ever have another special occasion in this area, I will remember to return to Ireland's!
