Bad experience starting with rsvp. I made it through the website and when i showed up they didn't have it already to a bad start. When we were finally sat down the server ignored us for about a legitimate 20-30 minutes. I had to ask for the menu, drinks took another 30 minutes. To make long story short the food wasn't bad but the service was the worst I've experienced. I can say you can get a better service at chik fil a. It seems as if you do not plan to go with a suit they will not waste their time with you. If your looking for fine dinning i would not recommend this place ever take your money elsewhere. read more

I was very surprised that after dining this Tuesday 11/10 at Cafe Central I was not able to recover my scarf. I've noticed how quickly they turn tables after customers leave and waiters immediately clean up. I called immediately the day after and they told me in a hurry as if I was bothering them, "No we don't have it." Mmmmh, considering it's a high end restaurant I am surprised at their response. This was not a high end scarf but had sentimental value. read more

Amazing restaurant with live entertainment, excellent service & fabulous food & drink menu. Highly recommend!

My wife and I enjoyed a fantastic dinner on a Friday night at Central. The waiter, Diego, was very friendly and helpful with wine pairings and menu highlights. Though the entrees were not ready by his timeline (he apologized), we were provided an appetizer of our choice until the dinner was served. Pro move, and added to the overall wonderful evening. Service was top notch, and the food was delicious. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a special night. read more

Cob salad was not as fresh as I expected Glass of water was dirty... Good thing lunch was taken care of by management after we complained Cons : 1.Over Price for the service (water and salad ) a overpriced $19.79 2. Seating was cramped and tables were close together could hear the conversation next to me. 3. Bathroom was dirty ! ONLY One bathroom! Pros: 1. Nice place , nice looking bar. 2. Fast seating 3.Dress code !! read more

The service was prompt and courteous. The salads and entrees were exceptional. The only disappointment was the 1/4 cup size serving of the raspberry sorbet for $7.00. I was expecting a regular sized scoop. My grilled swordfish was so good that I did not complain about the dessert. read more

I have been going to CC for years now, frequently taking family and clients. I have even thrown several dinner meetings, each with dozens of guests in their private back rooms. Over the years the food and service have slowly gone downhill to where, after last night's experience, I have decided to never return. Despite reservations, our party of seven were seated in the bar area near the front door at a tiny table that should have been limited to four people. My wife needed to wear her winter coat throughout the entire meal because of the cold breeze that came from outside whenever the door was opened. From our mini-table we were able to look upon the restaurant where many large tables remained empty the entire night - despite being a Friday night the restaurant was only filled to 70% capacity. Perhaps they left the large tables empty in hopes that some party of billionaires would come at any moment... As usual, the Signature Green Chili soup was poured from the little teapots into the bowls. As we began to eat it, some of our out-of-town guests supposed that it was really bad vichyssoise - four bowels were sent back for being ice cold. You would think that they would have sent out new pots of soup, but you'd be wrong. The bowels were returned after being reheated, probably in a microwave. You would think that the manager would have come out and apologized and offered the soup and first round of drinks on the house, but you'd be wrong. We never saw the manager, never got an apology - just a $747 check with a 20% tip added for a large party. The rest of the meal was equally unimpressive with fish that was of questionable freshness - I am writing this the next day, after spending the morning in the bathroom. Several of our guests have had to extend their stay in El Paso to recuperate from the gastronomic disaster wrought by Cafe Central. It is no wonder that Cafe Central was nearly half-empty on a Friday night. read more

In the last year Cafe Central has become the best spot in El Paso for a meal and a nice bottle of wine or great vodka . Absolutely phenomenal staff, fantastic selection, fantastic food! If there is one place to eat in El Paso this is absolutely it. read more

A world class fine dining restaurant! Amazing sea bass! Artisan breads are delicious! Classic elegant decor! Valet parking is superb!

Not worth the money. Service was awful and food not that exciting. Only one bathroom for both male and female (one toilet) you get the picture... They took care of the table next to me excellently looked like some Mexican mobster but seem to forget about my table. Ordered the Steak Special and ended up with the rib-eye on the menu. Calamari average and fishy tasting. The wait staff spilled a martini on my guest. Over charged on drinks, I ordered a Crown Royal Reserve Manhattan they charged me $13.00 for the Crown Royal and $7.00 for a Manhattan on the bill LOL!!! Their explanation was that a Manhattan is more Liqueur then a normal drink. Caution on the famous Chilli.... Tastes Great for a puree a chili but will go through you very quickly and you will want to use the restroom by the end of the meal. Remember the one person restroom. Also there is only one person running valet so I had to wait before somebody took my car. Somebody told me and should have listened to them... Cafe Central is the place to be seen, very classy interior and dressed up wait staff and live music but that is where the joy ends. Oh don't bother dressing up, many people in there with T Shirt and jeans... I almost felt over dressed. Recommend Mesa Grill and I will be trying G2 this weekend. read more

We went here for lunch, and it's that sort of jaw-dropping exquisite ambiance that makes for one of the most romantic restaurants in El Paso. I'm not kidding. It's location is almost a secret, with it's entrance facing an alley, tucked a short stroll behind the El Paso Museum of Art, you just have to eat here to say you were here. The food and plating doesn't disappoint! It's class all the way. For the best time, look nice, go with someone you really really enjoy, and try it out for lunch since the menu is truly affordable. A $12 salad in a gorgeous and secret location. Tell me how it goes ;) read more

Went here based on a recommendation from a friend. It was my husband's birthday and we both loved it. We usually eat really early so I made reservations for 5. The waiter was very attentive and very nice. I ordered the seafood pasta and my husband had the steak. Oh, and I cannot forget the awesome Carpaccio! By far the best I have ever had...literally! I would go back there just for that. The bread selections were also great with the jalapeño bread being my favorite. It was so good, I had to ask the waiter where it was from. I will definitely be going back. read more

Let me start with how great the food is, made up for the terrible service. Waited for an hour to be seated when there was plenty of available seating which were not used the entire time we waited. Once we were seated we waited over an hour to get our food. By far worse service. Only good service we experienced was the bar tenders. Very disappointed. read more

We went to cafe central last night. The service and the ambiance were great from the very beginning, thus my hope for a great dining experience was high. Oh but the food. We had two carpaccios to start. They were over seasoned, the delicate flavor of the meat just got lost. For the main course I ordered the jumbo scalops. What I got was at best 3 average if not smaller than average scallops. When I asked the waiter about the difference of what the menu said and what I got, he politely shrugged his shoulders and explained that's all they had. The concept of the dish was confusing, the texture of the pork belly was strange, and the sauce was just an after thought. My wife had a salad she found decent. Lastly, for dessert we had a creme Brulee and a cheesecake that seemed to have come right out of a box. In short, this place has a lot of potential. The ambiance and service were spot on. At the end it is all about the food. And on this occation, it was just underwhelming. read more

I only went once and food was absolutely excellent. lounge singer was great. Im hoping to go again soon and try other new things on the menu. The duck was cooked tenderly. Ambience was great. Service was great. love this place!! read more

Psst. want some Bread? One piece of bread after about 25 minutes of waiting. One good thing about this restaurant, the Green Chilli soup was outstanding. Service was a bit slow. I would not recommend this to any of my friends. My advice, pass it up and go to Cattleman's Club. read more

My wife and I had a late lunch for our anniversary. Getting to the venue was difficult due to all of the construction downtown. The venue is beautiful and the atmosphere was very nice. It was very relaxing. Unfortunately, the food left much to be desired. We started off with the calamari. It was a bit chewy but not too bad. I ordered the seafood enchiladas-honestly the worst enchiladas I've ever had. They lacked seasoning and were devoid of any flavor. I've had better ones from a food truck. My wife had the beef medallions on mashed potatoes. She found them satisfactory. Overall, the atmosphere is great, the service was satisfactory, but the food is overpriced for the quality. If you're willing to overlook the mediocre food for the atmosphere, this is the place to go. read more

This is not the first time I've been here, cafe central has been a staple of fine dinning in El Paso for a long time. On this occasion my wife and I returned to the place where she and I had our first date, and where I proposed to her. So that being said it was just fitting for us to go back for out 10th wedding anniversary. So we arrive a little early but they were fine with us there, but they seemed surprised because they were going to place a happy anniversary card from the restaurant. So instead they gave it to us, talk about above and beyond. We ordered some drinks from the bar and then began with our appetizers. I had the lobster salad and it was great, and my wife had the baby green salad, she enjoyed it! For dinner I had the ahi while my wife had the prawn brochettes. I am not a fan of bacon but I tried the prawns and they were great. My wife who can't handle that much heat said that she chose the correct meal. My ahi was cooked right and the wasabi risotto was just to die for, so happy. So as we were ready to order dessert our server brought out a mango colada pie with happy anniversary on the plate. To say that we were blown away is an understatement. That you again for the great food and night, a place that has so much of our history together gave us another great memory. read more

We just moved to El Paso and were looking for fine dining. We found it! We were seated at a table for two squished between two tables of four. We started of with cocktails; my husbands jack over ice was generously poured and my martini was made perfectly. A gentleman with a bread basket circulated throughout the restaurant and kept everyone's plate full with many varieties of bread. We were allowed to linger with our drinks and munching on our bread, never feeling rushed or hurried, after all it is fine dining not fast food! My husband asked our waiter to take his coat and check it, however, the restaurant was so noisy I don't think he was heard, it was never checked. At one point my husband and I could not hear eachother talk so we pulled out our phones and had a conversation via text (sad really). There was a jazz concert going on that night at the Plaza Theatre so Café Central was very busy, I cant fault them for loud noisy customers. My husband ordered the rib-eye stake, it was HUGE! It was delicious, yes I eat off my husbands plate. I had the tuna, I like my tuna raw, but warm, I had it seared, but the center was cold, not cool cold but refrigerator cold. I did not see this as a problem, again too much meat for me to eat so I ate around the edges and figured the center would be perfect for lunch tomorrow, after a short microwave zap it would be perfect as a leftover. When our check came we asked where our "doggie" bags were and were told they were mistakenly thrown out. My husband only ate 1/4 of his huge steak and I ate 1/2 of my tuna! That was an awful waste! The waiter and manager(?) profusely apologized and offered to cook another rib-eye for my husband. We accepted. I did notice how quiet the patio was when we left. Note to self: if a concert, play, symphony is playing get a patio table at Central Café, much, much more quiet. We went to our Jazz concert and when we came back for after show drinks we were immediately given our new rib-eye, kudos to our waiter! Again very noisy and very busy. We will be back again, but on a night that it is more quiet. The only reason I gave four stars vs. five is: did not check coat when requested. Reservation was for private quiet table, did not happen. Who throws out a large chunk of steak and tuna?? Though remedied should have never happened. We will be back, and I am sure Central Café will get a five star from me then! read more

Just in came in for dessert. I got the tres leches cake. It tastes like an upscale version of the orginal! It was thick, rich, and creamy. Definitely shareable read more

I came here on a business trip, with my boss. He's a huge fan of this place, and we were dressed in business attire, so it made sense to come in. It's a super classy spot. We shared the Grilled & Fried Calamari, and then we both ordered the Grilled Scottish Salmon and Mango Colada Pie. I'm not big on seafood, but I enjoyed my dishes. That pie was my absolute favorite though. It was simply delicious. I'd go back just for that. read more

Well, I paid a visit two times this week. It says a lot for me to visit a fancy restaurant more than once in a week. I love their service too. Attentive and fast. They have the best coffee ever and the creamy green chile soup. These two are a must ! This is also a pricey restaurant, but it doesn't matter because everything about this restaurant makes up for it. I will return soon Cafe Central! read more

The food was good enough but a little overpriced. The real problem I had was the service. Some of the people with me have been before and said its not usually that bad though. It took 10 minutes to tell us that they were all out of the apetizer we ordered. It took another 45 minutes to get our food and 2 of the dishes were cold and had to be redone. read more

Cafe Central used to be the gold standard for fine dining in El Paso, and in many ways, it still is but mainly because there are no other " fine dining " or " white table cloth " options in El Paso. The restaurant itself is still beautiful and moody but long gone is the exceptional service that was once their hallmark. We have dined here four times in the last six months, two lunches, two dinners, and the service is sub par at best and the food is consistently average. The food is not bad but it's not like it's something I look forward to sitting down to and I'm not sure the menu has changed at all in the last ten years. An interesting daily special would at least make it more enticing. The thing is, it's the only option and the owners know it and still continue to charge the super high premiums they have always charged without providing the high standard of service or high quality of food. This El Paso historical gem has not done well under the new owners stewardship. Perhaps they should treat it as the fine dining establishment it is and not like one of their other franchises. read more

i really wanted to like this restaurant more.. although we were seated promptly.. we waited 5 minutes for a menu.. and 10 minutes for water.. service is actually piss poor for a fine dining establishment.. additionally.. you should never have to ask for bread.. my wine took about 15 minutes after i ordered.. as for the food.. there were some hits and misses... the cream green chile soup is spectacular.. the complementary bread goes well with the soup.. for my entree.. i ordered the fruti de mar... the seafood was overcooked.. and the tomato sauce was flavorless.. the angel hair pasta was however al dente.. my fiancee's chilean sea bass was overcooked.. that in itself is amazing since it's already difficult to screw that up.. the rice was also undercooked.. she however enjoyed her meal... for dessert.. we shared an order of the sorbet which was quite refreshing.. lastly.. although the piano music was nice during dinner.. the ambiance took a turn for the worse when they started playing Top 40 music over the speakers.. btw... the wine list is however quite amazing.. read more

Given some of the other choices in town, this place had fresh green salads and veggies, the staff didn't mind when we added a few more to our party on a weekend night, and the selections were perfect after a busy work day running around town. I don't know if I'd go here every night, but for a business traveler, this is a good choice after a long hard day! read more

Horrible, rude service. Maître d' is annoying and disrespectful. Dirty restaurant. Only things tasty on the menu are the green chile and escargot. Forget about this establishment. read more

Terrific food, wonderful ambiance. The lobster ravioli was amazing, light and tasty and just the right portion! Highly recommend for that special night out! Will be back when we return to El Paso read more

The wife and I went there to celebrate our anniversary, food was really good, service was exceptional. Cream of chile soup is a must have.

We went to Cafe Central based on their nomination for a James Beard award. What a let down. The food was fashioned after 10 year old standard presentations and offerings. No attention to detail, apps not seasoned, meat overcooked, crab claw not seasoned and sour, bread basic, garnish repeated on diff. plates. The meal was worth $50 ...not $150 rip off. All of this and the continued drowning on and on of a Mariachi Band that was too loud and not in keeping with the theme made me feel like I was in a bad Mexican night mare at New York Prices! Stay away and no long give any worth to a James Beard nominee! read more

We decided on Cafe Central because they are known for their great food and also their excellent service. We were pleased with both. Service is a dying art and their service was a 10 out of 10! Thoroughly enjoyed our anniversary meal. The martini glass was chilled, the sommelier did a fantastic job picking a wine for us, our fish dishes were cooked perfectly and the sparkler on our dessert was the crowning touch. VERY pleased with the entire experience! read more

Great place to take a date, and the service is top-notch. I love the wine selection and the fact that they have a sommelier who knows about every wine on the menu. I give 5 stars for presentation and 4 stars for taste. You can find better steak in EP at places like Garufa's, and Billy Crews, and Mesa Street Bar and Grill. Went for lunch once and had the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever eaten along with some tomato soup for dipping. The desserts are homemade and delicious. The green chile soup was out of this world. read more

Expensive. Well, the fanciest restaurant for the area (menu good, ambiance ok).

Phenomenal service, the food was awesome, we'll definitely return. Our service began when we pulled up to the front, from that moment forward they were consistent with ensuring guest were not left wanting. The servings were a serving size which is great if you're watching your waistline. I had the scallops and my husband had the prawns, both dishes were prepared to perfection. Don't be turned off by the price, it is reasonable and well worth it. We will definitely return for future date nights, minus the children since the menu is not suited for young ones. read more

I have only been there twice, both times for lunch. The food is generally quite good, but the lunch service is disorganized. I've had the same waiter both times (a guy with a slight Irish accent), and he's just a little too much for my preferences -- over-attentive. He spends a lot of time talking about what good service he's trying to give our party; I wish he would talk less and give us more actual service. read more

We had our daughter's 15th birthday dinner here last night. Let me start off by saying that when we first called we reserved a table for 10, then kept adding seats, and on Monday I called and asked if they could move our dinner party to the Vault Room. They were very accommodating and attentive to our needs. Our server was Chris and when we came in he already had an idea of what was ordered normally and how the meals should go, we opted to go our own method and he was okay with that. My in laws order the same appetizers, shrimp cocktails to start every meal but it was not on the menu, problem? Not for Chris and the chef, he created the appetaziers just for them and they were good. We also had the crab cakes and the teens we took gobbled them up and licked the plate (not literally) and they were hesitant to try it at first. Next most of us had the soup. What else can you say about a signature dish, it was great. All the while Chris kept the party light with jokes and tales, he was very attentive and responsive to all of us. Next the main courses came out, 6 Tomahawks, 2 Half Chickens, 2 Ribeyes, 1 Linguini, 2 puntas de filet. The meals came out and not a single complaint was heard, all the food was amazing and delicious. We brought our own cake but Chris still put sparklers on the cake and it was delicious. My daughter did not want a Quinceanera so this was the perfect replacement party. The food was great, the waiter Chris was great, and the evening was amazing. We have never had any issues with this restaurant which is why we keep going, since the first day we went years ago on a last second decision where the chef made chicken strips for our daughter when they were in the middle of prepping for dinner service. Yes it is expensive, but no more different or more than a Cattlemans or some of the big plates at Red Lobster or Landrys. The total was $974, but that was with gratuity included, for 13 guests that all got an appetizer, soup, and entree that is $64 per person. To make it cheaper skip the water (6 to 8 per) and the appetizers and stick with soup and entrees. For us it was so worth it though. read more

Based on previous reviews and others' recommendations, I had high expectations for this restaurant, but was very disappointed. I went with a large party of 25 for lunch and we had reservations, but the restaurant seemed to be unprepared to accommodate our party. We only had one server, didn't receive bread or drinks until after four of us got our meal 45 minutes into our visit. The other 21 didn't receive their meals for an hour and a half...which I found ridiculous considering the restaurant wasn't very crowded. The service was poor and the food wasn't great. Next time I attend any events downtown, I won't be going back and neither will the other 24 in my party. read more

Service is always great here; however, I ordered the lamb chops and they were a bloody mess on my plate. The waiter took them back to have them cooked but they just didn't taste the same and were still bleeding. For the price, they should strive for perfection. read more

In a world where average service is the standard mostly because people are to busy or moving to fast to care, great service sticks out to me and my experience at Cafe Central embodied that. In short the wait staff was prompt and professional. They were mindful to make sure that there was good pace between courses. Above all the experience was genuine. I had the calamari appetizer which went well with the sweet chile sauce, a caesar salad, and the Chilean Sea Bass. I've had a lot of sea bass and this one ranks at the top for me. read more

Came here while in town on business with a group of a few people. A few elements of the meal were great, others could use improvement. The drinks were actually rather poor. We got a Manhattan and a few cocktails. Really nothing noteworthy, the Manhattan was inedible. We all switched to beer by the end of the night. The bread, like other reviewers have mentioned, was not that great and was served cold. My entrée - the duck - was outstanding. I would have preferred if the portion was greater. My friends had larger portions with their entrees (the chicken, the pasta). The dessert was delicious. We got the cheesecake and the chocolate mousse. Really great, very enjoyable. I also got a latte with dessert, which was not noteworthy, the foam was too bubbly. The service was a little hovercraft-ish. They kept trying to steal our entrees before we were done. I might return here if someone else is paying, but not if I am paying. read more