Well... it had been a very, very long time since I last visited Delmonico's. And sometimes going…read moreback to a restaurant from your past can be a little like looking at an old photograph....you remember it one way, only to realize that your perspective has changed.
Back in the day, Delmonico's was the place to go when you wanted to dress up, celebrate something special, and enjoy a higher-end meal without having to travel far. At a time when there weren't nearly as many upscale dining options around, this definitely felt like an occasion.
And let's talk about the atmosphere because there is absolutely no mistaking the theme here.
Think Italian mobster meets supper club. Mob-related actors and photographs adorn the walls, Frank Sinatra is playing, and the dining tables are tucked into little private nooks. They really lean into the whole experience -- and honestly, you either love the theme or you're going to find it a little... cheesy.
Coming back with fresh eyes, I found myself realizing that what I once considered an upscale dining experience now feels more like an expensive, heavily themed steakhouse chain.
This particular location was once an Applebee's, and while they have certainly given the place a complete makeover, I couldn't help but feel that a tiny bit of the Applebee's DNA was still hanging around.
The restaurant has also had its share of challenges and negative publicity over the years, particularly surrounding staffing and cleanliness. That said, our experience was actually very good. Our server and the staff were terrific, the food came out exactly as ordered, and everyone was attentive to our needs.
I ordered the Classic Delmonico, their signature steak, and it was cooked perfectly. I requested no pepper seasoning and they got that right ...always a win when a simple request actually makes it to the kitchen! The steak was enormous, and I had enough left over to make another meal out of it.
Meals come with pasta as a side, but I opted to upgrade to a vegetable. Enter the asparagus... which apparently had gotten into a serious relationship with the pepper shaker.
It was covered in pepper.
Luckily, nothing a little napkin intervention couldn't fix!
So after all these years, where does that leave me?
The service was excellent, the steak was good, the portions were generous, and the atmosphere is certainly memorable. But when I look at the overall experience versus the price, I think my dining dollars would go elsewhere.
For a special occasion, I would personally choose a smaller, more intimate steakhouse or upscale restaurant where the food and atmosphere feel a little more elevated and less like a chain experience.
But I'm still glad I went.
Sometimes you revisit an old favorite and discover it isn't quite what you remembered. And sometimes that's okay. The restaurant may have changed or maybe my definition of a special dining experience has simply evolved.
Either way, it was worth the trip down memory lane.
Would I go back? Probably not for a special occasion. But I'm glad I finally went back after all these years, if only to see whether Delmonico's could still live up to the version I remembered.
