Yummy, yum, yum for my tummy, tum, tum!
My hubby surprised me with a nice dinner out at the Carmel Room as an "I Love You" present. Ahhhh, so sweet! It was especially nice because this was the first dinner at a non-family friendly joint we have been to since my daughter was born over 2 years ago! Oh how I have missed steakhouse steaks!
We popped into the Carmel Room because it is close to grandma's (aka the babysitter) house. It was also a good choice for us because it is off of the Strip. Restaurants off of the Strip are so much easier because of the parking, shorter walking distance, less crowds, and better prices. The Carmel Room is a steak house and we racked up quite a bill, but it was still less than it would have been at one of the trendy places on the Strip. I like the Strip places too, but it is so much easier to not go down there these days.
We walked up to the maitre 'd and were greeted so warmly. He was so funny and just started us off on the right foot. We were seated at a super comfy table and were automatically welcomed by our servers. All of those guys were so friendly and had us laughing and enjoying ourselves right away. All through the meal we had fun and happy people around us, as well as crazy good service. It is so nice to have nice people and amazing service when you are out. It really makes the meal, in my opinion!
The interior was very pretty and comfortable. They had regular dining areas, as well as private areas all around. It wasn't too crowded, which was nice because who wants to listen to other people when you are on a romantic date? It was a very nice restaurant to sit back and enjoy a great dinner. My only thing I would rate on the negative side was the sound level. It was nice and quiet for the most part until the lounge act went on at a neighboring bar. When they got on, it got really loud with bar band music. It wasn't horrible, but I could have done without it in a steakhouse setting.
For dinner, we had crab cakes for an appetizer, 16oz boneless rib eyes with sautéed wild mushrooms and herb butter, truffle mac n' cheese, garlic mashed potatoes, and we finished it off with a Grand Marnier soufflé. Everything was fantastic! The crab cakes were full of big hunks of crab and served with a very tasty sauce. Both of the steaks (we are boring and ordered the same thing) were super tender, and melt in your mouth tasty. The mushrooms were cooked perfectly and really added to the steak. The herb butter bumped up the flavor another notch or 2 as well. These were some great steaks! The truffle mac n' cheese was good. Not the best I have had, but pretty yummy. The garlic mashed potatoes were very smooth and creamy. I do wish the serving size was bigger though because I love mashed potatoes almost as much as love my kid! I also ordered a side of Béarnaise because it is AWESOME. The Béarnaise here has to be one of the better sauces I have had at any steakhouse in recent memory. Oh, and the soufflé! The soufflé was absolutely delectable! The soufflé was so light and fluffy! Then the sauces made it even more fabulous. The sauces were a milk chocolate sauce and a vanilla Grand Marnier sauce with some fresh whipped cream thrown in for good measure. Everything was super flavorful but I was in love with the vanilla Grand Marnier sauce. I could have drank the whole container of it because it was THAT GOOD! Drool!
The place does skew a little on the more mature side of things. I know we were the youngest people in there, but we didn't mind. Being a more mature crowd, it made us more relaxed and comfortable.
If you want a nice steak dinner without the hassle of going to the Strip, I would recommend the Carmel Room in a heart beat!