Empire Grill — Restaurant in California

Update:

We wanted something close a couple nights ago and we have eaten here before. It’s not the worst food, not the best, standard run of the mill diner type restaurant here. (We are tough critics, mind you)

The menu is semi limited but it is a small town. Each time we have gone there, there is only a handful of diners and the seating is pretty much carte blanche.

We started with the Calamari for an app. It showed up pretty quickly, but to our surprise...it was breaded calamari sticks. That'd be a NO for us, we live in Ca, we want rings and tentacles. (We looked back at the menu and it doesn't specify "rings" or "sticks" so I guess Calamari is Calamari).

My bf ordered a bacon cheeseburger without cheese. It showed up loaded with enough mayonnaise to condition your hair. The bun was cold, the fries were cold. But, it was a burger and did its job. In all honesty it's pretty much what we were expecting, so no disappointment or loss.

I ordered The Beef and Bleu Salad. Now, keep in mind as it calls out on the menu for Beef Medallions. What actually showed up was, wilted lettuce with a non modest amount of bleu cheese, and a medium well steak that was supposed to be rare (Notice I said “steak”which is far different from a medallion.)

We ate most of it as we were hungry, and we reminded ourselves of why it's a run of the mill place. I'm sure at some point we may grab a burger there for lunch or something due the proximity, but will be prepared for nothing short of non spectacular.

The service was good and our waitress was friendly.

2 months ago:

My bf and I stopped into Empire Grille yesterday for lunch. We entered the restaurant and were promptly greeted with a friendly smile. We were seated right away and received our drinks quickly. We ordered the special riblet appetizer, jalapeño burger and bacon cheeseburger. The appetizer was delivered in an appropriate amount of time before our burgers arrived. All the food was delicious and our waitress was attentive and accommodating to our requests for side condiments not provided on the table. Our meal was a great value for the quality of the...

i had not been to the Empire Grille since before covid so i thought i would give it a try...except for 1 table of 2 and three people at the bar the place was empty...i had a very timid but efficient waitress who suggested i have the special steak (6 oz) because i didn't want mushrooms but i went for the 12 oz instead...tough steak even though it was cooked to perfection...not the best quality meat and rather dry (Cooked medium)...i could live with that but even as i was ordering i asked the waitress if it was always this loud...she said "i'm not gonna lie, it is pretty noisy"...she was right next to me and we couldn't hear each other as i was trying to order...i watched the people at the bar and realized it was NOT THEM who was shouting (not talking) and setting the tone for the place...it was the big girl tending bar who was making all of the noise .she never lowered her voice which made for a very intrusive and uncomfortable experience...midway thru my meal i hear her telling EVERYONE including me who was around the corner in a 2 top table in the alcove about how hot it was yesterday she cooked her tri tip in her underwear....REALLY????...suddenly i was having visuals i never wanrt to think of again....it's bad enough the place has no soundproofing but someone needs to put a gag order on this bartender...it totally ruined my dining experience and i may never come back again...the waitress (a tiny dark haired girl) who was very attentive apologized but it is sad to hear them complain that it is so slow...it will be slower now until someone teaches that bartender to be considerate of your guests.......i wanted a nice quiet dinner and left feeling like i had been violated....she needs to apologize to the other employees if this is her normal demeanor....she is destroying the am bience and your business....it's a restaurant...NOT CHUCK E CHEESE!...manners and consideration go a long way in customer service....you bartender...

Honestly, our incredible server (who's name I abashedly had forgotten) made this one of the best restaurant experiences I've had since having children. We have 4 year olds and a 1 year old. Even though our kids are extremely obedient, eating out with three little ones is usually difficult. Full stop. Our amazing server was in his 30's, possibly 40's, reddish-blonde hair, average build, facial hair, and angel wings he kept hidden. He admitted he had a 2 year old, but still predicted every need we had and went out of his way to make our visit with grandma exceptional. He even thought to bring our toddler a to-go box to use as a bowl since we couldn't give him food on a breakable plate. Our server also brought us a large garbage bag for the handful of Christmas gifts we unwrapped at the table together! Having been cooped up with the storm outside, our kiddos got a little rowdy at the end after finishing their fuel but the server never complained. Even when our 1 year old went on a walkabout in the empty dining room, he just complimented our family instead of complaining that ours were moving around and stretching their legs. The parking lot was nearly empty so plenty of spaces available, small dining room in the back and bar seating toward the front, single unisex bathroom. The decor isn't anything to write home about, but the building seems kept up and clean. Small outdoor patio for dining. There was a small lunch menu with a reasonable variety of choices. The dungeness crab was canned and the salmon was a frozen patty, but the sandwich was still pretty darn good. My hubby and mother-in-law really liked their BBQ burgers. The apple cobbler a la mode was to die for, definitely order it! I'd absolutely return, if not just to be served by that wonderful man who made what could have been a rough dining experience feel flawlessly serene....