I’m not even waiting until I get home to share that I just had the most delicious ribeye here at Nelson’s. My husband and I were craving something/somewhere different. I found Nelson’s and saw the good reviews, so we headed out even though they were going to be closing soon after we would arrive. (We did call ahead.) We were a little worried coming in. It was very empty. Just 2 other customers and one was paying out. The decor was … non existent? I mean, it’s very clean, but the shades of gray and white are cold and uninviting. We decided to stay because we were hungry, the reviews were good, and it wasn’t ridiculously priced.

We started with drinks. My husband had wine-Decoy merlot, $15 a glass. A little more than I’d expect for Decoy, but not bad. I had an Italicus Spritz ($9). I’d never had one and never seen it on a menu anywhere, so I was curious. It was so refreshing! I immediately looked up Italicus at Total Wine so I could buy some for summer spritzers.

My husband got a shooter of lobster bisque. He’s not a big soup guy, but he really liked the bisque. He said a shooter was just the right amount for him, so it’s great that they offer that. We shared the spring mix salad. The dressing was a bit spicy, which we really liked. It was also unique in that it had whole olives, cotija cheese and capers along with all the usual ingredients in a dinner salad. It was really good.

I’m a big eater, so I ordered the 12 ounce ribeye. It came with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The potatoes were just ok, but the steak was so flavorful! It was a thin-ish cut and was a bit on the medium side (I ordered it medium rare), but I ate every last bite. It was just what I wanted. My husband got the bison meatloaf. It also came with mashed potatoes and asparagus. He said the meatloaf was very good. He said the gravy was the best he’d ever had in restaurant. He finished my mashed potatoes with the last of his meatloaf.

Being a Saturday night we were very surprised there weren’t more people there, but I suspect they do great business on weekdays and for happy hour as well as brunch.

We’ll definitely be back for the food. Maybe I’ll donate a large piece of art with some bright red, yellow, and orange color to perk up the dining room. Or maybe not, but they really could use a little color and something to soften the atmosphere. The food though is everything we were looking for.