medley. — Restaurant in New Mexico

Tonight was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had! I am from Bulgaria and have been living in the US for over a year and went to Medley to meet up with some friends for happy hour food and drinks. When our waitress greeted us and took our order for drinks she asked for ID. I pulled out my Bulgarian driver’s license and our waitress rudely ripped it out of my hand, looked at it, and told me “we cannot accept international IDs, you need to bring your passport...” Although I felt offended since I am 25 years old and my “international ID” has been sufficient identification at every other restaurant/bar establishment across the US (New York City, Florida, Montana, Wyoming, Taos, Etc.), I listened to her and abided by their policy. Next, a friend of mine offered me a sip of their cocktail since they thought it was delicious. I took a small sip/taste and as I was putting the cocktail back down a back-waiter/busser rudely told me, “You cannot do that mam!” before storming to the back. Our table found that as an aggressive remark for such a small thing, but I handed the cocktail back to my friend and we continued our conversation. Seconds later, our waitress came back to our table and rudely interrupted our conversation and started berating me for taking a sip of my friend’s cocktail. She said, “You CANNOT sip! You do not understand our laws here. I can lose my job!” as if I was some foreign alien that did not belong in this country, this town, or have the right to taste an alcoholic drink due to the fact that I have an international ID. This naturally made me very upset because I was being singled out at the table in the most unprofessional manner imaginable, so I got up and left. Following this interaction, the waitress came back to the table and said to my friends, “I’m going to close you out because she clearly doesn’t understand our policies.” The bill was paid and that will be the last time that we ever go to this establishment again. I respect the policy, but felt that the way it was delivered by our waitress/staff was very unprofessional and down right rude. I will never recommend this place again purely because...

The food at Medley is really superb!

The New Zealand lamb chop starter is delightful with crispy leaks and a sweet sauce. But the star of the show (which I have had twice now it is so good) is the Steak Frites. The hangar steak is perfectly cooked and deliciously complemented by the peppercorn demi-glacé. The string fries are hands-down the best fries I have ever eaten, make sure you say yes to the addition of Parmesan and truffle oil on them. My partner had the Shrimp Grits and said he loved every mouthful. We finished up with chocolate lava cake in the chocolate shell, I will say it was maybe in the oven a minute or two too long as it did not have the lava center, but it was still delicious.

The craft cocktails here are really imaginative and delicious. I had a Maple Old Fashioned and a Blackberry Mule; both were excellent.

Our waiter Skylar was super friendly and attentive and did a great job in every way.

I have only two small points of criticism and I hope Medley will not be offended by them as I regardless give 5 stars across the board and you are 100% the best restaurant in the whole area.

The first glasses of water that came to the table were a tepid temperature and did not taste very fresh. I heard the couple at the next table comment on it also. The bottles of water that the waiter used to top up our glasses was crisp, fresh and cold, so just something odd about those first glasses.

No salt and pepper on the tables. This is a real pet peeve of mine. No, the chef does not know best how to season their dishes, everyone has a different palate and the kitchen cannot season to everyone’s taste. I like my food on the salty side and am frustrated when I have to ask for salt and pepper to be brought to the table. It is such a small thing. Would be great to see this accommodated at Medley.

Otherwise totally fantastic! You will always be my place for a special...

Dinner at Medley was delicious. Entry for the restaurant was separate from the wine bar. The patio was nothing special so upon entering we had little hope of a decent experience. The host and hostess were attentive and welcomed us upon entering. You may want to hold the outside door or it will slam behind you. The bar area was clean and rustic looking. We got there just after opening on a Saturday and it was empty, we did not have reservations but they were able to seat us. We asked for the dining room. The dining room was nice with local artistry along the walls that was for sale. Otherwise it was very disjointed and lacking cohesiveness. Our waitress was amazing as well as the other waiter making his rounds. They were laid back and open for a small conversation. We ordered the Tuna Tartar from the small plates on the menu, the steak frites and the special blue claw soft shell crab. I know seafood inland, but it was fresh. The tartar was on the spicy side but still yummy. For $16 we received one tostada loaded with tuna. Definitely worth it for the price and delicious. The steak was well seasoned but disappointingly chewy and slightly under cooked for a mid rare. The portion at 6oz was a great size, the fries were abundant and delicious. I would get it again but pay the extra and upgrade, if possible, to the filet. The crab was delicious. The fry was perfect and the batter was seasoned well. The risotto however could have used seasoning. All in all we would definitely return here, we would sit in the bar, order some small plates and lounge. I took one star away because I think this place needs a little direction on the menu and decor. Something to bring it together otherwise great people...