Al's Restaurant — Restaurant in St. Louis

Went there for dinner recently and found the food to be "meh"...definitely not worth the expense. Also....It. Took. Hours. We had to wait so long between placing an order and receiving it - the conversation would die down at the table while we waited, eventually, and it was just excruciating at times. This would be understandable if it were busy and/or a staffing issue - but - for most of the meal, we were the only table in the place. Another party came in later, and it only got worse.

Apparently - this restaurant had a short documentary filmed about it, which won an Emmy award...making it one of - if not the only - the only restaurants in the world with an Emmy award.

There is a lot of history to this restaurant, and apparently it's where celebrities go, when they come to STL, to have privacy while they dine. It was mostly empty when we were there, but our waiter provided ample details about the history of the place and the most recent celebrities to dine there.

So - be prepared, there's no written menu. The waiter will recite the list of starters, salads, sides and main entrees for you. I would have preferred a menu with descriptions - but not a big deal.

For cocktails, we had two martinis and two glasses of wine. One guest wanted a glass of Sauvignon Blanc (SB) and was told they only sell SB by the bottle. We were willing to go with a bottle, but the only option was Sterling Vineyards SB for $64. Having actually been to Sterling Vineyards and done a wine tasting - we were acutely aware that it is nowhere near a $64 value, so...we did not order the bottle, and our guest went with a Riesling, instead.

The bread and butter service was really good. They mix the butter with blue cheese - so it adds some softness and flavor. Could easily be addictive!

Our table ordered: shrimp cocktail, a salad with the "97 year old recipe Italian", and two of the "Al's specials" which included a fried shrimp, a bacon wrapped piece of tenderloin in barbecue sauce and some other forgettable thing. I had the Al's special and it was...."meh". The fried shrimp could have come from the frozen food section and the bacon wrapped morsel was so smothered in sauce I could barely taste the bacon/meat. The salad was shared and enjoyed.

For the salad round, everyone who wanted one ordered another salad with the "97 year old recipe Italian" because it was so good.

For the entrees/sides, the following items were ordered: NY Strip with sauteed mushrooms and Al's potatoes, Blackened Salmon with Al's potatoes, stuffed Filet Mignon with marsala sauce and creamed spinach, Chilean sea bass with lemon/shrimp sauce on top with amaretto carrots.

The entrees were prepared for presentation table-side.

I ordered the sea bass and honestly...my first bite was kinda "fishy". It was also a little tough. We have made it better at home. My order of amaretto carrots was sickeningly sweet - which I expected. I had ordered them for my mother, as she loves cooked carrots in sweet sauces. So, I took a bite to see how they were, and handed it to her. I also found the portion size of my sea bass to be quite a bit smaller than the one presented during the recitation of the main entree options. I was still satisfied at the end of the meal...but when I found out that our bill was almost $500....it made me regret my order. I would have enjoyed a salad much more than my entree, and it wouldn't have been so expensive.

The two guests who ordered the Al's potatoes shared some with me and I found them to be super hard/crunchy and not warm at all. Both guests were disappointed in the potatoes and would not order them again. The rest of the entrees appeared to be enjoyed by their respective owners - so - but no one oooh'd and ahhh'd over anything.

During the meal - I believe there were three more drinks ordered. Another martini, and two more glasses of wine.

We had no dessert. So - for four people, the bill was $488 which seems like a lot for some drinks, some really good bread, butter and salads, and everything...

Al’s is what other fine dining and steak houses try to be

I saw a post earlier this year on the Lost Tables Facebook group. I had only been to Al’s once (in 2010) and was surprised that it was still open… and although I forgot the guy I went to Al’s with in 2010, I remembered the decadent atmosphere, excellent service, delicious steak and slow meal.

Al’s symbolizes everything that I want in my 40th decade: authenticness, a better socioeconomic situation, and understated originality.

I called two weeks ahead and made reservations for my birthday feast.

My experience couldn’t have been better. The hostess was exceptional and kind to my group of 8 very ethnically and socioeconomically diverse friends, at least 2 whom have never experienced fine dining. Everyone felt welcomed and comfortable (I had told them to dress up, so everyone was dressed appropriately for a place like this).

We split a few appetizers across the table. Delicious and everyone was able to have about 2-3 pieces of everything.

The main courses were presented from a rolling cart and this was one of the most remarkably awesome parts of our meal. What place truly does not have a printed menu? The presentation was mouthwatering and made you want to eat everything on the menu.

Al’s house salad came with all the entrees, and it was perfect. There as a sorbet aperitif between the salad course and entrees, which completely amused my friends. I ordered the 8 ounce filet mignon, and was reminded of why I remembered the food but not the guy from 2010. It practically melted in my mouth and I could have cut it with a butter knife. It did not need sauce of any kind. My side was the Al's potatoes, which I probably wouldn't order again only because I had it confused with another style of potatoes (they were delicious for what they were). Other friends ordered the salmon, pasta, and stuffed filet and the sides are big enough to share. I was told the salmon was moist but cooked and seasoned to perfection. The portions were large enough that almost everyone had to-go boxes.

For dessert everyone ordered something different and nobody shared. I was told it was all delicious! Perfectly portioned and the perfect ending (and regrettably meals like this must end).

The only thing incongruent about our experience at Al’s was the weird playlist. It went from country to show tunes to 80s soft rock… it was very confusing and the one detail that was overlooked. I think that others have previously remarked about this. It was pretty odd and would have set a better mood if they had played soft instrumental holiday music, classical, jazz, or even 1920s-1940s pop songs. Most important, the volume of the music was spot on, and acoustics and table spacing in the room were so that we could all hear each other and not overhear other guests at other tables.

Serving and waitstaff was perfect: there when you needed them and not intruding when you didn’t. From appetizer to dessert, our meal ended up taking about 3 hours. For all 9 of us, all very light drinkers, with maybe 1/2 an appetizer portion each, it ended up being just less than 1000 including a very generous tip to our gracious waitress. I would budget at least 100 per person including tip, but 200 per person would be more comfortable.

Along with my wonderful friends, Al’s helped me have the best 40th birthday party that I could have imagined. It is the most memorable fine dining experience, perfect place to spoil my friends who have never previously experienced “fine dining”, and perfect for special occasions. I only hope that they’re around another 96 years and that I have the chance to return sooner than 9 years from now (and I will definitely remember all the friends I spent this occasion with)!

(Photos by my dear friend,...

If I could give this place less than 1 star I would. It was our wedding anniversary; we had reservations and the evening started out great. As soon as we arrived on the parking lot of Al's it started to go down hill. The parking lot is not secured, dark, gravel surface, limited and we saw a few unhoused and what looked to be a man and a child living in a car.

We get inside the restaurant to not be greeted by anyone. A waiter from across the room said have a seat anywhere, we'll be with you. Needless to say there was one other table there of what looked like a business dinner. The same waiter comes over with less than a nice welcoming greeting and asked to take our order. We ordered drinks to start, (disastrous). The same waiter also made our old fashioned, which was horrible. It tasted like a blended fruit drink and looked like one as well. You can see the bubbles in the photo. I asked him did I hear a blender making these drinks, of course he lied and said no. We didn't finish it. We ordered appetizers that were equally horrible. My husband ordered Cajun shrimp that was simply shrimp cocktail. I ordered lobster bisque, which was microwaved canned soup. No lobster and no taste. You can see the skim on the top. At this point we had enough and were ready to leave. We told the waiter the food was horrible and we were not having dinner. He proceeded to argue with me and said we'll have to charge you a no entree fee. We argued back, he called the owner; which was no help at all. At this point to, salvage the evening; we said just give us the check. We'll go somewhere else to continue our celebration.

Although this place has been around for the number of years as they have; it's time for them to close up shop. The place was a complete dive. The decor dated from the 60's and the 1 wait staff was not what he might have been 40 years ago. They charge the "no entree fee" as I'm sure their business must be slow and or customers just don't hang around to be treated horribly in addition to eating the tasteless, microwaved, dated and poor quality food. I have no doubt they make most of the money the same way the gouged us for ours and to boot the lousy POS had the nerve to charge us a 20% gratuity.

We paid the check, left and went to a much better establishment to enjoy the rest of our anniversary.

Please Please Please DO NOT GO TO...