Swing...and a miss

In July, Anthony and I snuck out for a rare date night, and headed for the Savoy. No one we know has been there, so we didn’t know what to expect. We chose it because we had driven by it a few times and it looks nice from the outside—a little fancier than typical Albuquerque dining spots, but not snooty.

In Albuquerque, just as in Vegas, you don’t have to dress up to go out to a nice dinner. You can, if you want, but you won’t usually be snubbed or turned away if you’re wearing jeans and tennis shoes. The Savoy was no exception. They were polite, despite our casual attire, but not quite friendly, like the staff at the Artichoke Cafe.

We decided to splurge on a bottle of wine, so we ordered the Fess Parker Pinot Noir, 2005. We had a Fess Parker Syrah about a year ago that was easily the best wine I’ve ever had, so I had high hopes for this wine. The Pinot Noir did not compare to the Syrah though. It was rich and fruity, with maybe a hint of chocolate, but a little too acidic for my taste. I prefer a smoother finish.

We split the sesame crusted ahi tuna sashimi appetizer, served with a cucumber miso salad, fresh wasabi, and a balsamic-soy reduction. You would think with all those garnishes, that this would be a taste adventure, but the ahi was slightly overcooked (it was supposed to be sashimi!?), the wasabi didn’t have much kick, and overall, it didn’t have much flavor.

We both ordered the filet mignon with sour cream mashed potatoes, string beans, red wine sauce, and foie gras butter. I was a little hesitant about the foie gras butter—I’ve never been even slightly tempted to try pâté—but with a little liquid courage, I decided to risk it. It was a good decision. The savory foie gras and wine sauce livened up the medium rare steak, almost compensating for the lackluster appetizer.

We completed our meal with the blackberry-chambord ice cream and the crème brule with almond biscotti. My ice cream was very tart, more like a sorbet than an ice cream. I also made the mistake of tasting Anthony’s creme brule, which was sweet and creamy, making my ice cream taste all the more tart and icey.

Our server was friendly—a little too friendly. She talked too much, taking every opening as a chance to tell us a story. Since we were there to dine with each other and not with her, it became a bit annoying. Despite her attentiveness when she was at our table, the service was painfully slow. We were there for almost three hours!

The Savoy’s website, http://www.savoyabq.com/, reflects the inattention to detail that we experienced during our dinner. The menu sublinks on the home page don’t work, so you have to go to another page with sublinks embedded to get to the menus. And there are no personal touches, like the About page and Gallery on the Artichoke Cafe’s website (http://www.artichokecafe.com/about.html). In fact, the Savoy’s “Our Story” page just describes the atmosphere of the restaurant. Where’s the story?

The Savoy wants to be a sophisticated wine-country style restaurant, and on the surface, it seems to be. But the hit-or-miss flavors, bland decor, and slow service don’t quite live up to expectations. Overall, I would say this is the spot for people concerned more about appearances than about enjoying great food and wine.