vernon's speakeasy

relaxing evening out. do not change a thing!!! we have dined with you several times and have never had a bad experience. everyone is so attentive and thefoodis fantastic. we love the fact that it is not just about going out for dinner, it is about enjoying an evening out. we are never rushed like in most restaurants where they want to turn the tables over. my husband and i were able to sit, talk and enjoy our meal. which made for a very relaxing and enjoyable evening. thank you for hiring such wonderful staff!

i thought this place was just ok for the price. the atmosphere was fun but thefoodcould have been better.

great experience. top to bottom, best meal i've had this year. the speakeasy entrance is cute and all, but thefoodis really where this place shines. my girlfriend and i shared the scallop appetizer, the scallops were perfectly cooked, and the sauce was just fantastic. next up was the lobster bisque, they take a lot of care in preparing this and it shows in the flavor. i ordered the bone in ribeye (los ranchos star) while my gf ordered the filet. the filet was tender and cooked perfectly, the ribeye was also cooked perfectly. both steaks were a superb cut of beef. even the green beans served with the steaks were flavorful and delicious. every staff member was access-able, friendly and helpful. yes, its expensive. totally worth it.

this was the worst experience i have had at a restaurant.  four of us went out to celebrate my fiance's birthday and had a reservation for 7pm on a friday night.  they said they were running behind so had us wait at the bar for an hour before seating us.  it was another 15 minutes before they took our order, and over an hour before ourfoodcame out!  when ourfooddid make an appearance my fiance's steak was still raw and cold like it just came from the refrigerator.  my prime rib was rare instead of the requested medium, and was at room temperature (food poisoning anyone?).  it was another 15 minutes before anyone came to check on us, and neither of us had touched ourfoodas it was completely inedible.  almost 3 hours later we were finally able to leave (had to pay for our wine) tired, hungry and immensely displeased.  this place is horribly overpriced for the level of service and quality offoodthat we were given.  in all fairness we expected that this place would be expensive compared to other steakhouses we had been too, but to be treated in such a way makes it absolutely not worth the money.  do yourself a favor and pick just about any other steakhouse in albuquerque for a good dining experience.

i'm very disappointed with vernon's. we spent almost $500 last night for nye. thefoodwas good and our waiter professional and attentive, but the chaos going on was horrible and not at all relaxing. they overbooked for nye and didn't anticipate that guests would linger for a special occasion like nye. first we spent at least 45 minutes before we were seated eventhough we rsvped. since some patrons stayed longer than vernon's calculated time then everything was back up. seriously what do you expect on nye. come on this was $125 prix fix per person. do you expect people to eat like it's mcdonald. the rsvp department failed miserably. unfortunately we were seated near the bar where we literally saw the hostess & host, waiters and servers running about to serve people and to seat them. one couple was even asked to hurry up and eat their meal because someone needed their table. we were upset by hearing because it meant unless we don't eat fast enough then you will ask to vacate your table. when you spent that much money you don't need that kind of hassle especially on nye.



vernon called me two days ago and apologized for their overbooking. they even reimbursed us for one meal that is $125. i have to say i’m impress the apology left on my voicemail. it sounded sincere and heartfelt. i will review my rating from one star to three for their effort in making this right.

love this place! we've been for drinks and appetizers on a normal night and we have had brunch here for the last three years! (even with my son!) amazing service andfoodthey always go above and beyond! no complaints at all!

my friends and i had dinner
last week at vernon's speakeasy and it was easily the worst restaurant
experience i've had in my entire life. the service was horrendous.
we 
chose to sit on the patio to listen to the music offered as part of their
summer nights on the patio series, and that's when we became second class
citizens.  if you’ve never been there
before, when you arrive you knock on a solid door and a small window slides
open,  “joe batters,” a mobster type
doorman asks if you have the password and asks if you’re a cop.  assuming you give the password and are not a
cop, they let you in.  as soon as we said 
were there for summer nights, the speakeasy atmosphere, role playing and good
customer service ended.  we were rushed
through a severely darkened maze of a dining room to the patio, and despite
having reservations they didn't have a table ready for us. they didn't even have a table that could accommodate us so we had to push two tables together.
staff did not offer to help. we were asked if we'd like to look at a menu and
said yes.  it was the same menu inside
and outside, so i paid as much for my meal as i would have had i chosen to sit inside the dining room. not that you could tell from the service we
received.  it took the server three trips
to the kitchen to find out enough information about the specials to be able to
explain them to us sufficiently. she never asked if we wanted anything to drink
other than water...even after i requested a wine list i had to tell her that i
wanted to order a glass of wine. my first steak was over cooked; my second
steak was under cooked and cold. when it started to rain and we moved ourfood
to a covered section of the patio, again, staff did not offer to help. the
server never came back to see if we needed anything. we were never asked if we
wanted dessert (i did, but was never given the opportunity to order it). we
waited for our ticket and it never came. after what had to be close to an hour
of waiting (while enjoying the music), we finally went inside and asked for it.
when the server brought the ticket, she actually stood there and waited for us
to pay it. then, to add insult to injury, we had to find our own way out of the
darkened maze, as nobody offered to walk us out. when we finally found the
door, “joe batters” asked us how our dinner was, i said nothing and my friend
said "eh." he didn't know what to say, but certainly didn't say he
was sorry we had a bad experience, or ask us what happened, or ask a manager to
come by to talk to us. he simply let us out.
they
may not care that i will never go back, however i love a good steak and i'm
willing to pay for it.  my meal was more
than $72 not including tip…and i had to stop on the way home to buy the last
glass of wine and dessert that i never got. 
they need to know that when i find a place i like, i tell everybody
about it and if they've never been there, i take them.  at the same time, if i have an especially bad
experience i tell everybody about that as well…and i’m not alone.  many people share their experiences with
others, good or bad, and if enough people hear about it, it can make a
difference.

it would have been nice to
be able to say that albuquerque has a local steakhouse that can compare to
ditka's in chicago or the silver fox in dallas, but no, it's not worth the
time, money or effort. my suggestion?  go
to marcello's chophouse, thefoodis good and at least there you're treated as
a valued customer...no matter where you sit.

scallops and lobster. the scallops were tender and fresh-tasting, seasoned just right - i wanted to lick my plate! the lobster was the highlight, so tender, not a rubbery or gristly bite on it; it didn't even need to be dipped in butter except that the butter was so amazing. as i ate each bite of buttery lobster, it truly melted in my mouth as the flavor stimulated every taste bud. i never got bored with the flavor. the butter dip was so fresh and well-seasoned with no greasy dripping or separation from the cream.


-----10 apr, 2015-----

pricey but worth it. we went on 2/13/15 for early valentines - first time there. we dressed up in 20's garb, which was fun, but i was disappointed that more customers didn't play the part as well. we liked the dark, romantic atmosphere, the password, secret revolving bookcases, and that the hosting staff dressed the part.

the place was hard to find for us as first timers. we walked around for ten minutes, worried we'd miss our reservations and finally just followed some random couple to see if they were going to vernon's. thank god they were. the black door with red light wasn't so black and red. more like weather-worn black and dull orange. they really need to repaint door and put in a red bulb.

thefoodand service made up for not finding the place! we seriously hadn't had a meal of such high quality in years. our seafood and steaks were cooked to perfection and the lobster butter was amazing - not the greasy butter that separates when it cools down. i appreciated that the portions weren't overwhelming, but just right so that we didn't need take home boxes. to me, that says class. the prices are truly high, but we felt we received the value in our meal.

i was a little disappointed in seeing a couple customers come in with jeans on; my understanding from vernon's website is that the dress is business casual at the very least. maybe a t-shirt and jeans is business casual to some. ??

the hostess was very friendly and thorough when making reservations. and our waitress was wonderful, she even placed my napkin in my lap! i know that's classy but somehow didn't expect it. she was also knowledgeable about the wine selection and i was pleased with her wine suggestion for my taste.

overall, we will be back for sure as our budget will allow!

not worth the prices.. not going to elaborate, but this place was not worth the hype. my husband and had the worst experience, coldfoodthat took too long to receive and eye rolls from the waiter who made us feel like we were wasting his time. there are plenty of great restaurants like zinc, down and dirty, and pelican's. save yourself the time and money!

albuquerque's best. we went here one evening to celebrate 3 birthdays - my sister's, our roommate's and mine. i was a little nervous about this place at the beginning, wondering if we were paying for the "shtick" or whether thefoodwas really worth the price tag. i have to say, my fears were quickly allayed. first, they had a nice "by the glass" wine list, which you often don't find at this price point. my sister and i have very different tastes in wine, so a bottle was out of the question, and i like to start with white and switch to red with my entree. here, that was no problem. there was a nice selection to suit all tastes and that alone saved me from being forced to drink that god awful pink stuff my sister likes! on top of the wine list there is a huge list of artisanal cocktails as well as beer.

our group started with soup or a salad and i must say the french onion soup was probably the best i've ever had. a wonderfully flavorful broth, very onion-y with the correct gruyere cheese on top. we then moved to the entrees. this is definitely a meat eater’s paradise, featuring dry-aged beef charged by the ounce. it's a nice option allowing bigger appetites to order larger portions. for example, our roommate ordered a 16 oz. ribeye while my brother-in-law ordered the same thing in a 20 oz. version. the steak was absolutely outstanding, easily one of the top 2 steaks i've ever had with the only contender being the ribeye from the french laundry in yountville, ca. my lamb chops were cooked to perfection and accompanied by tasty wasabi mashed potatoes. my sister opted for the prime rib, extra rare, at which our server didn't blink an eye.

at the end of our meal our server surprised us with 3, yes, 3 birthday desserts. most places would have gone with one, but these guys made sure we were all acknowledged, it was the perfect touch to a terrific meal.

so yes, vernon's is pricey, and on my budget will be a special occasion event. but i guarantee i will be back, and if you have the opportunity, you should definitely give it a try!

be ready for an experience to behold, unforgettable for the right reasons.. it didn't start well as we had trouble locating the door of the joint (yes joint). after knocking, there was a shout from the speakeasy, "wait i am busy." once inside we were greeted by the 'mafia enforcer' that some urbanites have complained about. but he and his speech are all part of the theme, the act, the experience - very effective it was to the dark and secretive style nyc decor, coupled with the waiter's dress added much to the impression as did the piano player concentrating on his ivory keys.

the menu didn't disappoint all the way from shrimp tacos to chocolate decadence (or accompanying liquor - which was perfectly paired). the bill wasn't a shock; we went expecting fine dining and a unique experience and got that and an expected large tab (all worth it).

we would say stunningly good fun, great food, fabulous service and completely unique. if you don't want the abquirky add-ons to the fabfooddon't go!

as we left mr. mafia said "if you don't come back nobody will give a s**t" - in a perfectly awful ny accent, funny? yes, and all in good humor r.

exceptional experience. we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary at vernon's and it was a great choice. from beginning to end, it was a wonderful and notable experience. the staff provided exceptional service and every person that we encountered was commendable. they attended to our every need as if we were the only diners. all of thefoodwas delicious and the filet mignon was the best piece of steak that i've ever eaten. the special surprise dessert was an amazing surprise! i definitely would dine again and recommend it to anyone.

amazing!!!. i took my wife to vernon's hidden valley steakhouse for her birthday. she had no idea where we were going. she told me she had heard about it - 14 years ago! and, always wanted to go. well, after i provided sonny with the password, we were let into what the country was like in the 1920s - 1930s. thefoodwas amazing - and that doesn't adequately describe it. the whole evening was fun, exciting, and we were treated like vips the whole time. my thanks to chuck, sonny, sterling, and all the rest who made it truly an unforgettable evening.

vernon's steak house yummy!. this was my third visit to this steakhouse. everytime we go we are provided with excellentfoodand service. the atmosphere is romantic and provides for private dining. we love everything about this restaurant. love it!

great for business dinner. while visiting abq on business, we heard of vernon's and went not knowing what to expect. the 'hidden' part of hidden valley steakhouse was a blast. the décor was fun, the drinks great, thefoodfantastic, and the service superb. it was one of the most enjoyable dinners in a long time, especially with a group just in town on business.