Melrose Grill, The best steak in town?

I had never heard of this place nor was I a big-fan-of-steak kinda girl. How did I end up going to this steak place called Melrose Grill, Renton, you ask? I actually got a gift certificate to dine at this place. That's how I knew about the place. There's a BUT. You know when there's "but" it's always something and I'll get to that in a minute.... It is located in Renton, WA and I live in that area. How ironic is it that I didn't even think the area had the best steak! Friends of mine have been there several times and come back over and over again.

Yes I found the place because of a gift card, BUT(there you go) I didn't regret it a bit! I'm so glad to know the place and have had the chance to try it out. Their steak is so good: juicy and tender. It's perfectly cooked to..hmm..perfection. It's the word I'm looking for. The atmosphere is old-fashioned but cozy.

 If you come in on Friday or Saturday night without making a reservation, the wait might be about a half hour. We made a reservation for Friday and when we arrived, it was half-full. We had actually tried to walk in once on Saturday night and the wait was 45 mins!!

Their menus are petty straightforward. There are not many selections, which I like. Steak, chicken, and seafood.  The price is very reasonable. The cheapest is chicken breast at about $18. The wait staff is excellent. They are friendly and know what they are talking about. You know what I mean? Sometimes at some fancy restaurants they don't seem to know what they are talking about. They have good wine selection at Melrose. Yes! I needed help from our waiter to get the lightest wine but is still good with steak. I got Rose White Zinfandel, a wine from Kenwood, CA.

We all ended up getting the same thing - Filet Mignon. There are 2 sizes; 15 and 9 oz. It comes with grilled vegetables and your choice of potatoes. I got my 9 oz. Filet Mignon with garlic mash potato. It's really good but I think next time I should try Parmesan baked potatoes. It comes with a warm roll and side salad. You can substitute the green salad with a small Caesar salad for $2 extra. The salad was so fresh.

Medium- rare Filet Mignon with garlic mash potato.

Medium- well Filet Mignon with baked parmesan potatoes.

My bad habit is I'm never satisfied with my own dish. I always pick out some food from my husband's and friends' plates. Is it bad? Oh well...One thing I learned from one of my close friends that evening was that when I order steak I should tell them I want pink and juicy. You have to let them know "I don't care if this is rare, medium rare, or medium well, I just want PINK inside and JUICY". This is because when you order medium rare, it depends on how a chef interprets "medium rare". You might get too rare with blood juice. Yep, that's what I learned that evening.

Let's go back to the steak menus: they offer Filet Mignon, New York Steak, and T-bone. It's what they are famous for. Simple and straightforward.  I enjoyed the food and wine. In my opinion, this place is good for family but not so fancy for a first date spot. That evening we finished it off with their homemade cheesecake. They had special desserts that night but our waiter said they had a really good cheesecake, so we gave it a try. After that there was a sigh with hmm.. SO GOOD! and I ate the last amount of the shared dessert.