Paul’s Monterrey Inn

So much has been written about Paul's Monterrey Inn in Albuquerque over the years one more review will not hurt. I've been to Paul's on multiple occasions for various reasons, but the vast majority of the time, I order the same meal, the prime rib. When you see Paul's off the corner of Lomas and Juan Tabo, you see a off white brick and light green flag stone building that is from another time. The contents of the inside match the outside; when I say this I mean everything from the wood paneling to the furniture, is from decades ago. The restaurant is dimly lit, I guess to provide some kind of mood. There are two doors that lead into the restaurant, one on the east and one on the west, that feed into a very small waiting area with a modestly sized bench. I would suggest getting a reservation to go to Paul's unless you want to wait in the small area or sit in the lounge area.

The lounge area of Paul's is darker than the main dining area. I guess the owner tried to get that area zoned for a cigar lounge during the city wide smoking ban, but that has not worked out for Paul's. Paul's used to allow smoking inside their restaurant and the years of smoking in the building have taken their toll. The lounge does not offer too many extraordinary beers or spirits, but the wine list is fairly extensive. The lack of selection in the beer and spirits is a disappointment and one of the short comings of Paul's.

Once seated you realize, the tables are abnormally large, but comfortable. The staff is very well seasoned, some are hard of hearing, attentive, courteous, and very knowledgeable about the menu, so Paul's staff is very good, but make sure that they hear you. Fairly promptly a server comes to take your drink orders and a few moments later a bus boy drops off pump loaves of fresh baked bread with sour cream, green onions, and small balls of butter that are cold resulting in butter that is fairly hard to spread. Prior going to Paul's, I have never put sour cream and green onions on bread, but I was pleasantly surprised by how these things were great on bread. The appetizers here are nothing to write home about. A cup of soup is included with your meal except on Friday and Saturday night. The soups that I have had there are pretty good. The selection changes daily and I have yet to have a bad cup of soup there. Salad comes with your meal as well. The ingredients of the salad are nothing spectacular: the lettuce is mixed greens that come from a bag and too much dressing is applied, so ask for it on the side.

Now the meat, drum roll, of the review. Paul's menu offers a variety of entree selection, but go for the steak. Their prime rib is great. The down side is that they are not great about getting you a rare piece and the horseradish is weak. Just a little warning, their grill is not hot enough to do Pittsburgh or Black and Blue. All of their beef is flavorful and for the most part well prepared. They offer a variety of sides, none of which will change your life.

Desert and coffee at Paul's is unique. They serve coffee in a stainless steel pot that is pretty novel. The deserts are large in portion and good, but not great. Go to Paul's for the beef. It's a good restaurant that serves great beef. I would give Paul's a rating of three out of five stars.