Empire Grille At Venus De Milo

So even though we live in the next town over, we've never come here. But it's going to get put on our list of local places for dinner. They have a good menu with some choices from their banquet menu. We started off each with a glass of wine, and I had the French onion soup while my husband had the minestrone soup. I didn't try his, but the French onion was awesome. I can't help myself but try French onion soup if it's on a menu and this one was awesome. I followed up with a burger which was delicious. My husband got the stuffed lobster and while I didn't try that either, it looked awesome and he devoured it. The environment is casual and the service is very good. We were really happy with this last minute choice. We'll definitely be coming again.

The food here was good however the atmosphere is awful and dated. Yes it is in the Venus de Milo which has been around for years and years, and you can tell it has been. The ceilings are too high and so the noise from the tables of people talking or celebrating is awful. We were practically yelling at each other with our round table of 8 for dinner. Also the table was old and weak feeling. If you put your elbows on the table for a minute, you felt it give towards you. Most people were in larger groups, celebrating whatever and so it has the feel of a banquet hall only you are all at your own celebration. Service was just ok she took 30 minutes to get our drinks and then was never around to refill water or ask if we wanted another drink. We only came because our friends insisted it was the best Baked stuffed Lobster they had ever tried and they are from New England. So we wanted to try it. We started with the famous Venus De Milo soup (minestrone) which everyone enjoyed. One got the grilled salmon, he said it was fine not great but pretty good. We all got the Baked Stuffed Lobster (the 2 lb lobster dinner the night we were there was $65 or so, and the 3 lb was $15 more I believe) that came with 2 sides. The lobster was impressive (see pic) and it was really good. They only use tail meat in the stuffing, but they were a bit heavy handed with the breadcrumbs and butter. I had to take my claws home and they were very good the next day. I never even touched my 2 sides. Was it the best? Not sure but it was darned good!!! We also shared some desserts and they were nothing special. Great to see, but just OK on the taste. I have to say I don 't think I would go back again. There are so many places that serve Baked Stuffed Lobster, and at around the same price,and I really disliked the old feeling atmosphere and having to yell at each other during dinner. Oh well.

Gigantic double stuffed lobster!!!! My hubby's had his share of stuffed lobsters and this is the best one yet! Incomparable! Biggest!

Valentine 's Day dinner at this place was so deeply disappointing. I had been looking forward to having the famous Seafood Newburg only to learn that it was not available due to a limited menu for V Day. Why take one of your signature dishes off of the menu on a day like Valentine 's Day?? It makes no sense! I ended up having the baked scrod which was dry, and inundated with cracker crumbs. I had 3 or 4 bites, and then gave up on it. The waiter/waitress service was mediocre, to say the least. Our table was a party of 6, and the waitress who I might add has worked there for 35+ years made 3-4 different references to how she was spending too much time at our table, and 'I hope I don 't get fired '. ??? She was merely taking our drink orders when she started making these comments. Our drinks arrived well after she took our order. Our food took 45-60 minutes to make it to the table. Our reservations were for 6:15. We didn 't leave until after 9. This was such a **** experience. The prices do not match the substandard service that is offered. : I 'll never go there again.

Hands down, 5 stars. Staff- attentive, friendly, formal Food- excellent, delectable, fresh from the oven came in generous portions Atmosphere- romantic, intimate and elegant dining room My husband and I very much enjoyed everything from start to finish. When we walked in, we were warmly greeted by the host and we were sat at a lovely table by the window for a view as we had requested. The staff was super friendly and attentive. Our server, Mara, checked on us multiple times throughout the evening to ensure everything was going well and even recommended us a wonderful bottle of Moscato. We loved her choice so much, we bought another bottle! For our appetizers, we ordered their award-winning clam chowder, fried calamari and bacon skewers. From all the apps, our fav had to be the bacon skewers. They were to die for! Light, smoky, and sweet. For our main entrées, my husband had the Ragu Alla Bolognese and I had the Surf and Turf- petite filet mignon with lobster tail. All the dishes were extremely savory and they were all served in such generous portions that we had to have our food boxed to take home! What my husband and I loved most was that the dishes were so noticeably fresh, hot and steaming from the kitchen. The medium filet mignon I ordered was perfectly butter-knife tender and hot pink inside. My husband absolutely loved the richness of the Bolognese and noted that his pasta was not oily like how most places poorly prepare their pasta sauces. The wait for the food was moderate, but we did not seem to mind because were happily enjoying our bottle of Moscato For dessert, we ordered the Pumpkin Mousse and the Profiterole Sundae. They were so beautiful and delicious we had to take pictures for IG! Besides the food, the dining room had an intimate, elegant, but comfortable atmosphere. We even got to meet the wonderful head chef, Todd, as he came out to greet all the guests in the room to personally see that we were all satisfied with his culinary talents We were definitely not disappointed, and for our first time here our expectations were definitely exceeded. Overall, our dining experience was perfect and my husband and I will definitely be back!