Not impressed at all with the food. Â Steak was tough and dry, which is hard to do with a filet. Â For the prices charged I would expect aged, prime meat, not a cut you could purchase at any grocery store. Â Service was excellent, dining room was nice, and it was quiet enough for conversation.
Review Source:Vanessie's is one of stops every time that we come to Santa Fe. Â We always check the schedule to find out when Doug Montgomery will be playing piano and we arrive early to make sure that we get a seat. Â We usually eat small dishes for dinner and enjoy a couple of drinks as we listen to Doug work his magic on the piano.
Doug is very supportive of our teenage daughter and will give her a chance to play a song on his piano. Â This last visit we were there on a Sunday night and he even provided her an opportunity to sing a song with him from Les Miserable. Â
For food options this time we tried a real variety of different items this last time we visited. Â One of my favorites from the night were the portabello mushroom fries. Â These large cut slices of portabello mushroom are breaded and then fried until the mushroom is fully cooked. Â There are six "fries" to a serving and they come with a side of a flavored mayo for dipping. Â They are meaty and flavorful. Â This is definately something that we will order again.
I also enjoyed the fish and chips. Â The order consisted of three large pieces of cod that were battered and fried. Â Served with shoestring potatos as the chips, this was a very filling dish. Â My wife and I split one of these and we had half a piece of fish left when we were both full.
This is just a fun place that lies just of the beaten path from all the other nightlife locations. Â If you enjoy piano music then be sure to visit Vanessi of Santa Fe.
How unfortunately that Vanessi's manager decided to try a different 'act' the night (a Thursday) we took my out of town mother and sister....It was amateur night, totally opposite to what their website said....a lackluster piano player, accompanied by 2 OFF OFF broadway wanna-be girls. Â A local off pitch glee club would have done better. On top of it all their 'acts' where rants against the government, social status, banks..++++. You go to a restaurant/club to HAVE a good time...not to be reminded what you are WASTING your $$$$ while eating, seeing and hearing such a horrible act. Food was like the pianist lackluster. Stick to known acts on weekends, and just get drinks.
Review Source:We stayed at the hotel/inn. I do not know how others gave this place such a good rating. Our experience was TERRIBLE. They use the right words when they talk about quality of experience and about excellence in service .They do NOT deliver. Breakfast was supposed to be included. It was not. We were given $10.00 for two people in a town were coffee is at least $3.00 a cup...told to go find a cheap place. Ah...right...that's great service. No one is on location so if you need anything...sorry you are on your own. The final icing on the cake was the garbage trucks right outside the window waking you up at 5:30 am...not very restful.This place is run on a thin nickel and corners are cut everywhere. There is no service and quality is non existent. We heard that it is owned by an out of state dentist. He might want to pay closer attention to his investment before it vanishes.
Review Source:Vanessie's in Santa Fe has a piano bar that is unbelievable. Â The food is pretty good (try the filet), the drinks are great, but here lies a hidden gem! Â Here lies a great piano bar. Â The man making it all happen behind the scene is Doug Montgomery, the pianist. Â He can play a wide variety of songs and show tunes to classical pieces.
He knows the local singers that might come in for a bite or a drink, and gets them to join in with the music. Â He makes them look great! Â That is a true talent. Â
(Make sure you call ahead to find out if he is playing!) Â
To go to Santa Fe and miss hearing Doug Montgomery play at the piano at Vanessie's in Santa Fe is something not to pass up. Â
See you soon Doug!
This restaurant is located near the plaza in Santa Fe. Â It's an expensive ($20-45 per plate) restaurant with a full bar and live entertainment. Â The menu is mainly steaks, other grilled meats, and seafood. Â There are a few vegetarian dishes, but the menu is fairly limited overall. Â There is also a bed and breakfast located on the property.
We had dinner at Vanessie this past weekend. We were very disappointed. Â Our party ordered a variety of entrees. Â The steaks were good, but not great. Â You can get a steak that is just as good at a national chain. Â They were fairly large cuts, but not thick and not aged. Â The steaks come with a veg and garlic mashed potatoes, not a choice of potato. Â The seafood dishes were lousy. Â They were over-salted and covered in overpowering sauces and accompanied by weird side dishes. Â Whoever thought that delicate scallops covered in hot red chile powder served with cheese grits was a good idea should be sent back to cooking school. The Chilean sea bass "special" was equally strange and cost $36. Â Â The "egg free" Caesar salad was an $8 crime against humanity. Â
The service was also terrible. Â Our waiter, a small, grey haired man who has apparently worked there "forever" was less than friendly. Â He responded to questions about the menu curtly and in a somewhat condescending manner. Â Despite the fact that the dining room was half empty (at 7:30 on a Sat. night), he was frequently missing in action. Â He never asked if we wanted our drinks refilled. Â I got the distinct impression that our table of 7 was a serious bother to him. Â
As you will read in other reviews, there is a piano bar (earlier in the evening) and live bands (later). Â The piano player/singer was OK, not great. Â However, they let some show-off local opera singers take the mic for a while and no one could hear themselves think. Â Terrible choice. Â The band took over at about 8:30 and they were also just OK, playing a weird mix of styles. Â The crowd in the bar was almost exclusively older (50-60s) wealthy out of towners/retirees who were clearly enamored of the lame entertainment. Â Â
Overall, Vanessie ruined what should have been a nice weekend in Santa Fe. Â There are a bunch of great fine dining restaurants in Santa Fe (La Boca, The Shed, El Farol, etc). Â This is not one of them. Â Go elsewhere. Â You have been warned.
P.S. Â Their menu online is not up to date. Â Some of the dishes and prices have changed.
The entertainment and food were very good. Â The beet appetizer was my favorite. Â The evening was wonderful up until the server refused my American Express Card. Â I was caught off guard because the websites I visited indicate that the restaurant is an American Express Merchant. Â Not a huge deal. Â I paid the $300 tab with a debit card.
The jazz trio was nice so we decided to stay and have an other drink. Â We received our drinks and server brings tab and informs us that there is a $5/person cover since we are listening to the jazz trio. Ridiculous!
WOW is all we have to say, the Jazz Funk mix and Tony B rocked the house...one of the highlights of our trip over Memorial Day weekend in Santa Fe...they played the best funky jazz I have ever heard...the musicians were top notch and we totally did not expect anything like this going in to the bar...we danced and had a few cocktails...if Tony B and crew are playing, you must stop in and check it out....
Review Source:Had great fun over Thanksgiving...the crowd was raucous and really into dancing for Soul Kitchen, a wonderful local band. Â We had dinner in the dining room...elk was cooked just right and had a tasty port wine sauce. Â Drinks were excellent as well. Â All in all, a nice change from the quiet piano bar reputation Vanessie has. Â Will definitely return when in Santa Fe!!
Review Source:We went during a band night and it was super crowded of old ladies looking for attention. They hog the dance floor and have no sense of space while they try to get attention from everyone around.
If you want to go to hear a band, watch your eyes and ribs for elbows on the dance floor.
Menu looks intriguing but didn't have a chance to try.
It looks like a big restaurant, but the area near the bar is quite intimate and small.
Yes sir, this is a steakhouse lover's steakhouse. While visiting Santa Fe, there is obviously the desire for good local New Mexican cuisine, but after getting that out of the way, while here on business our client suggested treating us to Vanessie. And boy am I glad about that.
Vanessie is HUGE, it feels like a large upscale wooden lodge you'd find at a swanky ski resort. There's an impressive bar, with a piano room stationed next to it. Apparently they are one of the only (if not THE only) places in Santa Fe that has live music every night of the week
We were a large party of 13, standard for excessive client dinners. For starters we passed around the usual greasy suspects: fried calamari and Vanessie's famous onion loaf (I haven't had onion loaf since I was kid going to Tony Roma's with my grandfather, I forgot how good onion loafs are!). We also ordered a slightly more innovative greasy addition: portabella mushroom fries- large slices of panko breaded portabella with chipotle aioli.
For the main course, I had to go with something unusual, and elk most certainly does not pop up on a ton of menus at home in NYC. So I opted for the elk tenderloin with lingonberry reduction, mashed potatoes and spinach. And I mean man oh man was that a perfectly cured piece of meat. I also had the luxury of tasting my neighbor's New York strip. Hands DOWN, that is the best New York Strip I have ever tasted, and I was a bit envious because I didn't order it. The waiter did mention something about the rub preparation that Vanessie is proud to offer on all of their steaks, and I certainly tasted the difference. I would love to go back to Vanessie next time we're in town.
(My review is for the piano bar only, as we didn't go the restaurant.) The piano bar is great fun! Doug Montgomery is a gem, and he really makes the evening wonderful with his sparkling personality and amazing talent. The food is pretty good, but the music is the real draw here. Recommended.
Review Source:Try it you will LOVE it.
Seated promptly. Â Great service by Lee and his assistants.
We ordered the Elk along with the Rib Special.
The elk was excellent. Â Very tender and seasoned properly. Â A must try dish. Â Don't worry it isn't gamey tasting.
I had the ribs. They were cooked properly, very flavorful and tender.
My wife had the chocolate pecan pie. She said it was really good but way too rich-Not possible:)
They have a piano bar for entertainment prior to or after dinner. This night there were belly dancers, we lost all our male wait staff for a few minutes. Â But I didn't mind I was gone too.
The prices were reasonable and the wine selection was adequate.
You need to try this place when you are in Santa Fe
Seems to be a good place. Cool music, cool decor and cool menu. Unfortunately, my dinner entree was inedible. I ordered the salmon medium rare and it arrived so over-cooked, I couldn't eat it. I suspect this is not the norm, but be forewarned. When I informed the waiter it was bad, he offered to box it up for me to take home?!? Â I will give it a second chance because it feels like the elements are there (and my host swears it's good), but this was the low point of my Santa Fe dining (and I had lunch at Subway one day).
Review Source:This is a very interesting place.. Went a few times with friends for drinks and appetizers in the late evening, to watch the piano players/singers.. They are generally pretty funny, extremely talented,  and into crowd interaction.  Doug Montgomery is just fantastic..  The crowd , due to the prices, is an older crowd in the early evening for dinner and becomes somewhat younger later in the evening for drinks..  The crowd here on some nights, such as when they have special events like the Halloween party, is very heavily gay ; but normally is a mixture of straight and gay more  representative of  the general Santa Fe demographic ..  I never ate a full dinner here, because it seems like a stuffy and quite expensive place to eat dinner, which was outside both my price range and culinary interests..  The appetizers I had here were generally pretty good.. Personally I found the service to be OK, some of the waitresses and waiters I found to be pretty friendly,  other members of the waitstaff are kind of snooty and aloof.. So it is true that service is hit and miss, sometimes it is great and sometimes bad, although my experiences were good more often than bad, particularly after getting to know some of the waitstaff so that they would recognize me when I came in..
Review Source:After our anniversary dinner we headed to one of the finest piano bars in the country. Â Luckily it was a night when Doug Montgomery was playing. Â He is one of the most talented singer pianists you will find outside of New York and LA. Â
This is a great spot to entertain guests have a few drinks and even have dinner. Â The onion loaf and the Lamb Chops rock. Â Head on in when you have a chance and sing a song or two you will have a ball.
This is an update to a previous review. This review is for a weekday, whereas the previous review is for the weekend.
Weekdays, the menu only offers entrees, appetizers and desserts separately. Whereas on Weekends, the entrees are offered with the appetizer and dessert as a specialty, for the same price as an entree alone on the weekdays.
Came here on a weekday and although the food was still good, the large portions, though still moderate, were lost while the price was still hefty.
Order:
1) Half rack of lamb ($19): very small portion of 4-lamb ribs with no sides
2) Ahi Tuna salad ($22): fair amount, but very light serving
3) Salmon with mashed potatoes and vegetables ($25): fair amount, salmon is very good and was probably the best entree that night
Recommend this place mainly as a weekend dinner spot since the price and portion value is best then.
I had dinner here while on a business trip. I was drawn by the fact that it participates in United's Mileage Plus dining program (if I am travelling on business I like to earn miles outta my expense account). Anyway, I tend to regard places I find using the Mileage Plus dining program to be soft on the gastronomy (read: below average food quality) and more focused on marketing. They're usually pretty cookie cutter places that just serve food off the Sysco truck. Some break that mold, but in general, that's how I feel.
Vanessie fits that mold pretty consistently. The decor is standard New Mexican. I had a pulled pork sandwich to start and was still hungry so I had the filet. The meat quality on both dishes was standard foodservice grades. There was no indication that it was premium meats, and every indication that the meat had likely been frozen and was not a premium cut. Seasoning, sides, etc all appeared pretty flat and standard-fare for, like I said earlier, being pulled right off a Sysco truck and prepped by a quick-serve kitchen staff.
The restaurant strives to come off as a "fine dining" establishment or a great "steakhouse", but I think they miss the mark on the food. The decor/ambiance/facility does go in that direction, but the most important aspect of hitting those labels has to be borne out in the food - and at Venessie, it's not. The prices aren't low, either. I'd agree with some of the other reviews if the prices were 35%-50% lower (depending on items), but for $36 I expect a better "filet" than is served at somewhere like Applebees. Granted, I won't get dry-aged Wagyu, but honestly, this place is serving up thawed bulk foodservice meats - not locally sourced never-frozen stuff - and that's what I expect at this price point.
I've been to several piano bars, some dueling, some solo: Pat O'Briens in New Orleans, Chopstix in Seattle, aboard the Carnival cruise line, and even one at the Disney World Resort in Florida. Thus, I feel I now have some experience to draw on for critiquing this venue. To summarize my experience: I've never been to such a lackluster piano bar!
When we first walked in I was not surprised by the huge number of the over 60 crowd (I anticipated that from reading other yelp reviews), but at the lack of a stage or central space for the piano. It seemed as if it had been stuck amongst a sea of dining room tables. To the owner/decorators' credit, there is a large mirror behind the piano (on the wall) that reflects the piano player's keyboard.
Since all of the tables were occupied, we headed over to the bar behind the tables, but still with a clear view of the piano. We were greeted by the very friendly and attentive bar tender, and ordered some drinks: $10 for a glass of yummy Gruet champagne (I'd heard the food was so-so and pricey so we did not sample that). After a few minutes, the piano player came out and played an unrecognizable song. Instead of anyone singing along, as is customary in piano bars, several people got up and started dancing (older couples) near the bar. Sweet, but not exactly my thing. In between each song, the piano player would make some cheesy comment like "If you can guess the name of this song you'll win a trip to San Fransisco!" In that instance, he was playing "Are you going to San Fransisco", the only song I recognized out of the set he played. Admittedly, we did not stay long, so I do not know if he continued on to play more popular piano bar tunes, such as "Piano Man" by Billy Joel.
Perhaps if I were over 60 I would've loved this bar, but as the songs were unrecognizable and noone was singing along, it was not what I expected. Kudos to the brunette bartender with the ponytail, though--terrific guy and terrific service.
Other than La Cantina at La Casa Sena, this is where you might find a mature crowd in the evening but I don't think I've ever encountered any 150 year olds. Â Perhaps they had dinner, perhaps not. Â The food, I'm told, is quite good but not really my cup of tea. Â Pretty much a pricey steak house a la carte kind of menu and that's generally not what I'm looking for in Santa Fe. Â Why I go is that they have a monster grand piano in the stunning bar with a couple of guys playing it - very well indeed. Â Both of your entertainers have been there for a long, long time and they are real pros. Â So, I frequently end up here after dinner nursing a good cognac and enjoying a sophisticated end to my lovely day in the City Different.
Review Source:The older more homosexual people in this town think it's the "Cat's Meow"... I find it bearable as long as an SF Reporter party isn't going on at the same time...
I find the portions to be mediocre, the service to be "dress-exclusive" as a patron, and the live music is OK... If you're like 150 years old.
Warning!!! Beware of the old rich Santa Fe people!!! This place is fun just don't go before 9:00pm and you will be fine. This is a spacious and romantic bar with a grand piano and strong cocktails tucked into an unassuming neighborhood in downtown Santa Fe. You can sing along with the piano man and have a good time with your friends. If you go for dinner it is expensive but if you go just for drinks it's just right.
Review Source:
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