Marcello’s Chophouse

Oh, Marcello’s.
At one point, Marcello’s Chop House was my go to place for an upscale dining experience.
You want good food, excellent service, and an impeccable wine selection? I would have recommended Marcello’s.
This past visit was so weird.
We had reservations for two. 8:30, we were seated at 8:40. No one else waiting, plenty of tables open. Our waitress seemed annoyed we weren’t ready to order. The wine list, well. Here’s the real issue.
My best friend is a bonafide wine snob. She knows the ins and outs of great wine. So it wasn’t surprising when she delved into Marcello’s wine list. It took her about 10 minutes to pick. Then after waiting for what seemed an eternity, the waitress informed us they were out of that wine. Another wait to choose another bottle. The waitress couldn’t answer many questions about the wine. We wanted a BIG wine. We chose a $ 120 bottle from Italy. Another wait, our salads arrived. Then the waitress comes back with a bottle of wine. $ 160 bottle of wine we didn’t order. She says she’ll give us this bottle for the price of the one we chose because they were out of that wine too. Someone needs to update their wine list. Hello, sommelier? We hesitated, then accepted. I have never had that happen. I would have rather not ordered wine at this point, but we still did. The wine was really bad. Like a sad Pinot Noir. Not a rich, full-​bodied wine that complements a $ 38.00 filet. We drank half a glass each and packed the rest for… well, we tossed it after it sat a couple of days on my kitchen counter.
I ordered my filet medium. It was very well medium rare. I get so annoyed when upscale restaurants don’t cook food to order. Boo. The rest of the food was just fine. Sadly, I was disappointed in general.
My best friend is dating a guy in Portland. He just happened to know where we were dining. He picked up the tab for the wine all the way from PDX! Isn’t that sweet? It was the very best part of the night. That and me getting to hang out with my best friend. I feel bad that he paid so much for a bad bottle of wine that was Three Buck Chuck at best.
It had been a while since I dined at Marcello’s. My experience prior to this one was flawless. I wonder what happened. It makes me a little sad, honestly. I’ll go back. I’ll update my review too. I am hoping this was all just an isolated evening.

After a week of dieting and eating at home I wanted to treat my girlfriend to a nice dinner… The sides came out cold. Our server James C was terrible, he never came to check back on anything. Not to mention I ordered a drink before dinner that was made incorrectly but who would’ve ever known because it took him till the food came out to come back to our table. I guess he was too busy sucking dick at the table next to us who happened to be three businessman, and on that note it’s the only table in the dining room that the GM came to ask if everything was OK. When it came time to pay the bill this guy had the audacity to ask if we needed change when there was 2 hundreds sticking out and the bill was only $ 127… Yes only $ 127 for a terrible experience! Smfh! What a shame

I got the Reuben and Philly. They’re reuben is down right amazing! If you don’t like reubens, order one here and it will change your mind. Their philly meat was a little bit fatty in my opinion… But who doesn’t like fat?! For lunch, they serve fries with their sandwiches… They have so many fries! This is the first time I ever left a significant amount of fries on my plate. The staff is pretty nice and attentive. Cozy and fun place to go to if you wanted to take a date at night, or a fun casual lunch!

Great, relaxed atmosphere.
The organic chicken was perfect — as was the corn and mashed potatoes.
Wine options were huge. I’m not big into wine myself, but the white wine we chose was spot on.
Reasonably priced. Great serving and overall a nice, reliable place to get a meal.

Marcello’s is just the kind of steakhouse my husband and I like. The food was great. My husband had the Filet and I had chicken. Both were excellent. I had the baby greens salad, but it had a little too much dressing. Next time I will definitely ask for less. Overall, we enjoyed our dining experience at Marcello’s.

This was my first experience here. Presentation of the food was very nice and the flavors were good. Service however was not what I expected. Server came got our order and we did not see her till the meal was over. It was at that time she was offering refills of tea and water.

Entrees are a la carte.
Filet mignon ($ 32) and scallops ($ 34) were delicious. For sides, the black truffle mac&cheese ($ 14ish) and button mushrooms ($ 10) were great… BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT THE GREEN CHILE WHIPPED POTATOES ($ 10)!!! Holy crap. So good.
This place is expensive, so buy a bottle of wine and call it a special occasion.
Service is excellent, and the complimentary truffles that come with the bill are a nice touch.

Generally under-​whelmed by this place. Nothing to really complain about but just expect more from a «prime» steakhouse. I don’t find the quality to be that much different than a Saltgrass, Lone Star, Texas Roadhouse which are a fraction of the price. Mahogany’s in Tulsa is best prime steakhouse I have ever eaten at. Better than Gibson’s in Chicago and III Forks in Houston.

The food may or may not have been good… but ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you can’t get anyone to call you back or reply to emails.
I had numerous issues trying to get a reply on organizing a private event. Communication is not their strong suit.

I am so impressed with this place, even on my second visit,
My wife and I wanted a romantic dinner and returned to Marcello’s on Saturday Night. We actually sat at the same romantic, 2-​seat bench where we sat last time. My wife is a vegetarian and had the mixed greens as she did on our last visit. I had the blue cheese wedge salad which was the most sublime I have ever had! On the salad were caramelized onions and bacon that made it so aromatic, even my vegetarian wife wanted to enjoy the aroma. I had the 10 oz. filet mignon which was so incredibly tender I really didn’t need a steak knife. The reasons why the atmosphere was so conducive to a romantic date were the live piano musician who played standards and the appropriate time between courses that allow you to digest your food and get close to your loved one.
In closing, I live in Las Vegas where there are some of the best restaurants in the world and this place in Albuquerque is an absolute gem. I will return here the next time I am in Albuquerque.

The Good: Excellent service from our waiter David. The Salmon, Beef Short Ribs and Crème Brûlée was good. The Bad: the Lump Crab Cake appetizer was cold, bland and lacked any taste of lump crab. The Ugly: No real lunch menu. All major items were $ 13 or higher. The portions were too big and too heavy for lunch. Who wants to carry around in their car, left overs from lunch, all day? Poor lunch stop. Thanks for reading. The Bike Chaplain

I was passing through ABQ and was in the mood for a nice steak, so I gave this place a try. My «prime ribeye» was overcooked and vastly underseasoned — I probably could have gotten a much better steak for half the price at Texas Roadhouse — and the service was terrible.
The green chile whipped mashed potatoes were the sole factor in me not giving this place a 2-​star review. Will not be coming back.

I ordered take out and even though I had to spend 7 minutes on hold to place an order, the service was great! Everyone was polite and cheerful despite the dinner rush.
However, I wish I had eaten there so I could have sent the food back and asked for a refund. The «NM Green Chili Whipped Mashed Potatoes» were a tiny container of lumpy mashed potatoes with a side container of green chili. They were definitely NOT whipped and not at all worth $ 8.
The fried pickles were the worst part. Thin, cheap, puny pickle slices clearly from some jar with panko crust (rather than a batter) that slid right off. This does not belong on their menu because they clearly have no clue how fried pickles are supposed to be cooked. I was really looking forward to the horseradish dip but the flavor was disgusting.
The items I purchased sounded great in theory and would be great if the kitchen knew how to cook. This was a Saturday night so I would hate to see what comes out of that kitchen on a Tuesday afternoon. Again, I deeply regret this purchase and wish I hadn’t taken the food home where it was too late to request a refund.

We went here for dinner the other day because of the reviews on here. our steaks were definitely overcooked and when you’re paying 31 to 39 dollars per steak I pretty much expect it to be perfect. our waiter was terrible and barely checked on us at all. I went quite a while with no drink. on the other hand the mushrooms, the creamed corn and the crème brûlée were just excellent. but including tip the meal cost is $ 143 so I don’t think we’ll be going back. if our steaks had been cooks well we probably would. The tables are also very very tiny and crowded

I ate here a few weeks ago while on a business trip. This restaurant is in an outdoor shopping plaza and rather unassuming from the outside. Some coworkers and I were just browsing and decided to eat here on a whim. After being seated, I wondered if we were a bit undressed in jeans but I couldn’t get a feel for the expected attire as it was a bit early on a weekday.
On to the rest — the food and service were superb! I believe Joshua G was our server. He was friendly and personable without being intrusive. We had great small talk with him and he made several recommendations. We ordered oysters Rockefeller as an appetizer. I didn’t eat any but it was plated wonderfully. Two of us had the petite filet with baked potato and the other person had the elk. All of it was delicious! The baked potato was huge. We didn’t order dessert but received tiny individual chocolate truffles as an after dinner treat.
The only complaint about the experience was that my coworker’s Scotch didn’t arrive in a proper lowball glass. Other than that, attention was given to detail in every area, even the restrooms. The ladies room had a wonderful hand scrub at the sink that I loved. Five stars to Marcello’s and I will definitely return again.

Here’s the thing — I’ve enjoyed many a fantastic chophouses in my day — and this is not one.
The food is horribly overpriced for the quality. I took my best friends daughter for a one-​on-​one date and this is what we ordered:
Beef carpaccio — fine
oysters on a half shell — horrible, smelled like bad badness
2 sirloin center cut steaks — fine but the knives were so terrible I asked for a new one and my sweet date said she was certain she would have a sore arm the next day. It literally would have been the same if they gave us chopsticks to cut our steak.
lobster mashed potatoes — terrible (in full disclosure I don’t like lobster but this confirmed that I still don’t like lobster)
creamed spinach — fine
and I ordered a glass of Malbec (which the server talked me back from the $ 14 glass I ordered to a $ 9 glass because it would be less «wet» — whatever that means for a liquid).
Total = $ 150 ($ 125 + 25 tip)
So, I feel like we did a good job on sampling the menu.
The seating situation is bizarre. We originally sat at a table that was so long I was absolutely closer to the two women to each side of me than I was to my little date. I asked to move to a new table and that meant we were in a itty bitty booth that hardly allowed for our drinks glasses and additional plates. They are like little-​isolated pods where our only view was the wall of another section of isolated pods.
The service was fine. I felt like the waiter was treating us like we were the dad and daughter duo from Curly Sue. He frequently forgot things I requested and talked to us in that high voice you reserve for people you don’t think can afford to be there.
Overall, I was horribly disappointed and most certainly will not be going back. Ever.

I have eaten here a couple of times, but our recent visit has been the best. Everything was fantastic! Our server was great, very friendly, but not too annoying. Even the busboy was helpful and friendly. We ordered their special soup of the evening, a sweet potato curry garnished with prosciutto — They need to serve this ALL the time. It was incredible! We also had a burger and the tenderloin medallion starter, both were delicious and cooked perfectly to our liking.
The evening we were here was the night of the Uptown Tree Lighting. Luckily the weather was perfect, mid 60’s at 6pm. We sat on the patio and listened to the carolers, enjoyed the lighting of the tree, and sipped on hot chocolate from the comfort of a couch. We were surprised more people weren’t taking advantage of the front row seating.

When we came out to interview for my husband’s job which brought us here, they wined and dined us, and Marcello’s was the second place they took us. At the time, we were vaguely disappointed to not be eating New Mexican, but it was a nice swanky place and they bought lots of wine, so we enjoyed it. I am a steak person and my husband is not, so steak places are not high on our list. The food that night was very good, but the pressure of the evening wasn’t conducive to the kind of enjoyment I would want to have with that kind of steak.
So, we had not been back since we moved here over three years ago. The other night we went to the tree lighting at ABQ Uptown, and while there we sat in the outside patio area, had some wine and listened to the Christmas carols being played by a string quartet. It was really lovely.
The wine by the glass is ridiculously expensive (as wine by the glass is everywhere) but the waitress was lovely and very pleasant. The service was good, the atmosphere was lovely, we had a great time.
It’s not a place I am in a hurry to run back to, but I think most people would enjoy it.
Give it a try, see what you think.

Stopped by for a quick glass of wine… which turned into two… three…and so on. Service was good and staff was very knowledgeable. Had their oysters which were outstanding, then the seared tuna appetizer, also outstanding and finally the beat salad to complete my dining experience. Things are pricey and my tab was painful but worth it. Looking forward to my next trip out here so that I can try a main entrée next time… they have a great menu.

How does the saying go, again? «Don’t judge a steakhouse by its burger»? Call me shallow, but seeing as I’m not likely to drop a Benjamin on a sizzler around here any time soon, I’ll have to stick to this report on the burgers: up there with the very best of Burque. Absolutely unforgettable.
Thank you Tiffani C for the lunch review, you were my inspiration to go try this out. Both of our burgers, the New Mexico and Hickory, were thick, juicy bombs that shamed the very concept of portioning; come with an empty stomach because you will be searching for corners to stuff the last of the bacon and caramelized onion. The buns got soaked in the entire mess, always a good sign, and the fries… does it sound like I’m on the verge of orgasm, here? Probably the best fries in town, in part because they’re terrifically over-​salted, even worse for you drenched in the house-​made ranch dressing.
Two other remarkable dishes and completely on-​point service made the experience stellar. The Chop Chop salad, how’s this ingredient list sound: italian salami, artichokes hearts, tomatoes, kalamata olives, garbanzos, toasted pinons and aged provolone. It works beautifully, and it’s a meal in itself. The crème brûlée definitely stood up to the spoon tap test, very good. They carry Green Flash beers, among other great selections, to wash it all down.
Definitely too good for lunch.