The Grill on the Alley

The Grill on the Alley is a step back, several generations back. It’s inside the modern Fairmont Hotel in the heart of resurgent downtown San Jose, but does a nice job of recapturing the food and the mood of the big-city dinner clubs and grills of the 1940s.

How so? First, the atmosphere is formal, though not oppressively so. (If you’re underdressed, you can simply take a table in the more relaxed bar lounge area or on the patio.) Dark-oak booths, each sporting old-fashioned bronze coat hooks, are a good match for the downtown business crowd. Another touch of class is the oversized landscape painting that occupies nearly an entire wall.

Then there’s the menu. Mixed in among the pasta, seafood and USDA Prime charbroiled steak entrees are items you don’t see much on menus any more: a meal-size Cobb Salad, Meat Loaf, Chicken Pot Pie and Key Lime Pie—all nods to the comfort foods of yesteryear. Like the modern items on the menu, such as the Endive, Spicy Pecans & Romaine Salad, Halibut Fish Tacos and an Ahi Tuna Wrap, the portion sizes are more than generous. The immensely satisfying Chicken Pot Pie, for example, is served in a full-size pie tin, with the crust spilling over the edges. It’s easily filling enough to be shared. The same can be said of the memorably decadent Fudge Brownie Pie, a housemade concoction involving rich chocolate, warm caramel sauce, candied pecans and vanilla ice cream.

After dessert, walk it off with a downtown stroll or let it settle inside the Fairmont. Enjoy a drink at Happy Hour prices (weeknights 5-8 p.m., weekends 5-7 p.m.) in the Grill’s spacious bar lounge or on the patio; the martini (400+) and wine (500+) lists are so long you can count them as books read. Drinks are also served in the Fairmont lobby lounge, where jazz and blues musicians perform free nightly. Or for a big night out, enjoy a massage at the Fairmont’s Tova day spa or take in a concert at the nearby Center for the Performing Arts before checking into the Fairmont. With 13- and 20-story towers, it’s a four-diamond hotel with 883 rooms and suites.

HelloSanJose Tip: For an excellent view of the Thursday Music in the Park summer concerts in downtown San Jose, reserve an outdoor table at the Grill. You can’t beat the view as the bands—mostly rock headliners like Third Eye Blind and Better Than Ezra—play in the park right across the street.
TAGS: San Jose restaurants, San Jose steakhouses, Fairmont restaurants, downtown restaurants, downtown bars.

- by Bob Cooper, San Jose Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Bob Cooper

Bob Cooper is a full-time freelance writer (www.bob-cooper.com) who writes about travel, outdoor sports and health. He is a monthly contributor to Runner's World and has written recent articles for other national magazines such as Continental, Ladies' Home Journal and Inc.