ARROYO CHOP HOUSE

ARROYO CHOP HOUSE, Pasadena



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Location:

536 South Arroyo Parkway
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 577 - 7463

So it was our Anniversary the other day and since we haven't been out much lately we decided to go have a nice dinner to celebrate. We researched a few places in the Pasadena/ Los Angeles area, narrowing it down to a handful after throwing out all the places located in Beverly Hills (because that was just too fancy for us) & places that's more about the decor and being "In The Scene" than the food which of course took out many places in LA. We would have gone to Fleming's Prime Steakhouse IF the Lakers were playing at Staples that night since I've heard they like to dine there after games sometimes. We decided to go somewhere in Pasadena and it was a toss up between Houston's and Arroyo Chop House. Jim wanted Houston's but I wanted Arroyo and because I was the one making reservations, guess where we ended up going?

This place is F-A-N-C-Y. It's so fancy I was too embarrassed to try and take pictures of our food because you know, I didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb taking pictures of my $40 steak like a tourist at Disneyland. Anywhos, so where do I begin?

Ambience:

The dress code here is Business casual/dressy casual. We saw a lot of well-to-do business people having dinner here and couples. I think it caters to the older, sophisticated crowd. I know I mentioned that this place was fancy but it is not fancy-wear your ball gown type, this place is more subtle-like Sizzlers for rich people. Definitely not a date type of place for the young crowd. You get to dine while listening to classical piano music which made us wonder if they just play a cd over and over again, but then we realized that right near us was a piano and a man playing on it. whoops! Didn't see him there! See how subtle they are?

Food:

Upon being seated, they ask you if you want bread, sourdough or garlic cheese. FYI it's not free but they do not tell you that. I think it's like $6. Personally I would get the garlic cheese bread as it is garlic cheese on sourdough. Get more bang for your buck. it was however, a little too toasted and difficult to eat because you get crumbs all over the place which I guess is okay because our waiter often stopped by our table to clean up after us (haha). For starters we ordered the beef tenderloin tartare. I don't think we would be ordering that again. It wasn't bad just not my cup of tea. Next I had a caesar salad (boring I know) which was pretty much typical, while Jim ordered Grilled Asparagus with shaved parmesan and arugula (very good!). Finally, the main entrees! We both ordered the New York Steak aged 40 days, scalloped potatoes and creamed spinach. Delicious! I ended up taking most of my steak home, reheated it in the oven and it STILL tasted good. I think that is a testament to the quality of the meat. For dessert we asked our waiter's recommendation and he told us to get the chocolate souffle which was to die for, served with a side of thick, rich whip creme =)


Service:

Service was awesome! Fitting service for an upscale place like this.

Price: $$$$

Bread. Appetizer. Asparagus salad. Caesar Salad. 2 New York Steaks aged 40 days. Creamed spinach. Scalloped Potatoes. Chocolate souffle. 1 beer. Tax & $40 tip. Total damage = $212

Recommended ? ? ?

Definitely. We can't afford to come here everyday or often but we will definitely come back here when we feel like indulging ourselves. But first, we need to check out its sister restaurant Parkway Grill which is often listed as one of the best restaurants in Pasadena.