When I mentioned to people during the past week that I had my birthday dinner at The Five Alls, I heard comments like, "Oh, The Five Alls! I went to prom there!"
As that remark might indicate, The Five Alls is fancy-schmancy but not in an off-putting way. In fact, its rustic, back-to-medieval England atmosphere is a real departure from the often-sterile environments at some other upscale restaurants.
The Five Alls has been around as long as I have; that is, since 1969. Back then (and you can check this out on the original menu still hanging near the entrance) the most expensive items were south of 14 bucks.
Prices have gone up a tad since then, but I still find The Five Alls pretty reasonable considering that customers pay for a full five-course meal. That is, it's reasonable as long as it's good, and The Five Alls is good.
Our group of four was shown promptly to our seats on arriving, and a first course of chewy herbed breadsticks with creamy, salty clam dip soon arrived. We also each had a meatball in a savory, typically British brown gravy and a small glass of alcohol-free English "shrub," a refreshing, frothy punch flavored with banana and pineapple.
We munched on these starters — and they're real starters, just meant to perk up your appetite for what's to come — while we looked over the menu. Individual choice came into play from here on in, with options listed for the soup, salad, entree and dessert courses.
My friend Kaelynne and I had the lovely cream-of-cauliflower soup, a buttery, silky-textured broth studded with bits of tender cauliflower. My husband had a goblet of deeply sweet sliced strawberries, and our friend Christian had the shrimp cocktail, the only misstep of this course. While the shrimp were plump and juicy, they tasted watery, and any small flavor was swallowed up in the assertive cocktail sauce.
Next we all had salads, basic but crisp and fresh, with green olives, cucumbers and tomatoes. I had vinaigrette on mine and enjoyed its sour contrast with the bitter olives.
All of our dinners were excellent, as The Five Alls chefs are a dab hand at meat preparation. My husband had the New York steak, which was deliciously seared and juicy, despite his baffling preference for medium-well, and Christian had the halibut filet, also beautifully seared, meaty and moist.
Kaelynne's boneless chicken Kiev was close to the best I've tasted, a plump, buttery breast lightly browned to a just-crackly finish outside. But luckily for me, my dinner, the "filet Oscar," was my favorite: a small but fork-tender filet mignon cooked to medium-rare and topped with crab meat, tender baby asparagus and a dark, earthy bearnaise sauce.
With our meals we each chose various options for sides, including "British-style" fries, chewy wild rice, mixed veggies or perfectly cooked Brussels sprouts.
For dessert, patrons can choose various flavored parfaits, from strawberry to creme de menthe, or for $2 extra can choose a "premium" dessert. I'm certain you're not surprised to learn I took the "premium" route with the chocolate-amaretto mousse, a frothy, deeply chocolate confection with just a breath of almond.
After all, it was my birthday.
Five-course meals $18-$48, extras and beverages $2-$45.
The Five Alls
Rating: ***
Where: 1458 S. Foothill Drive
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 5:30 p.m.-close; Closed Sunday
Payment: Major credit cards accepted
Reservations: Encouraged
Phone: 582-1400
Web: www.fivealls.com
Wheelchair access: Easy
Stacey Kratz is a freelance writer who reviews restaurants for the Deseret E-mail: skratz@desnews.com