The Hotel St. Michael BistroCornerstone of Prescott, Arizona's Famous Whiskey RowSince 1907 The Hotel St. Michael has stood at the corner of Gurley St. & Montezuma or, to put it in more familiar terms, it’s the first building on Whiskey Row. It’s a nice old building too.
A few years back the brick and stone façade of the Hotel St. Michael was cleaned and repaired and today it looks as good as new. As I understand it the hotel rooms have been updated and modernized as well, but since we are inclined to talk about food on this site let’s talk about the on premises restaurant. Known locally and variously as the Hotel St. Michael Bistro, The Caffe and St. Michaels Caffe. Whatever you call it, it’s worth a try. The original tin ceilings, brick walls and plank flooring take you back in time a hundred years or so to where you can almost feel the presence of local miners, cattle barons and other prominent locals as they bellied up to the bar for a shot and a beer. Well, you are more likely to encounter a yuppie having a Mojito now, but you see what I mean. The Hotel St. Michael is a neat old hotel. The wine list, while not extensive, has some good selections in most categories and is reasonably priced. There are quite a few wines sold by the glass – and that’s what my wife and I decided on for this evening. Our dinner companions opted for Bombay Sapphire with a twist – which they thoroughly enjoyed. The menu is eclectic. There is Smoked salmon, Chicken Quesadilla’s and crab cakes on the appetizer menu. NY steak, Cajun Meatloaf and Linguine al’ Bolognaise are among the entrees. There are also salads, burgers and vegetarian items offered. All of the entrees come with soup or salad. The four of us ordered the Bistro Steak, the Cajun Meatloaf, Potato Crusted Pacific Salmon and Seared Ahi. The Bistro Steak was very good, according to my dinner companion and he must have enjoyed the baked potato and veggies because he cleaned his plate. $22.00 My wife had the Seared Ahi and, for the price, it was good. She ordered her Ahi on the rare side and it was served exactly right. The only draw back was that the fish had been frozen and the texture was not as firm as she would have liked. But for a hotel bistro in the Arizona high desert, and for only $17.00 – not bad at all. The Salmon was a split decision. Our dinner companion liked it a lot. Her husband didn’t like the sauce. I liked it but I am not a huge salmon fan. Over all though, we agreed on good to very good at $18.00. Finally, I had the Cajun Meatloaf with red wine and mushroom gravy, mashed taters and veggies. The 2 big slabs of meatloaf were of the firm variety – I like that – the gravy was pretty good and the Cajun spices were good too. This dish wasn’t overwhelming but again it was good Bistro fare and reasonable at $15.00. Oh! I have too tell you about the Chili I had in lieu of soup. The black bean chili and the cornbread muffin that came with it were excellent. Hearty and with just enough heat to let you know you're not in Indiana anymore. I wouldn’t mind a meal based on this stuff! We had occasion to observe how the staff and management of the Hotel St. Michael reacted when a minor collision occurred between Emily and another server. There was no drama, no recriminations. Both servers, a bus boy and the manager all pounced on the spilled items and quietly and efficiently cleaned things up. If I hadn’t been taking notes I probably wouldn’t even have remembered the incident. Well done to all involved! 
We passed on dessert, we’ll have to try them another time.When all was said and done we had had a very nice time with good friends. The food was good, the wine and other libations were good and the surroundings were terrific- and it was all at a reasonable price too. The Hotel St. Michael in Prescott would be an excellent place to bring an out of town guest to get a taste of what Prescott was like a 100 years ago. It would also serve admirably as a watering hole after work or a nice place to take your significant other for a casual meal. From Hotel St. Michael Bistro Review to Dinner in Prescott
|
We were warmly greeted and shown to our table for four. Our server, Emily, introduced herself with a smile and left us with the wine list and menus. 
