Review - Holly Hotel (Holly, MI)

The Holly Hotel is a misnomer. It hasn't been a hotel in decades. It is a restaurant with a comedy club in the basement.  DivaMom received a certificate for Holly Hotel in honor of their 31st anniversary. It was $31 off of a meal for two, and considering 1 meal can cost that much it was brilliant marketing especially if you send it to someone that can't allow a coupon to go to waste.

I made reservations for 7:45, I arrived on time and another couple walked in right behind me. The server that was on the phone when I walked in (I assume she was taking a reservation) looked around the room, and addressed the couple that walked in behind me and asked them if they had a reservation. They answered "No" and she said that there were tables being cleared off and she would be able to seat them shortly. Then she walked away. No acknowledgement of my existence, nothing. She returned soon after, and seated them without even so much as looking at my direction. Now I know my parents weren't glass makers and she couldn't see through me, but I have no idea why I was ignored. I stood there for about 10 minutes before another waitress came out (I had seen her and she had seen me as she was racing around taking care of her tables) and even asked if I had been helped. I told her what happened, she apologized profusely, and proceeded to seat me in what can only be described as "the train room."

The train room is a small 4 table room set up much like a dining car of a train. There are paintings and drawings of trains everywhere and there are overhead luggage shelves much like I'd imagine an old style train would have. I love this room. To add to the ambiance the entire hotel is decorated for Christmas, with classic old-fashioned ornaments that remind me of my childhood, lots of evergreen vines, and colored lights. There are even wrapped "presents" on the luggage shelves.

For dinner I ordered the Tournedos of Beef Tenderloin and it came with a salad or soup (I chose the green salad). DivaMom ordered the Chicken Strudel Holly Hotel (shredded breast, broccoli, herbed gournay, filo) and it came with cranberry quinoa. She also ordered the French Onion soup.The Holly Hotel also serves fresh bread and butter with their meals, and last night it was avocado/pepper butter with a cheese focaccia. I hate avocado, but this butter was amazing! It was slightly salty and it complemented the light cheese taste of the bread.

The soup arrived first, and DivaMom was in heaven. She loves their french onion soup because the cheese is on the bottom, the soup in the middle and the soup crock is topped with pastry dough and baked. This arrangement helps her avoid the cheese, while still enjoying the soup and bread. (she's a little crazy if you ask me, the best part of french onion soup is the cheese!). My salad arrived next. It was salad greens filling and surrounding a small shell made of filo dough, with dried cranberries and a blackberry vinaigrette. The salad was delicious, but could have used blue cheese crumbles to offset the sweetness of the vinaigrette. The filo dough shell was a little cumbersome to eat, I finally just picked it up with my fingers and bit into it. It was light and crispy, just the way filo should be!

The entrees arrived and I was not disappointed! I had 2 medallions of beef tenderloin with "glace de veau" (aka, gravy), some roasted mixed root veggies (carrots, parsnips, potato, and mushrooms), and mashed potatoes. The chef send out a third piece of meat with the explanation that when he plated the food it didn't look like enough meat. I ordered my meal well done, and I was happy to see my request was met. The meat was tender, but not pink, not an easy task but he/she (IDK the gender of the chef) achieved it! The gravy was tasty, which is amazing to me since I HATE gravy, and the mashed potatoes were perfection! I didn't care for the roasted veggies, but they were well seasoned and what I ate of them tasted ok. I'm not a fan of parsnips or mushrooms.

DivaMom and I passed on dessert. For once there wasn't anything on the dessert tray that struck our fancy, but we have had their personal apple tart, and it is amazing with a little vanilla ice cream.

Despite the little hiccup in the beginning the experience was enjoyable, the server that we had was great, and the environment is beautiful. Holly Hotel is a nice place to go for a nice slow meal. Don't go there if you are in a hurry or looking to kill time before another event (unless the event is the comedy show in the basement).