The Diamond Grill

A GreatRestaurant located in downtown Alexandria, Louisiana.

The food at the Diamond Grill is as spectacular as the décor and the décor is extraordinary. The Diamond Grill opened several years ago and it has been my favorite GreatRestaurant in Alexandria since that time.

The Diamond Grill is both elegant and comfortable. The atmosphere raises your expectations, and the food and service has always exceeded mine. The menu offers a great selection of choices while maintaining a focus that lets you know that every dish is freshly crafted.

The food is creative and delicious. It is what you would have to call upscale Creole-Continental. They offer appetizers ranging from fried green tomato to escargot. The dinners range from seafood (a Louisiana must have) to wonderful steaks. Duck, chicken and pork are also on the dinner menu. I have enjoyed every dish that I have ever tried at the Diamond Grill.

Many, if not all, nights they have off menu specials. I recommend serious consideration of their specials. While the menu is great, they don't call them specials for nothing.

I have had dinners there as both as a couple and as the host of host up to about twenty guests. Whether my group has been small or large, the service has always been extraordinary.

The last time I was there, the waiter who I knew from previous visits, recommended a merlot from Meeker Vineyards, their Handprint Merlot. I explained to him that I didn't drink merlot and asked if he had another recommendation, a syrah or a red zinfandel maybe.

He very politely suggested that I reconsider and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He said that if I didn't like the Meeker, it would disappear and never show up on my bill. I again told him that I normally don't drink merlot but that if he was that confident in the wine then I would give it a try.

The result was a confirmation that you should always listen to your waiter when you are in a GreatRestaurant. I thanked him. The Meeker Handprint Merlot is wonderful, it is delicious, it isn't like any merlot I've ever had.





Of course in retrospect, I hadn't really tried a merlot since the 1980's when incredibly bad merlot was the fern-bar wine of choice. The wine was so good that I asked where they got it. The next morning I went out and bought a case of it before leaving town.

I have since purchased several more cases of this fantastic wine and enjoy it often. The Handprint Merlot is one of a very interesting selection of wines from Meeker. They only make about 3600 cases of it each year. It is a GreatWine. Thank you, Diamond Grill, for introducing me to it.

The Diamond Grill is a GreatRestaurant that I never miss when I am in Alexandria. You should try it if you are anywhere nearby.

Check them out at http://thediamondgrill.com