3/5/22 I'm from the SF Bay area and very picky about where I eat. We had dinner last night and it was off the charts! Fresh, perfectly cooked and delicious. Portions were very very generous, and the flavors were spot on. We had Calamari, maui maui club sandwich and a ceasar salad. The restaurant was very full and the service excellent. Our server was prompt, friendly, and professional which made the meal so enjoyable. I highly recommend you enjoy a meal at Alchemy. Beth from San Jose, CA read more

Went last night for dinner. The service was slow because it was busy but bless the waitresses- they were running. The drinks were good, the garlic bread and arancini were great, The only ding is we ordered a steak medium rare and a burger medium and both were well done to the point of the steak being inedible. The waitress was super friendly/pleasant. read more

Not sure how to convey our recent experience, but I'll try. We use to love this place and bring our friends and family here. Recently we stopped and boy what a difference. Only 1 girl who was alone busting tables, serving, tending bar and bless her heart for trying. The food was absolutely absolute embarrassing attempt to be called food. Only the glass of wine and water were great. Very sad and the owners should rethink their quality. Cheesy garlic bread with corn tasted like worn out overcooked croutons, fried chicken was dry, and 2nd attempt even worse. Tomato bisque was like a jar of Costco marinara sauce from a jar. The beet salad with prawns smelled funny. We were not laughing especially after getting the overpriced bill. read more

One of my favorite places to visit when in Murphy's. Calamari is always fresh and tasty! The corn bread is so tasty and this time we tried the elote bites which were delicious! Didn't have any room for any plates, but it was hard to pass up this triple selection of amazing tasty bites. Great selection of drinks. read more

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Great food and drinks. A little pricey but get for a special occasion. Server was super sweet.

This is a place we always stop at when we come to Murphy's and there's often something new / seasonal on the menu. We ordered a couple of bites to share such as the corn fritters 4/5, the burrata 4/5 and for our mains we had the mushroom risotto 3/5 and the clams 5/5. Our server was very attentive and made some nice recommendations. read more

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I've been coming here for 10+ years, but more recently they have been less and less welcoming. If you're not a local, forget it. Honestly, good has gone downhill anyway. read more

$10 corkage now and the bread is $6 but the setting and food is still great The ownership has changed but some of the original employees are still here which says a lot. You can still get the staples but no more quesadillas. Still have the famous meatloaf a d mahj mahi. We will still support this great Murphy's staple. read more

Alchemy - Mimosa with lunch on Alchemy's perfect outdoor patio - New American Near Me - Murphys, California

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The appetizers were OK for the price- baked brie was good, calamari was a little chewy and the gold nugget bread used to be free and now you have to pay $8 for a few slices. I could not decide on a main so I got the bacon mac n cheese with add crab for $12 ! Ridiculous. Maybe if it tasted better I wouldn't be so upset. Noodles were way over cooked and mushy, bacon tasted sour and was basically non-existent and the crab that was over priced and added for $12 had a bad taste. I did not finish. The other 4 people I was with ordered the 12oz ribeye Medium rare for all 4 and all of them were rare and had a lot of gristle and fat. The asparagus was also not grilled at all and was raw/crunchy. Their potatoes were supposed to be mashed and were not mashed completely- leaving large chunks of flavorless potatoes. All in all, they all agreed that it was bland and needed steak sauce, salt and pepper. Another person ordered the chicken- I was going to order that as well but it came with Bok choy and mashed potatoes and the chicken had an Asian glaze- I felt that those flavors did not mesh well, and she was not very happy with the dish either. We will not be back. Service was great and the ambiance was pretty OK. When you spend so much on a meal, whether you are rich or not, it is expected to be flavorful and cooked they way you want it. This is not our first visit either but will be our last. read more

Still open for outdoor seating that allows you to people watch while you dine. Casual dining here but with a very nice setting. It's best to come early or make a reservation to avoid a wait. Food and service was great, as well as the atmosphere. Unique cocktails and wine menu options available. read more

Alchemy - Final Sprint - New American Near Me - Murphys, California

We always have great service here. They have the best cocktails in town and I've never had a dish I didn't like.

It has probably been about 20 years since I have been to Murphy's and I love that it still has a nice small town feel to it. After a morning at PAWS and the validation that this lunch spot we chose was seconded by one of the volunteers, we arrived on a mild sunny afternoon perfect for dining outside. I went with the moules frites which after consuming about a lb of mussels was enough for my lunch while the pork tacos that came with a choice of fries or salad graced the other plate. It sounds like there might be a recent change in ownership which might explain why the gold nugget cheese bread is no longer complimentary or an option with a meal like I had been reading in other reviews. Bit disappointing as I did want to try it without ordering an appetizer of it. read more

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Was a little disappointed. Food was just ok. They were having a private party the night I was there and felt a bit rushed. All I heard in other reviews was try the bread, that it was amazing. Just flat garlic bread with corn on it. Probably not my top pick in Murphy's. read more

Good service but mediocre food. Don't get the wagyu steak...potatoes were inedible and steak was chewy. If you have eaten at nice restaurants in the Bay Area, this is not the place to spend over $100. read more

Great place for lunch. I was around the area for Memorial day weekend and stopped by here for lunch. It's towards the end of the main street so if you're parking in the main lot, it's a few blocks walk. The little nugget bread appetizer was awesome. It's like their play on garlic bread with corn, cilantro, garlic, cheese and jalapeno chilies. It's super tasty. I got their bbq chicken sandwich. Some others got the burgers and mahi mahi club. All the dishes looked good and was a good portion. They also have a kids menu which comes with a sundae at the end as well. There's plenty of outdoor seating as well so it's good for alfresco dining on a nice day. Good place for lunch and the service was friendly. read more

We went on a Sunday for brunch. They don't have any breakfast on menu- just for lunch or dinner. Not a very big menu for either meal. Dinner selections were too heavy for lunch so we stuck with the fish sandwiches. They were good. Not a very big portion, I was still hungry afterwards. Very little fries that came with sandwich- I asked for garlic fries $2 just so they added a spoonful of fresh garlic. The place was half empty yet we were told to wait 15-20 mins for a table. Maybe because they didn't have enough waitresses? Anyhow, we sat at bar and got 2 drinks. She put on our tab. Later check came and they charged us for 3 drinks ( we didn't have) and turned out she added the wrong tab to our check. read more

Five stars all the way. We were a party of 6 with 2 kids - the food was delicious. We had the mussels, Golden Bread, steaks, Fried Chicken and Meatloaf- and a kids menu item - every dish was sumptuous and flavors were on point. The service was impeccable and the ambiance was intimate and comfortable - throw back your old school - overall great must visit place when in Murphy's. read more

Delicious food, friendly team members, great cocktails. Love it for date night or dinner with family and friends.

By far the best restaurant in Murphys! Excellent service and delicious food and atmosphere. Have not had a mediocre meal here yet! The pork chop was by far the best I've ever eaten! Wedge salad and crab arancini were excellent. Can't wait to go back! read more

Alchemy - Pork chop! - New American Near Me - Murphys, California

My husband and I made a reservation the day of for 6:30 pm and it was not an issue. The hostess sat us at our table as soon as we got to the restaurant. Our server was Bobbi and she was friendly, but rushed our experience the majority of the time. For example, we ordered the Moules-frites as an appetizer and approximately 5 minutes into receiving the appetizer she brings out the main course. Both my husband and I were surprised and have never really experienced this before. The server rushed out our food but not the drinks lol. We got our entres before the beers! I'm not sure if this was necessarily her fault (she doesn't cook the food), but the kitchen's flaw. By the time we got to our main course the food was lukewarm/borderline cold. Pro:The moules-frites were tasty and there was a lot of them! Our entrées were mediocre, especially for the price tag. My husband ordered the special (fish with creamy sauce and polenta- sauce was cold and polenta was hard and needed longer cooking). I ordered the braised beef and it was oddly chewy (also needed more time to cook) and the carrots and celery were still hard (didn't sauté enough). Last the dessert was poorly presented. The cake was tilted over onto the half a scoop of vanilla ice cream (squishing it) and the chocolate cake itself was dry. I would not recommend this place. We spent over $100 on our meal and the overall experience was disappointing. Save your time and money and go to the historic hotel down the street where they have bomb gourmet burgers. read more

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Had a very unfortunate experience at Alchemy recently. Two of us there for dinner ordered calamari that was way over cooked and didn't taste good at all. One of us had the three palm salad and it only had lettuce, no artichoke hearts or hearts of palm. Smothered with croutons and shake Parmesan, instead of shaved. And lastly, I had fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes were cold and the fried chicken tasted bad also.... I think the oil it was cooked in was old. Explains the calamari too. We were so disappointed because we've loved Alchemy since its inception. Wondering what's going on there. We were told they had a brand new cook. Anyway, the bartender and server were wonderful. read more

My second time coming here! Service is always great. The waitresses and owners are very kind. We definitely appreciated how kind they were to our dog and the care they took in making sure he had food and water. I am sad to say that the food is ... less than mediocre. Don't get me wrong, it is edible! But bland beyond belief. I ordered the steak and the BBQ chicken sandwich with both simply lacked flavor. I understand this may be due to the fact that the restaurant may want to accommodate different palates, but considering what they are charging, I expected a little more "WOW"! W We absolutely love coming to Murphys and this restaurant is one of few that is open on Mondays and Tuesdays. If we have to, we will return if it is our only option. read more

Great service and location and inside/outside ding area is nice, but food quality was only so-so. Mussels were not very good, steak and eggplant were okay, but bistro salad was excellent. read more

First off, Brittany T was an amazing server! She was so kind and had so much energy that would brighten anyones day! The drinks were very floral and very unique. We started out with the poblano soup which had perfect flavor. We shared the beet salad and the caprese salad which were lite, crisp and super flavorful. For the entree we both decided on the pork chop and the bacon broth was TO DIE FOR! We took the bread pudding and cheesecake to go and they were amazing as well. While we were at the restaurant, we booked another reservation for the following night because the food and service was that good! Thank you Brittany for making our first night in Murphys so memorable! We can't wait to come back! read more

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Don't show up at 7:50 they won't serve yiu. Said the kitchen is closed maybe they had a bad kitchen night. Limited hours on Memorial weekend. read more

Terrible service !! So sloooww! If the bartender would put his ego away and start making drinks we could possibly hang in there. No water refills !! read more

The locals love it here. That made it a priority stop on my most recent visit. You've gotta be mindful of what day it is when visiting Murphys. Several tasting rooms are only open a few days a week, & they close early. Well, everything closes early here, except The Lucky Penny. So after a couple of missed attempts at Alchemy, I can happily say that I have finally tried their famous garlic bread. It is fantastic. Hot. Buttery. Chewy. Fresh. Addicting. We ordered 2 glasses of Pinot & noshed on this fabulous bread, almost regretting that we had dinner reservations down the street in an hour. And we were almost regretting this even before the live music started. We will be back. 4 stars. read more

Alchemy - The signature garlic bread. Fantastic. - New American Near Me - Murphys, California

A very nice dining experience. We enjoyed dinner in the upscale modern setting with cool patio. The staff were attentive and pleasant. The rockfish special was tasty while the branzino was about what you might expect. read more

We had an outstanding lunch meal here! The place bills itself as an establishment that is dog-friendly...just what we were looking for. We were traveling with our well-behaved Siberian husky and we happy to be able to sit on the patio with our pooch. We were settled in with glasses of water and menus. Being rather hungry, we quickly made our selections: the chicken cordon Bleu sandwich and the beef short ribs poutine. In not too long, we had our plates of food served by the courteous and efficient server. Both entrees were quite delicious! The chicken cordon Bleu sandwich was well-balanced and crazy-good! The short ribs poutine was full of rich, salty umame-ness that was oh-so satisfying. (It was hard to not eat too fast). I am impressed with the food and the good service during a very busy Sunday lunch service. It was a sunny and warm fall weekend, and many visitors were in Murphy's. The meal here was an excellent prelude to a highly enjoyable afternoon exploring the town after last visiting maybe six years ago. read more

Excellent dining experience on a weeknight. We arrived early for dinner after a day spent wine tasting and shopping. Our server was a gem, super friendly and knowledgeable. I started with a glass of rose from a local winery and a cup of the lobster bisque (soup of the day). Very tasty. The wine list featured several local wineries by the bottle or glass. For my entree I chose the Seared Salmon which came with mashed potatoes and an interesting coulis of fresh berries and veggies. It was cooked perfectly and delicious. My dining partners tried the mushroom risotto and a smoked bacon Mac n' cheese dish that they both enjoyed. We had no room for dessert but all 3 of us asked for to go containers. Portions are generous. Plenty of outdoor seating available on the pet friendly patio. read more

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When I quizzed a local salesperson on the best places in town to eat at she mentioned Alchemy. Then she kept mentioning Alchemy. I'm not going to say Murphys is a small town without many good restaurants to choose from but I think that might've been what she was saying. Having dined at only a few places during a recent visit I'd second that notion. At lunch, Alchemy has a menu that's all over the map with delightful sounding offerings and enough variety that everyone at your table is bound to find something of interest. At my table of 4 our ordering looked like this: * 1 Nachos Forever (to share) * 1 Greek Ahi Salad * 3 Thai Chicken Salads I'll admit: that combination of food doesn't even look good to me. No sooner had we ordered than our server returned bearing Alchemy's complimentary "Famous Gold Nugget Cheese Bread". It almost made me regret having ordered the nachos as this bread looked too irresistible to pass up. It's topped with buttery corn and green onions and it's a nice perk of dining here. The Nachos were artfully presented and absolutely irresistible. Melt cheese atop tortilla chips and I'm happy. Melt a lot of cheese and add jalapeños, sour cream, green onions, olives, and more and well, I should've probably canceled my order for the Greek Ahi Salad. The Nachos are delicious. My 3 dining companions said good things about their Thai Chicken Salads. My Greek Ahi Salad was good also, though nothing rave-worthy. I think where this restaurant excels is in their food presentation. Each dish, Gold Nugget Cheese Bread included, looked very attractive. On Murphys Main Street you can barely take 5 steps without encountering a wine tasting room worthy of a stop. The same cannot be said of its restaurants. Alchemy, like that salesgirl insisted, is a good choice when you visit the old gold-mining town of Murphys. read more

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Excellent restaurant to enjoy a relaxing and delicious dinner after a day exploring Murphy's! The restaurant is elegant yet not pretentious and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. The menu is simple and offers many local fresh options. We started with the calamari and Jalapeño appetizer which was fried to a light and crispy perfection. The Halibut dinner and the Ahi Nicoise Salad were both great choices for dinner and we were very happy with the service we received. We will most certainly have dinner here again the next time we are visiting Murphy's. read more

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Outstanding meal last night at Alchemy. 2 appetizer's the Calamari, and their Vongole Russo clams. The Calamari, perfectly cooked, with it's light, crispy crust, thin sliced jalapeno, and topped with a chipotle aioli, is hand down the best calamari we ever had, and has been for several years. The Vongole Russo clams were a first. Served with sliced focaccia bread, the rich red sauce had such a depth of flavor and were amazing. We shared the evenings special, which was a pan seared Sea Bass, perfectly cooked, skin super crisp, served over a lemon yogurt sauce, with a spiced red cabbage, some finely chopped pistachios, topped off with micro greens. To top it off, our server, Gabby was excellent. It was the perfect evening out! read more

So I went for lunch today to finally get to see Chef Bob. The X-Ahwahnee_Hotel Chef, x-Chef at V in Murphy's and recently a stint with the Hilton Organization. He had come back to Murphy's to add some class the the overly wine laden cutesy Main Street in Murphy's. Alas, after little less than a month Bob is gone! The server was very uncomfortable when I asked if Bob was in the kitchen working lunch. "No, he's gone." So I said, you mean he's not here now but he'll be back for dinner." Reply, " Not exactly." So tiring of playing 20 questions, I asked for a clearer answer and he told me Bob wasn't working at Alchemy any more. We were seated and brought menus. The menu was obviously the menu Bob created. It had his handiwork all over it except for the "cheesy corn bread." If you look at the Previous Yelp reviews since Bob's arrival almost everyone gripped the bread had been taken off the menu. And frankly they were upset the menu had changed to suit Bob's cooking style. Reading it felt like I was back in Restaurant V 5 years ago-- which is why I went to Alchemy today. Look, maybe all the gripping did him in. I have no clue. The server did say, "we've been instructed to say, " he wasn't a good fit." Well that's not mincing words is it-- Lunch was ok, probably one of the sous chefs doing the menu that undoubtedly will return to days of old. The owners can do whatever they want and hopefully whoever they get as new chef will be top notch. The town needs it. Personally I'm disappointed Bob couldn't stay longer but that's life in the little city and we all go on. Chefs these days are behaving more like artists. Temperamental, set in their ways-- one guy said, "they are as stubborn as a grease stain." Could be what happened here. Next review in a few months when things settle down. By then the new booze license should be in place and that should help with building a loyal base. read more

We've been here several times and always enjoy it. Solid place for lunch or dinner. Good food and friendly staff.

Murphy's is a quiet mountain town with most businesses opening late and closing early. I recommend that you make a reservation if you choose to dine at Alchemy. We were in town for the Murphy's Irish Days Celebration which draws a large crowd for Saturdays parade and events. The restaurant was clean and considering it was very busy for the Irish Days celebration I felt our service was good. My wife and I were with two other couples, surprisingly three of us chose the meatloaf for dinner. It was a very generous size portion for sure. My wife and I took a couple of small bites but did not like the taste of the meatloaf. Something in the flavor was off putting enough that we just could not eat it. We both tasted a vinegary flavor the over powered the gravy and meatloaf which was served over mashed potatoes. However, our friend who also had the meatloaf, really enjoyed it cleaning his plate entirely. Two of our other friends had the rib-eye and one really enjoyed it, while the other felt her steak was closer to well than medium. Three out of the six in our party really enjoyed their meals. The waitress was super nice and really concerned my wife and I didn't like our meal. She offered to make something else several times and really was very sweet! But she noticed it later in our meal and we did not want to hold our friends up. The waitress removed the charge for my wife and I, and she was very apologetic. The restaurant has a nice ambiance and is perfect for couples who enjoy visiting with each other during dinner. I recommend you try Alchemy for yourself, but also recommend to try there when it is not an event weekend. read more

Overall good food, nice selection of cocktails, and great selection of wine and beer. The food is fresh and I have never had a bad meal here. It has an upscale bistro-bar atmosphere along with both outdoor/patio, bar, and indoor table seating. I have been dining at Alchemy for close to 10 years, while the menu (and ownership of the restaurant) has changed over the years, the menu does not seem to change very often, which is both good and bad. If you are local, and eat out in Murphys a couple times a week, the menu here can seem like the same old-thing. As a longtime diner here, I am glad that they kept some of the core menu items, such as the Gold Nugget bread - I do not typically eat bread, but I will make an exception for the Alchemy Gold Nugget bread. I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant for a nice and relaxing lunch or dinner with good food and atmosphere. read more

Great day away! Amazing menu, large selection! Loved the Brussel sprouts. Everything is delish!

Enjoyed calamari and Mac and cheese for the appetizer. For the entrees; meatloaf, and two orders of the American Wagyu steaks. Meatloaf was very good. Both orders of the steak were cooked well but severely under seasoned along with the sides. Service was average, but was charged an automatic 20% gratuity for having a party of 7; 3 of which were under 5 years old. Enjoyed the atmosphere. Was very surprised to walk in with a party of 7 at 6pm on a Saturday evening. Was my first time dining at this restaurant but will be my last. Overall, the food and service was very average with above average prices. Was initially intrigued by the great reviews but having dined in multiple other locations in murphys, I won't be coming back. read more

We were met with a "we've run out of several items [by 4 pm]." You may "want to call [at 5:30] to make sure we haven't run out of food." I've never run across this marketing approach beforehand. It's unique, to be sure. read more