08/14/09

Not worth full price

by sulia

My husband & I ate at the Baltimore location of The Prime Rib. We went during Restaurant Week to celebrate my birthday on 8/11/09

Pros: the food was fantastic. I didn't personally care much for the dressing on the caesar salad but my husband loved it (he thinks they make the dressing from scratch). For me it had too much of a vinegar taste followed by a spicy taste (neither flavor is one I care for personally). The bread they give you was great(I'm not a poppy seed or sesame seed person; the bread had both on top & I actually ate a decent bit of the bread!). It was still nice & warm to help melt the butter. For the entree, my husband had the Filet Mignon (it was 4 or 5oz) & I had the Imperial Crab. Both were very wonderful. They came with a dish of Creamed Spinich & a dish of Mashed Potatoes to share between us. I'm not a huge spinich fan but I did eat some, not too bad. I loved the potatoes tho, great flavor, didn't need salt or pepper like usual! The Filet was nicely cooked outside with lots of juice & some pink still inside. It was extremely flavorful & had my husband wanting to buy another dish of it! The Imperial Crab was full of lump crab meat & out of the whole dish, only 3 tiny shell pieces (to me, that's good!)! Then came dessert: my husband got the Creme Brulee & I got the Chocolate Mousee Pie. The Brulee had a nice crispy top (not hard, just crispy enough) that my husband said reminded him of toasted marshmallows. Under that was a nice light creamy custard. He loved every spoonfull. My pie was amazingly light! I've never had such a wonderful chocolate mousee before, I certainly would have gotten more given the chance! The waiter had a nice balance of checking on us & leaving us alone. He was prompt with refilling our waters, usually before we ran out.

Cons: The location is not the best in our opinions. We were hoping to take a stroll to the harbor afterwards but there was no way we felt comfortable walking around outside of the restaurant (we used the garage entrance to get to & from the restaurant). When we were seated, we were put at a very tiny table up against a wall & already felt crowded by the other tables nearby. The walkway between our table to the one to my right was so small that each time someone walked by, we both had to lean against the wall to avoid being bumped (it got to the point I just stayed against the wall). The noise level rivals that of Applebees or T.G.I. Fridays on a firday or Saturday nice with a packed bar during football season! We could hardly hear each other talk at several points through the evening. The price of beverages outside of water was insane. My tiny Sprite (not more than a 12oz glass filled to the top with ice) cost $4. My husbands 1 beer cost $7. We were very glad we only purchased one of each & didn't have any refills! We were trying to attribute the noise level & the tight spacing to it being restaurant week, thinking they added in tables to acommadate the response & that some patrons may not have been use to going to a fancy restaurant & therefore respecting the lower noise level. However, we found out later that a friend of my husbands use to go there often with her husband & said it's always cramped feeling & very loud, they eventually stopped going.

The previous year we went to Red Lobster for my birthday. We both felt it would have been better to go there instead of The Prime Rib. It was far quieter & roomier. The food, in our opinions, is still very good at RL.

We have eaten at The Capital Grille & The Rusty Scupper during past restaurant weeks & both were places we would willingly return to & pay full price. The entire experience was wonderful at both of those.

• Pros: Great food
• Cons: Loud, crowded, location

02/15/09

Not worth the money!

by sgm515

Went to prime rib for Valentines dinner. Not the ambiance we were looking for. No coatcheck, $12.00 martinis. The worst part was seating is elbow to elbow with your neighbor. No complaints on the food. The food was good. I just don't like sitting in my neighbors lap when trying to have a romantic dinner with my girl. Not worth the money, go to Capial Grill.

10/21/08

Just What I Was Looking For

by pappataci85

My girlfriend came to Baltimore for the weekend and I wanted to take her somewhere really great. This place was awesome...some reviewers said it's crowded...well, it wasn't crowded at all. The food was amazing, like top 10 of my whole life amazing. The service was great, I have nothing to complain about. The atmosphere was romantic and quiet. I had reservations for 5 right when they opened...good time to go. Bread was really warm and fresh.

There was no live Saxophone, I thought there would be on Friday night, but other than that, it was just what I was looking for. It's expensive, but well worth it. I'd say if you're thinking about a really special dinner...this is the best in Baltimore.

• Pros: Food, Service, Atmosphere
• Cons: Price, Location