Reviews

• 

  Good food, awful service

  JimmyQ | May 22 2011

  Prime has so much potential with its spacious two-story layout, attractive menu and reasonably good food (the burgers are excellent). But the poor and inattentive service ruins the whole experience, which is a shame because the char roasted steaks are quite tasty. If you must go, avoid the stuffy second floor where the manager and his staff can get downright rude.

  • How much did you spend?
    900 for two
  • Overall Rating
    Bad
  • Food 7
  • Service 2
  • Ambiance 6
  • Price 2

• 

  Passing its PRIME

  Foodiewil | Nov 17 2010

  As a child I've always liked steak -- maybe it has something to do with the army-style generosity of piling up high on a plate -- steak, potatoes, a side veg and all. Growing up here makes us wonder about how "local steak places" have evolved from the American ones. Years of meat-and-potato munching later, the love for steak remains, and with a larger appetite one can only imagine the now adult foodie is sometimes craving for steak, and not just a piece of meat. The steakhouse experience is often filled with memories of joy and pain, and my experience at PRIME certainly belongs to the latter.
  
  Date: One saturday in September
  Time: Noon (sharp)
  
  That was our reservation, at noon sharp our crowd stopped at the entrance greeted by closed doors. When we did get a chance to talk to the hostess, she dryly responded that the restaurant was not ready, and shut the door again. We waited 15 minutes under the blazing sun while the staff were chatting and giggling inside, When the doors were finally open, we were led upstairs without a word. Strolling across an empty restaurant, passing the appetizer table and the adjacent dessert table, all spread out in a wide array, Between the three of us we ordered two USDA SELECT SIRLOIN "STEAK FRITES" WITH BERNAISE and one LOBSTER AND BACON EGGS BENEDICT.
  
  But first, the appetizers. In a colorful array of oval dishes arranged sideways in two tiers, everything was neatly arranged, but wait, did I spot Prosciutto? Piling up on top of a wooden board they looked as if they were shaven last year -- dried up like old pink ribbons. The smoked salmon looked weak too. Roasted beets tasted like the canned variety. But it's not all that bad. The Kabocha Pumpkin Salad and Braised Peppers were mildly seasoned with an intense sweetness to them. The vine tomato salad with bocconcini tasted like a mini Insalata di Caprese with baby basil leaves. The olives seem to be of good quality -- the only thing one can certainly count on that's not turned out from this kitchen.
  
  That wasn't it, the prime-experience started here. The table next to us has just arrived and after some munching on the appetizers they ordered, much later than we did. One can expect absolute privacy from this restaurant because the staff would likely ignore you even if you try to call for their attention. The key to getting their service is go to them, because no matter how hard you try they tend to ignore you staring into your direction. But that's not all. When we were expecting our mains, so was the next table. When their steaks were victoriously marched into the dining room, bringing a sensational aroma of grilled meats and fried potato shoestrings, we need no explanation on the ultimate question -- who stole our meat? After 5 minutes we saw another two plates of steak arriving upstairs, and there they were, standing at room temperature for 10 whole minutes before someone got the sense to deliver them to the waiting table (us)...
  
  When the steak finally arrived, the meat was room temperature, and despite our humble knowledge we understand that steak, no matter how little cooking is involved, shouldn't be cold like THIS, When we finally cut through the middle, we weren't impressed, but weren't surprised either. It was pink but nowhere near medium-rare as we ordered. When we asked for assistance one waiter arrived with the "What do you want?" look and when he actually muttered those words, we expressed our concerns and I held up the plate for him to see. He was untouched and unimpressed. "But you guys ordered medium rare right? THIS, is medium rare." The fries were cold, and the steaks too. When we witnessed the waiter happily delivering aromatic cheese puffs to the next table while we starved on cold steaks, we raised our hands for one last request.
  
  Me: "Were those cheese puffs on the a la carte list?"
  Waiter: (angry) No.
  Me: So it's included in the brunch?
  Waiter: No.
  Me: Why do they have them and we don't?
  Waiter: ... Do you want them?
  Me: Yes, please.
  
  The waiter disappeared into the kitchen, holding an expression resembling a grudge and came back with a basket of hot puffs, banging the basket of puffs and the ketchup on the table and threw us a look. He then paraded around the restaurant premise (our eyes following) talking to every single working staff member, who upon his "reporting", turned their eyes onto our table and stared for a very long time. A manager walked towards our table, and asked if everything was alright? It wasn't, we showed him the steak, we informed him of his staff...he rolled his eyes and disappeared. The second manager walked to our table, smiley and nice. We expressed our concerns once more and she apologized. She did offer to exchange for a better cooked steak. But at that point, no one at our table was willing to go through the same level of disappointment. The meat itself wasn't half-bad but the cooking truly was mediocre. The EGGS BENEDICT, however, wasn't so bad. The bacon was a little soft, but overall it was enjoyable.
  
  Desserts are dainty nibbles here. The bread pudding are in small containers, with raspberries in them. They were custardy but overly sweet, so was the chocolate tart, which looked good but the crust couldn't break on my first nibble. The chocolate brownies could go without the icing, and the carrot cake was nicely done. The environment was certainly prime and the ambiance was nice for a weekend afternoon brunch. The space has air-conditioning on high almost all the time, but also bear in mind that the restaurant itself never feels quite as cold as the impolite stares from the staff that seems to hate everyone who arrives at the front door bearing intention to enjoy a good meal.

  • How much did you spend?
    $248 (aka "Way too much" for this quality.)
  • Overall Rating
    Bad

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  • Food 2
  • Service 1
  • Ambiance 5
  • Price 2

• 

  worth the trip

  Robby Yung | Nov 15 2010

  We stopped in for a nice dinner and were delighted by fantastic steaks, charred to perfection. The bread and salad were great as well, and only the onion soup was a disappointment. Definitely highly recommended.

  • How much did you spend?
    
  • Overall Rating
    Good
  • Food 8
  • Service 7
  • Ambiance 7
  • Price 3

• 

  Great value for money

  Freddielovesfood | Sep 14 2010

  Start with the delicious bread basket but don't fill yourself with the popovers as the the steaks are grilled to your liking and not that expensive, given the quality. The rib eye was very moist and buttery, whereas the sirloin is less fatty but equally juicy. Service was a bit slow but it was a Friday night and they had a full house.

  • How much did you spend?
    550
  • Overall Rating
    Good
  • Food 7
  • Service 6
  • Ambiance 7
  • Price 4

• 

  Not bad!

  JOng | Aug 22 2010

  I like Bistecca, so when the group opened Prime at Element, I had to try it.
  
  The menu is smaller than Bistecca, but the prices are friendlier. I started with the chicken caesar salad. To my surprise, the chicken was not grilled, but fried. Delicious! Really defeats the purpose of ordering a salad, but then I wouldn't be there if I were on a diet! My friend started with the onion soup, which was too watery and tasted like it came out of a can.
  
  Now the beef. Unlike Bistecca, Prime does not have dry-aged beef. The prime rib-eye was juicy and tasty, whereas the t-bone, which was not on the menu, was a bit tasteless. We both thought the tenderloin side of the t-bone tasted "mushy". Not what one would expect. The side dishes were very good. We ordered the garlic mushrooms, grilled asparagus and garlic fries. All delicious.
  
  After so much steak, we had to skip dessert. Before we left, our waiter came over and asked if everything was alright. It's a nice touch and unexpected, since service at Bistecca is not great.
  
  Will definitely come back soon!

  • How much did you spend?
    700
  • Overall Rating
    Good
  • Food 8
  • Service 8
  • Ambiance 7
  • Price 5