Prospector Steak House — Restaurant in Thunder Bay

I'm going to keep my review exclusive to the food here. The steak i ordered, was a prime rib, medium rare delicacy that was cooked to perfect. The flavour profile was absolutely spot on, and the cooking was on point as well. The prospector knows how to cook a steak, and cook it right. Unfortunately, that was the only portion of the meal that I enjoyed.

I dove into the vegetables, which were so haphazardly cut, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if someone told me they were the scrapings of the "unfit for sale" barrel. Some were diced, some were julienne, but most honestly just look like they were ripped off by hand, and thrown haphazardly on my plate. In terms of flavour, they were over cooked, and boring. They left an almost cloying, bitter aftertaste, amplified by the 'babyfood-esque' texture.

Let's move on to the potatoes shall we? I ordered mashed potato with gravy, and as a starch lover, I had high expectations. What i got would not be considered 'mashed potatoes' by any chef worth his salt. Instead i got a marginally deconstructed baked potato, whose only redeeming quality was the tiny dollop of what i presume was store-bought gravy on top. There was no silky, buttery texture to be found. Instead I got a boiled potato that apparently owed somebody money - as it was beaten for a minute or two, then left for dead.

The soup was rather bland. My only remark would be that i've legitimately tasted better chowder out of a can.

In the world of meats, the Prospector can do no wrong - but everything else seems to have fallen by...

In town for work and asked a few people where I should go for dinner, had a couple recommendations for this place so decided to give it a try. Was told at the bar that they brew their own beer so being a beer geek I had to give it a try and ordered the Amber. Hot mess. I'm not a fan of sweeter beers, and this one was over the top sweet. I'm guessing it's their lager that they blasted with sinamar or caramel flavoring, only finished half of it. Salad bar was nice, buns were crazy good and probably the best part of the visit. Ordered the 12oz prime rib with rice. Was expecting big things from the prime rib based on recommendations, was completely disappointed. Maybe it's a regional thing about how the steak is prepared, I'm used to a nice juicy piece of meat that's sometimes covered in au jus before serving. This was definitely on the drier side, over cooked for the medium rare I ordered, and had a really odd seasoning on it with what tasted like lots of celery salt that just didn't taste great to me. The horseradish was also had a weird sweetness, again maybe a regional thing, but not something I personally liked. Rice was basically just dry white rice with a few small chunks of veggies thrown in. Saving grace was service was amazing, but food was...

I’ve been going to the prospector for 40 years. Leo Hockenhull would be embarrassed to be in his restaurant today. The prices are up 25 percent from 10 years ago ( expected ) but the quality is not what it should be . The manageress Joyce ran a tight ship . The place was packed every night and now it is only about a quarter full . The rib bones meal is one that I have had about 120 times . Seven big bones and meaty . Now , three bones but still meaty. My spouse had the salmon and it was small. It used to be with rice pilaf and veggies but now it is with a few potatoes and no veggies. Veggies missing on my meal too. The salads are spartan and those wonderful light delicious buns are now heavy and dense. All in all , it pains me to give it a failing grade compared to the old days when there was a lot more care in it . The beef barley soup is heavy in salt to the point that salt is all you can taste . The price is NOT an issue , raise the price if you must to bring it back to the way it was . Sorry , but I will not return and over the years I gave them probably $40 K in meals there and gift certificates that I proudly gave to my business clients that gave us...