Prime on Avenue — Restaurant in Toronto

I was curious why this restaurant has only 1 and 5 star reviews and I now understand why. As a steakhouse, it is just awful. 1 star would be my review. They won't even cook rare which is how I eat it. Only medium rare and up. We ordered the filet, which BTW wasn't like a filet at a traditional steakhouse. It was about 3.4" thick. They refused to use garlic butter when I was asked which sauce/topping I'd like. Seriously...no garlic butter? When the steak came it was barely edible. It was way overcooked. Tough. Flavourless. It was four of us, and we barely ate any of the steak. My youngest sons steak was coated heavily with pepper and I was just gobsmacked that for a kids steak that they would season it like that. We had to scrape it clean. I've not been to a steakhouse that ever tried to serve a small kid a steak like that. Just no common sense.

We also ordered the BBQ platter which was good. 4/5 for what it was. Particularly the beef ribs. However, for a BBQ platter not to have pork was when I figured out that the place was I assume Kosher, which is fine and I don't mind that if I'm planning to go for deli food and want a corned beef, but I was there for what I thought was going to be traditional steak and BBQ. I didn't see that the restaurant advertised itself as a Kosher restaurant. I probably wouldn't have anticipated that could make a difference to the food and may have gone anyway. In the future, after this experience I probably would appreciate knowing that it is Kosher and what that means to my choices.

The wine list was sub par for a steak house. As in half a page, most of which was the house wine. Seeing zero that appealed to me I ordered none.

The price was comparable to a traditional steak house like a Mortons or Ruths Chris. Without alcohol for 4 people (2 adults and 2 kids) it was $430 and we left about half of the food because it was not good enough to eat fresh let alone as leftovers.

Service was ok. Neither bad nor great.

We'd never go back except for maybe take out of the beef ribs which were good. If you are going to pay this price, the food should be all around great, and the service to match, and have options of a decent wine list.

I can fully appreciate the 1 ratings and why they are here if you think this is a steak house, which really...it isn't. The 5 star ratings are inexplicable to me unless A) the ratings are faked and/or B) the people rating the steaks here have not been to a real steak house or even prepared a decent steak at home. Maybe it has something to do with it being kosher but I have no idea if that makes any difference at all.

If you like steak, this is not a place to go even if they gave the steak...

Their page of appetizers enticed; indeed, diners can easily mix-and-match these smaller plates to make a full meal. The pulled brisket tacos ($26) are ideal if you’re in the mood for beef but in smaller portions. Two flour shells were stuffed with chunks of flavourful and tender brisket, pico de gallo, guacamole and pickled onions. Pieces of smoked potato chips, placed on a top, were an excellent addition enhancing the otherwise soft savoury tacos with some crunch.

Although the eggplant ($20) sounded like a lighter dish, the roasted eggplant was roasted with so much oil that it became so crispy you’d swear it’s deep fried. Regardless, if you don’t mind the oiliness, the starter has fantastic flavours: the creamy eggplant layered with nutty tahini, crunchy pine nuts, and sweet pomegranate. These were all roasted together so the tahini was warm and the flavours melted into the eggplant.

With such a strong start to the meal, the execution of our main, a cote de boeuf ($85), was a letdown. At first glance, the huge 22oz bone-in rib steak looked impressive, with beautiful sear marks and a nicely caramelized surface. It was also a wise decision to share the main, as the actual bone was not overly thick so we were left with a substantial portion of beef. However, upon cutting through the “medium rare” steak, it’d be better classified as a poorly done blue. While the outer ring was seared and cooked through, the centre was very rare, to the point that it was difficult to cut through and I could smell and taste the rareness. Note to Prime: the metallic taste of half-cooked beef is awful and the slightly off smell...

I have to say, I am so disappointed that I’ll probably have to come back here in the future, as many of my family and friends keep strict kosher, and gourmet fleischig options are so limited. The employees know this too, which is why they get away with the type of “service” that does not exist in the real world. We witnessed two distinct parties in our section (larger tables too) arrive after we had arrived, be served, finish and have their table cleaned, as we are waiting longer for a coconut pie and water refill to come out than we had for the entire main course. There seemed to be no problem attentively checking on the neighbouring tables throughout their meals, giving them water and getting their food out. Manager attempted to rectify the situation after we had complained, which we appreciated somewhat but I am just struggling to understand why my $500 is not the same as the next guy’s. The amount of tips these people make, I...