DC Prime Steaks — Restaurant in Ashburn

Where else do you have an open kitchen with staff that does not wear hairnets, hats, or other hair restriction devices?  No, not McDonalds, it's DC Prime Steaks in Ashburn.

Myself, my partner, and two friends came to eat at DC Prime Steaks.  When seated, we noticed two distinct individuals who did not appear well groomed and who had not taken the necessary precautions to prevent food contamination pursuant to relevant food safety regulations (12VAC5-421-240. Effectiveness of Hair Restraints).  This review outlines the events that took place, which included hair in our food; it's a long review, but I encourage you to read the whole thing, as it truly outlines the gravity and depth of how terrible the evening was.

The steak came out plain.  It was not seasoned with salt or pepper and the only flavor it had was the charred outside.  About 3 quarters the way through my meal I bit into a piece of steak felt hair on my tongue.  I had already seen the sous chef not have a hairnet, so I knew EXACTLY where this piece of hair came from.

I stopped eating my plate.  It's fine, I was almost full anyway, and I still had a tiny bit of room for dessert.  That did not come out through the same sous chef that was preparing the steaks, and thus, I was moderately comfortable with proceeding in ordering the chocolate cake.

The chocolate cake came out.  I sliced my fork into the cake, and the "three layer" cake separated into three separate pieces of cake.  The cake was stale and the frosting was frozen.  The only flavor the cake had was from the Hershey's syrup that they had drenched it in.

I was very frustrated at this point and frankly, I felt like we were being taken advantage of.

The waiter came over and asked how things were.  My friend had also gotten the chocolate cake and refused to eat it as well; and both of us our chocolate fanatics.  He explained to the server the problem with the cake.  We also mentioned that when fresh that we were sure this cake would be delightful.  Andre, our waiter, apologized. My partner proceeded to describe to the waiter the issues with the steak.  Both the flavor issues, and how I found hair in my food.  We also pointed out the fact that the sous chef did not have a hair restriction device in place, and it was fairly obvious where the hair came from.

Andre apologized for the inconvenience and spoke with his manager. Andre shortly reappeared and presented with our $540 check.  He had taken off the cake, but nothing else.  Andre also indicated that the manager did not want to speak with us.  I texted my virtual assistant and asked her to call the restaurant and ask that the manager to come to table 40.  She called and spoke with Chris, the manager, who advised her he would come over.  10 minutes later, Chris came out the kitchen door, and we heard him say to his staff "they had their F**ing secretary call me to come over".

He accused us of lying. He told us he was unaware of any food safety regulations that required people to use hair safety devices (despite most of the rest of the kitchen having hats on).  He said he would talk to the owners about their opinion and if the chef needed to wear a hairnet.  I found it interesting that the "opinions" of the owner were given more deference than the law.  He also felt it necessary to caste doubt on our sincerity and advise us that no one else had ever complained about this; I'm still unsure why this is relevant, given that it was in violation of regulations, and I had hair in my food.  He implied that they were above the law; that they were so superior to everyone else that it was unnecessary for an apology or any kind of compensation or discount to be provided.

This review is provided to you without prejudice and does not purport to address all facts and issues concerning this matter. I expressly reserve all rights, remedies, claims, and defenses available under...

I've got very mixed feelings about DC Prime. Most people seem to like it a lot. I'm not as impressed over multiple visits. I don't mind paying for spectacular results. But we cook with skill and flair, and when we go out, we expect it to match the reputation. Steaks are a specialty for me so I rarely order them when out. We decided on the sea bass.

We joined another couple who had invited us to dinner. We sat outside, and it was lovely. The tent was large and upscale, table seating was appropriately distanced and comfortable, and there was cover on three sides, not just a top cover. We ordered cocktails and enjoyed them. We ordered dinner and sides, and asked for the wine list. We were told there is no printed list now, but a staff member came to assist.

We had a total of 3 entrees and 2 sides. My wife and I shared an entree and a salad as is our norm. We all like flavorful reds and mentioned Malbec or Tuscan. The staffer suggested a "Super Tuscan", and our host seemed to recognize it. We've been to Italy, and always spend time with friends in Montepulciano, so the type is very familiar. We liked it and got another bottle. My wife decided to treat our hosts, but was stunned by a $700+ bill. She tips generously, especially now, and added about $200. I didn't see the bill. When we got home she scrutinized the check and discovered the wine was about $250, though the first bottle was reduced to $168 for happy hour.

I usually take quite nice pictures of the food, but was distracted with the conversation and our first meal with anyone else in months. I managed to get partial pictures of the keylime pie and the blueberry bread pudding. The other entrées were a bone-in ribeye and the cedar plank salmon. Roasted mushrooms and sautéed spinach rounded things out.

She called and spoke to the manager to express surprise at being offered a $250 bottle of wine without a hint of the price. He listened and said that couples often don't like prices to be mentioned. Her comeback was that this wasn't a date, just two couples out for an early dinner. After several minutes, she suggested that a gift certificate would be a nice compromise, and he seemed to be relieved. We provided mailing information. Over a week later... crickets. She has a lunch meeting there next week with the woman from the other couple. I'm sure there will be an interesting conversation or two.

UPDATE I won't mention names, but my wife called back to inquire about the missing gift certificate. The manager apologized and said it had probably been lost in the mail. This is the adult version of "the dog ate my homework". He promised to send another, but has not, and apparently will not. The couple we'd eaten with recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, and we would have bought them an appropriately sized gift certificate there. However, with the shoddy treatment wr received, we gave our money to another restaurant....

I'll start with the good and say that the food is amazing. Possibly the best steak I've ever had. I ordered the filet mignon medium and my wife ordered the trio medium rare and they both came out exactly as we had requested them. For sides we ordered the potatoes au gratin and brussel sprouts and both of those were phenomenal. We also shared a crab cake appetizer which was delicious but rather small. Would probably get something different next time. Food: 5/5

The ambiance was also very nice and classy. Elegantly decorated and adorned, you immediately get the fine dining vibe you would expect from an upscale steakhouse. Ambiance: 5/5.

Now for the bad.

The service left a lot to be desired. When we sat down, our server came over and poured our waters and introduced himself but made no conversation. No "Have you been with us before", no "are you celebrating anything special tonight?" Just poured the water and left. He came back later on to see if we wanted a drink and to open the wine we had brought. When he brought the cocktails, he did take our appetizer order, but made little to no attempt to engage. When we were ready to order entrees and sides, he took the order and then when they were ready, someone presumably from the kitchen staff brought our food out. The waiter did not come in and check on us. My water glass was empty and I had to flag down a different server. When said other waiter (who had two large tables already) delivered the water, he also took the initiative to top off our wine glasses and make a comment about how much he enjoyed the bottle we had opened. Simple things like that were more than we had gotten from our actual server.

Our waiter finally came back, asked if we wanted to see a dessert menu, casually dropped it off, and disappeared again. We ended up not doing dessert or a nightcap because frankly we just didn't feel like waiting longer than we had already. It was a busy night and I try to be empathetic to the fact that the service industry is understaffed, but a simple "how did everything turn out" is the most basic part of serving, even at casual restaurants. Very disappointing....