Prim & Proper Restaurant Cocktail & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Baltimore

Newly opened black-owned restaurant. In their third week. Beautiful decor inside and out. Very bright, lots of artwork and charming. The servers all wear a uniform: dark trousers and a yellow jacket. Nice touch. The dining room was a bit too crowded for my liking. Too many tables. I would've preferred a little more space in between. I wasn't a fan of the hard chairs and very bright lighting in the dining area. Wouldn't be a restaurant I would recommend for intimate dining with your person or group. Service was very prompt. I felt a little rushed, but the servers seemed very happy and well versed on the menu. It may been a nice touch for the server to welcome me to their new restaurant.

Menu. Very nice menu format. However, the menu was way too large compared to the size of the table. The drink menu was separate, but my recommendation would've been to have the food and drink menu together since the drink menu is not that extensive.

Food. I must say for a new restaurant in this area, it was grossly overpriced at each category within the menu. My jerk chicken dish was over $40! It was full of good flavours, and accompanied by 3-4 small pancakes that they recommended you fold over the chicken. Very similar to what other cultures do with roti or naan bread. I've had better jerk chicken just minutes away in the area for a lot less! However, it's not fair to compare and contrast pricing because the overall experience has to be factored in. And with that in mind, I conclude that the food pricing for the main dishes were $10-$20 overpriced.

Drinks. Nice cocktail menu. Nice options. I ordered the Henny espresso martini. It was okay at best. Too much cream on top compared to the amount of liqueur, and did not fill the glass. I also ordered their version on a Moscow Mule (made with Mezcal tequila). This was made very well and tasted lovely.

Dessert. No dessert menu. The server rattled off about 4-5 items. None of which were appealing, probably because he spoke too fast with no passion or conviction. Missed opportunity here to sell the desserts. No mention of after dinner drinks to round off.

The check was paid electronically through a QR code. I would've preferred not to do this. It took away the personal service element. A 20% "service charge" was automatically added to the check. It would've been appropriate to let me know. I often feel service or tip fees have to be earned. When it is added up front, I question the desire they have to do a great job.

I conclude to say, Prim and Proper is a beautiful restaurant, aesthetically. They are very new, and I'm sure they are still working through kinks, etc. I will give them that. The staff were all very nice. They offer valet parking, which is a nice touch, but there's plenty parking close by also. The food was just okay in my experience. Nothing to be impressed by, however, the presentation was very good. Food pricing was way too high on all levels and circumstances, as noted.

I'm not sure if I would come back anytime soon, but I felt good knowing I was supporting a black-owned restaurant. I will always support my people. I am a little concerned that Prim and Proper may not be able to sustain a healthy and vibrant business long term based on my experience. I want the best for them moving forward. Just a few tweaks here and there to improve...

Went there with a few friends to enjoy an upscale dining experience and was not disappointed. While waiting for our entire party to arrive we sat at the bar and had some cocktails. Each cocktail I and my friends had were superb, the liquors and mixers complimented each other perfectly. I'm a fan of sweet (but not too sweet) citrus and herbaceous or floral cocktails and each drink I had was a delight. Order any that appeal to you and you will not be disappointed.

Once seated we order a variety of appetizers, each appealing in their own ways. The lobster ravioli was my favorite. If the pasta isn't made in house it certainly tasted as of it was. The texture was sublime, the lobster soft and buttery without that ocean taste you sometimes get with seafood, the sauce complimented it perfectly and the fresh herbs on top elevated the flavors and gave it a zingy freshness. We also got the oxtail French onion soup, not extremely meaty but packed with savory umami flavors, I'm not sure if the broth is also made in house and oxtail based but either way it was delicious. The burrata was refreshing and chill, an easy crowd pleaser.

For my main I ordered the duck confit. I admittedly glossed over that it came with foie gras which isn't something I'd normally eat but it was delicious. I was eating it before I even knew what it was but it was sumptious with a meaty yet mushroom like texture. I've admittedly never had foie gras and I don't know if I'd try it again elsewhere but I loved it here. The duck was well seasoned and crisp, beautifully plated and paired with the puff pastry and puree. It looked small in terms of portion size but was quite filling. If you want a lot of food I'd get the braised oxtail, big meaty pieces. I prefer Jamaican styled oxtail so not quite my taste but it is what I'd imagine as a French take on it and it was still delicious.

The staff was charming and polite. I rarely go to restaurants where they ask to put my napkin on my lap for me but it was a pleasant touch. The 3 hours we spent there flew by. Be prepared for a lengthy but enjoyable dining experience. This is not a place to go if you're in a rush or find it hard to maintain conversation at dinner.

While I had a fabulous time, I will say the other restaurants that I believe are owned by the same folks, BLK Swan and Papi's Cuisine, are higher on my list of eateries. The 4/5 stars is to reflect that I do enjoy those places more which also have...

A $748 wasted meal. Never again. The WORST upscale experience.

1st the positives: Amber provided excellent service and when things went left she and a few others tried to make it right but it didn’t work. EVERYTHING from the bar was 💯 - kudos to the bartender.

The food was MEH at best. Cesar salad was good - but you can’t go wrong with lettuce and croutons. Salad dressing was not to my liking so just ok. Gnocchi looked good but it had NO flavor - more like pasta and way too much oil. Crab cakes were salty/spicy and oxtails spicy - appeared the spiciness in both covered up the lack of proper seasoning although the oxtails ever VERY tender and meaty. What the pork belly lacked in seasoning the sauce made up for in flavor so it was ok. Smoked jerk chicken was ok but when paired with the mint and peppers it was a hit - a very different flavor and pretty tasty. Jumbo shrimp w/black rice -just ok. Spicy rigatoni with lump crab was undercooked and I wish I had taken a picture of the 2oz upcharge of crab meat - you couldn’t find it. Cream spinach was good.

This is when things really went bad - I told my party I had tasted enough and let’s skip dessert. But we were celebrating and so they insisted to give it a try. They didn’t have the birthday cake nor ice cream on the menu. Only bread pudding and creme brûlée. We opted for crème brûlée. The custard taste like thick butter and the caramelized SALT was horrible. 🤮 WTH sis they feed me. They informed us the chef mistook salt for sugar. 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ HOW!!! One of the chefs tastes it and she walked in the back to spot it out and we heard “God Damn”. They brought another to the table and but by then I was NOT trying another dish.

As for the environment, one of the owners arrived at 10 PM, as the restaurant was closing, forcing staff to stay late and serve his party. At which point one member decided to have a hissy fit right in front of customers. We were told he always acts like that. No excuse. But also how insensitive of the owner to come in at closing and force staff to wait on he and his loud party. However, we noticed several of their plates being returned to the kitchen for additional attention. It appeared their food was also just MEH!!!

I heard good things about the place but our experience...