The Prime Rib — Restaurant in Baltimore

Rooted in Baltimore history, it’s understandable why so many keep coming back to this place, if not for memories alone. My wife and I booked this place for Valentine’s Day well in advance, having high hopes to try top tier steakhouse cuisine. We left full, not disappointed but questioning the hype around the food.

We ordered the Lobster Bisque and the “Award-Winning” Jumbo Lump Crab Cake. The Lobster Bisque was definitely on the thicker side, almost too thick to be considered a soup in my opinion, and far too heavy on the cream and lacking lobster flavor (however, I am excluding my criticism here because the Lobster Bisque I had at seafood restaurant in Dana Point, CA, was so good I can’t really enjoy Lobster Bisque anywhere else). The crab cake was adequate, and a fresh flavor, but lacking any MD flare. As far as MD standards, I’d honestly say it was subpar.

For the main course, I got the USDA Roast Prime Rib (topped with Roquefort sauce because I love bleu cheese), my wife got the Filet Mignon (topped with Marchand de Vin sauce). Thankfully, the meal item that this place is named for was actually quite good, but not superior to any other Prime Rib I’ve had at other steakhouses. Roquefort sauce is also a very potent sauce, so you either really like it or will really hate it. My wife’s Filet was also cooked good and she said tastes amazing alone, but the Marchand de Vin (red wine reduction) had almost no flavor other than butter, which I guess is fine if that’s what you like, and our server did tell us it’s on the “butterier side” than traditional. I still think they could do with a revision here to balance the flavor though.

The sides we got was Lobster Mac and Cheese, Creamed Spinach, and their “world famous” potato skins. The Mac is nothing to write home about. Muted cheese flavors and while yes, lobster was present, overall taste to me was bland. A restaurant I went to in St Petersburg, FL, did this type of Mac and Cheese way better. The creamed spinach was good, nothing extraordinary but complimented a traditional steak meal quite well. The potato skins stood out as quite delicious, and coupled with the sour cream and horseradish sauce it was a delicious combination to the Prime Rib.

The atmosphere and service here is definitely at a much higher and (I guess?) warrants the elevated prices, but not to the degree of $300+ for two people, considering the overall taste of the food is comparable to places costing less than $200 for an almost equal quality of dining experience.

I do not think we will be coming back here, until I see that the menu wholistically is refreshed in terms of better balanced flavors. However, if you come here with the intention of just trying a quality cut of Prime Rib (and I recommend getting potato skins as the only side), you will leave fairly satisfied at trying a decent entry for the traditional old school posh...

Atmosphere is phenomenal. The chefs need a lesson from Jimmy's famous seafood on what crab imperial is and how its cooked. I had stuffed shrimp a crab cake was thrown on top of medium shrimp not baked into shrimp as imperial. Lobster bisque was tasty but missed presence of lobster. Our waiter kept forgetting our food potatoes au gratin came after one person ate a majority of their meal. Another person had to send their blackened halibut back because once again pieces of crabmeat was just thrown on top by the time his food came we had eaten. Very bland cream spinach absolutely no flavor and regular spinach was not delectable either. Like I said crab imperial is baked into the seafood not thrown on top or a crab cake. The lady next to me had stuffed lobster tail with crab imperial again horrible presentation and preparation didn't look like imperial sauce to me. This was our first visit ever and we reside in Maryland. We were impressed by ambience and lavish decor and the attire of staff before we ate our food. We even made. Reservation for Valentines Day which I just canceled and reserved Jimmy's Famous seafood instead. Food, ambience, and service must go hand in hand and this is not what we received here on Saturday night. Warren was doing the best he could but did misconstrue one halibut order where crabmeat was just thrown on top whereas crab imperial blackened was what he ordered. Stuffed shrimp means the two contents are baked together to give the appearance of cohesiveness of the food. Multiple size mediocre shrimp to compensate fit quality was poor. I almost want to call my credit card company and dispute the charge for my entire meal but my husband loved his lamb chops probably because he was hungry. He loves Cypriana, Flavorture and Brooklyn Chophouse lamb chops. Oh I wanted veal but was discourage by Warren that it wasn't a healthy portion. We are true foodies and don't mind spending 300.00 to 500.00 on dinner if food is impeccable presentation of food is astonishing but this is not what we received here. Great place to go sit at bar listen to live music but food quality is Mediocre. No wonder it was my first visit after traveling the globe and eating at true 5 star restaurants this one gets and overall 2! I forgot to mention Capitol Grille makes the food here comparable to Outback steakhouse presentation which I would expect a crabcake thrown on top but I bet they would know how to truly make do crab imperial! Overall greatly disappointed but I love love love the vintage art pictures because I collect them and decor was outstanding wish food was quality of decor! The pictures of the food on website were a lure. I didn't see anyone food looking like any of the photos on website. Steak was tony my friend had portion size of halibut was but a sliver I could go on just overall disappointed only reason it's a 2 is for decor...

Well, I must say, after a 2 month hiatus from dining at our favorite restaurant in Baltimore (The Prime Rib), we returned last evening to see if things had improved from our last visit (which ended up to be a little off from the usual expectation), and thankfully they have! From start to finish, the service, drinks and food were spot on. Took a seat at a table instead of the bar this time. Our waiter, Jimbo (sorry if spelled wrong) attended to us with the utmost professionalism. We split the Full Cut (Bone In) 30 oz. Roast Prime Rib-$98 that was seasoned and cooked to perfection, as were our sides. There must have been a note regarding our prior experience, as a complimentary after dinner port was offered, since we had declined a complimentary dessert on our last visit. This is why The Prime Rib Baltimore has been in business for so long. Attention to detail, and they always make you feel like you are an important aspect to their business. Mark, sorry we missed you, buy thank you for listening to and taking action on our concerns.

Appears The Prime Rib in Baltimore may be experiencing some growing pains, albeit the obvious COVID related issues seen everywhere, along with its recent changing of the guards (new staffers). Sat at our usual space at the bar, partner and I split half dozen oysters, the $98 Ribeye, a side of Artichoke, and we each had 2 martinis, no dessert. $265.00! Since COVID, many of the menu items have experienced a $10 price hike, which would be fine, as long as the quality is still apparent. Unfortunately, this time, the oysters had a metallic flavor, the steak was not cooked to order and had to be sawed instead of gently sliced, and our server/bartender only appeared when we had to hail him down because our drinks were empty, and when he had to serve the food. As we left, I told the new manager of the experience. He was apologetic and offered to give us a dessert to take with us. I declined, as that was not the intent of my observation. I just hope they can quickly move beyond their staffing changes. After many years, stopped going to the old Prime Rib in Phili (now Rittenhouse Grill) after pretty much same issues, that unfortunately only became...