Ocean Prime — Restaurant in Beverly Hills

I went there today with a friend and the food was terrible. The drinks were fine but the food was awful. The kitchen must be cooking in a sewer. The place was really nice but I cannot say it enough; the food was the worst. I had the sirloin steak with shrimp and it was bland. I had to eat somewhere else to get that nasty taste out of my mouth. If it was possible to give this restaurant zero stars....I would.

I went there today with a friend and the food was terrible. The drinks were fine but the food was awful. The kitchen must be cooking in a sewer. The place was really nice but I cannot say it enough; the food was the worst. I had the sirloin steak with shrimp and it was bland. I had to eat somewhere else to get that nasty taste out of my mouth. If it was possible to give this restaurant zero stars....I would.

I went there today with a friend and the food was terrible. The drinks were fine but the food was awful. The kitchen must be cooking in a sewer. The place was really nice but I cannot say it enough; the food was the worst. I had the sirloin steak with shrimp and it was bland. I had to eat somewhere else to get that nasty taste out of my mouth. If it was possible to give this restaurant zero stars....I would.

I went there today with a friend and the food was terrible. The drinks were fine but the food was awful. The kitchen must be cooking in a sewer. The place was really nice but I cannot say it enough; the food was the worst. I had the sirloin steak with shrimp and it was bland. I had to eat somewhere else to get that nasty taste out of my mouth. If it was possible to give this restaurant zero stars....I would.

I went there today with a friend and the food was terrible. The drinks were fine but the food was awful. The kitchen must be cooking in a sewer. The place was really nice but I cannot say it enough; the food was the worst. I had the sirloin steak with shrimp and it was bland. I had to eat somewhere else to get that nasty taste out of my mouth. If it was possible to give this restaurant zero stars....I would.

I went there today with a friend and the food was terrible. The drinks were fine but the food was awful. The kitchen must be cooking in a sewer. The place was really nice but I cannot say it enough; the food was the worst. I had the sirloin steak with shrimp and it was bland. I had to eat somewhere else to get that nasty taste out of my mouth. If it was possible to give this restaurant zero stars....I would.

I went there today with a friend and the food was terrible. The drinks were fine but the food was awful. The kitchen must be cooking in a sewer. The place was really nice but I cannot say it enough; the food was the worst. I had the sirloin steak with shrimp and it was bland. I had to eat somewhere else to get that nasty taste out of my mouth. If it was possible to give this restaurant zero stars....I would.

I went there today with a friend and the food was terrible. The drinks were fine but the food was awful. The kitchen must be cooking in a sewer. The place was really nice but I cannot say it enough; the food was the worst. I had the sirloin steak with shrimp and it was bland. I had to eat somewhere else to get that nasty taste out of my mouth. If it was possible to give this restaurant zero stars....I would.

I went there today with a friend and the food was terrible. The drinks were fine but the food was awful. The kitchen must be cooking in a sewer. The place was really nice but I cannot say it enough; the food was the worst. I had the sirloin steak with shrimp and it was bland. I had to eat somewhere else to get that nasty taste out of my mouth. If it was possible to give this restaurant zero stars....I would.

I hope you read both paragraphs. It's unfortunate how I have to give this...

Friends and I decided to have lunch here on a Monday at approximately 3:30 pm. The atmosphere and ambiance was perfect. It was five of us visiting from the east coast, mind you, we are all professional black males in our mid-forties....and so it begins. It took approximately 30 minutes for our drinks to come, a mojito, 2 Stella’s and 2 shots of chilled crown royal. The restaurant was not busy AT ALL. Our server was fairly new, he stated he had been there approximately a month. It took 45 minutes for our appetizers to arrive, lobster bisque and a dozen of oysters. I dont eat oysters but even I noticed how small these things were. They were the smallest oysters I’ve seen and should have never been plated. We brought this to our server’s attention and he tried to explain the difference between east coast and west coast oysters which made the situation worse. The server spoke to the manager and they brought out a half dozen of east coast oysters. When they were brought to the table the server stated the first order of oysters would be removed from the tab and the half dozen would be on the house. The entrees arrived shortly after and we were pleased. Entrees included scallops, prime rib cheeseburger and the pastrami sandwich. Of course after lunch I asked for the tab and I was shocked when I received it, it included not only the first order of oysters but the second order which were supposed to have been on the house. I brought this to our server’s attention and again went to the manager. The manager came and spoke with us and I explained to her the problem with the oysters and she agreed to remove them, apparently they weren’t on the house from the beginning. So the tab was rectified and I presented the server with my credit card. Now this is what did it for me, the server brought back my card and the receipt and then asked to see a photo id. I inquired why and he stated he was told to make sure the card wasn’t stolen. This definitely angered me because the couple next to our table weren't asked to present their photo id, I wonder why. My card has my signature on the back and I advised the server he was on thin ice and to thread lightly. There was no need to ask for a photo id. As I explained to the server, if my card was compromised it would’ve been block or the credit card company would reimburse me the funds if needed. What the server and manager didn’t know is I am a law enforcement professional, I’ve been in law enforcement for over 22 years. This restaurant and staff totally judged me and my party and it wasn’t appreciated and just wrong. And certainly put a sour taste in my mouth for Ocean Prime and other Beverly Hills restaurants. If you decide to dine here certainly beware if you don’t fit the Beverly...

This chophouse had the potential to be the flagship of Cameron Mitchell's Ocean Prime brand, unfortunately it is anything but.

From the moment we were seated to the moment we left, there were few times we had service without flagging someone down. Our server did come by, as did the FOH Mgr and/or General Mgr, but we had to flag our server down more times than not. The appetizers were great and our first drinks came out properly. That said, when we asked our server to give us a few minutes to think about what we wanted next after having had the appetizer course for 5-7 minutes, we were left with the feeling that we genuinely annoyed our server for asking.

Entrée time. We got 2 steaks, 1 mid rare & 1 medium. The mid rare came out cooked (mostly) properly (much closer to rare, but in the ballpark enough) and the medium came out well done, no pink to be seen. When we asked to have the "medium" steak cooked properly the server was reluctantly accepting of our request. We dont like having to send things back; it's awkward and no one enjoys that, but we expected more out of this establishment, so it was strange to feel like we were overstepping our bounds for asking to do so. The second steak came out relatively quickly and was accompanied with extra small plates of the sides we ordered (bonus points), but the steak was yet again well done. To make matters worse, when the server took the first overcooked steak she took our utensils and the second steak came with none; we had to ask for another set. But not from our server though, she was nowhere to be found.

There are more shortcomings I could list; like the fact that I had to ask who I assume to be the general manager for a coffee I never received until I asked him for it, or the consistently dumbfounded look we received from our server if something wasn't "correct" from our POV, or the fact that a busser was eating a burrito at the customer facing server station and then grabbed to go containers for customers without washing his hands, or the unkempt bathrooms. I could say more, but the overall feeling is there already.

It wasn't all bad, though; the sides were good, the floor manager offered us a comp dessert, our overcooked steak was taken off the bill, and the apps were great. I'll definitely give credit where credit is due. That being said, having been to many of Cameron Mitchell's restaurants, this one does not come anywhere close to the standard he sets and expects at all of his other locations.

For a steakhouse owned by a company known for absolute perfection in service above all else, Ocean Prime Beverly Hills was a disappointing and...