Prime Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Saratoga Springs

Generally, I am a big fan of both Prime at National and 677, but I went to Prime at Saratoga National last night (first night of restaurant week) and the experience was so absurdly awful that I feel compelled to write about it.

We made a reservation for 8 PM on OpenTable, and arrived at 7:45. When we walked in, there was literally nobody standing at host's table. I am not sure where the host was, or what they were doing, but eventually some guy pops up in his powder blue sport jacket letting us know that they were just preparing our table. He disappears again for an eternity, and we are left standing there waiting again for at least another 5 minutes. It took more than 10 minutes from when we approached the desolate host's table to when we were seated, and we weren't greeted for more than 5 minutes after we arrived.

So after waiting more than 10 minutes, he leads us into the restaurant area. There are two, maybe three other tables that are occupied in National's expansive dining area. I'm not sure what table they had to "prepare" as every table that wasn't occupied was meticulously set up and ready for guests.

We ordered the surf and turf roll, the hot rock, a $47 bottle of wine and then the restaurant week offerings for $30 each. The surf and turf roll is a staple of any Mazzone/Ortiz restaurant, and it was delicious and satisfying as always. I had never seen the hot rock before, as I don't think that it's on the menu at 677, so we tried it. The experience of cooking your own American Waygu at your table reminded me of the Melting Pot restaurant. I would never order this appetizer again. The quality of the meat and the dipping sauces (??) that they brought out were mediocre. Rather than wasting $24 on that garbage you would be better served getting 2 ounces of Kobe for $50.

The appetizers that came with the restaurant week were mediocre to average. I had the beef stew, which tasted like it came out of a giant plastic bag and was microwaved for about 30 seconds too short. The first bite I took was a spoonful from the very top of the bowl and it was cold. It's not that it wasn't hot, it was cold. It served more as an indicator of the upcoming weather than as a respectable course of food at a Mazzone restaurant. My girlfriend had the brussel sprout salad with feta, which was not bad.

The main courses were the only bright spot of this awful dining experience. They were sized properly and tasted excellent. I had the salmon and my girlfriend had the short rib. I really enjoyed the salmon, and my girlfriend liked her short rib, which I thought was marginally better than just okay.

The absolute worst part of this dining experience? The proverbial cherry on the nowhere to be found sundae? Undoubtedly the dessert. What an unbelievable disappointment. This dessert was pathetic and whoever thought to serve up two spoonfuls of mousse in a mason jar should be fired.

The dessert served as a microcosm of the entire meal in general. Normally you expect Prime to deliver top notch service, with excellent food and a wonderful ambience...and instead you receive nothing of the sort.

I am not sure if it's because it was Monday night, or Restaurant Week, or Monday night during Restaurant week, but it's tough to understand how a restaurant that normally does such a good job could deliver such a terrible meal. I am spoiled because I am used to being waited on by either Mark or Susan down at 677 (it's not possible to find two better servers at any restaurant in the capital region) and I was not expecting to be served by the B team at Applebee's, yet here we are.

In short, don't go to Saratoga National during Restaurant Week. They clearly do not care about the dining experience of their guests during this time. There were 3 tables occupied while we were there and that it is even too many for them to handle, as is evidenced by the 10 minute wait to sit down.

National, if this is what you're going to offer up during restaurant week do your restaurant and your guests a favor and don't...

Prime at Saratoga used to be the to go place for Sunday brunch buffet. Then Covid hit... and that wonderful tradition went away. So we were very excited to go back for our first visit in early July. To say we were disappointed was an understatement. First of all, the buffet had many FEWER offerings and yet the price was about $45. The food was OK... but quality and variety was not up to past standards. The biggest surprise though was ....... One of the many reasons we USED to go was because there were MANY food selections for my mother who is a celiac (can't eat wheat or related gluten products). This time none of the main lunch/dinner dishes were prepared in gluten free manner. All had sauces or breading that contained flour. I asked the buffet attendant whether there were some dishes that WERE gluten free that I had missed. He checked with the chef and said no. So basically my mom could eat an omelet, or turkey/roast beef. No other main dishes. And for $45! Later, I asked to speak to the Dining Supervisor... was told he would be over to speak to me. He never came! About 1/2 hour later... I saw a man who had been chatting with numerous other staff members for quite some time at the reception area (joking, laughing, working???). I went up to them and asked if he was the supervisor. He said yes. I told him of our disappointment. He basically said..."But your mother could eat an omelet, and sliced meat".... and then listed other accompaniments she could have. His attitude was uncaring... and unprofessional. After my push back about his attitude, eventually he said how this was their last Sunday brunch before the track season..... and he would mention it to the chef in the Fall for the future. This man shouldn't be in a supervisory position.... representing their restaurant.

In the meantime, I have to credit the female omelet chef. I wish I knew her name. She saw my mom looking around, asking questions..... SHE offered to ask the chef to make the fish without flour-based sauce specially for her. Shortly afterwards, the waiter came over with a freshly prepared, quality-tasting plate of fish for her that was simply, quickly made with no gluten. THIS is the kind of excellent service that Prime used to be known for.

Looking at other reviews just now, I see that many others commented about a decline in food quality and service. Crossing fingers that in September, the leadership will re-focus their efforts so that this restaurant returns to its...

The service was amazing, but the food was not. The kitchen must’ve been a hot mess that night because there was something wrong with almost every entree.

My friends and I made a reservation for restaurant week to celebrate our friendship. Even though we each ordered from the special menu, we also had three apps and two drinks each. It was not a small tab by any means.

The apps were good, but once we started our three course meal it went downhill quickly. The sweet potato soup was really good. Probably the best item. The salad, however, was plain, boring, and lack luster. The vinaigrette had no acidity whatsoever which made for a sad salad.

Three of us had the steak entree served with asparagus and polenta (I think?). One had the chicken dish. The chicken dish was decent, and the steak was cooked well but there were several mistakes on our plates. For one - the tough part of the asparagus was not cut off properly on all three plates. While talking to my friends I had the disgusting experience of having to spit part of my food out because it was inedible. I would expect this mistake from a chain restaurant but not from Prime. Whoever was in charge of the asparagus should be fired. On top of that, the polenta dish had so much seasoning on it that it was disgusting. I could hardly stomach it. I tried to mute it with the steak but nope. And FINALLY the last straw. The dish came with a corn muffin. I bit into it expecting a corn muffin. What I tasted was the overpowering flavor of fish, like someone dunked it into a vat of seaweed. When we asked the waitress about the corn muffin she said it was garlic and herbs. Someone grabbed the wrong seasoning bottle because no way in hell was that garlic and herbs. I’m not crazy - three people tasted it and gagged.

Then dessert. I finished off with the cheesecake which did NOT have salted caramel listed on the menu. If I had known, I would’ve ordered the red velvet cake. It was as disappointing as the rest of the meal.

We paid a lot of money for some of the worst food in the region....