Mandalay Prime Steakhouse & Lounge — Restaurant in Clearwater

I really wanted to love this place. My business partners and I were in Clearwater Beach for the weekend and wanted to take our spouses out to an awesome steakhouse. We looked at the photos, and the reviews, and the menu and figured this must be a great place, as steaks run into the $70+ range before you even add sides.

We are not terribly picky or demanding people and we leave a lot of room for mistakes. But we were sorely disappointed. This turned out to be one of the worst meals I've ever had. We would have been way better off going to a Sizzler, Outback Steakhouse, even a Texas Roadhouse. I don't know where these 5 star reviews are coming from. Perhaps management has changed recently.

Service was terrible. At this price point I expect at least decent service. But Denny's does a better job. Servers just handed things to the guest on the end. "Here's a pile of steak knives". "Here's a pile of plates". Some of our orders never came. And this restaurant adds an automatic 20% tip to your bill right from the get go (for everyone, not just large parties).

Drinks were good. They didn't cheap out on those. But like I said above, some things never came. My wife wanted more water and never got it. Two of us ordered cocktails that never showed up.

Appetizers were a mixed bag. The french onion soup was terrible. The ahi tuna appetizer was great, really great. The calamari was terrible. I saw photos of a plate loaded with calamari rings. Not what we got. Ours was seven chewy rings with three filler items (some kind of deep fried seaweed dumpling thing that was actually really good).

Steaks were awful. The filet was full of fat, not the lean cut you're used to. Two of us ordered the ribeye (at $69 each), cooked the same way. One was overcooked. The other came out completely raw and 1/2 of it was inedible fat. I mean, this is a STEAKHOUSE. At least get the steaks right.

Sides were dreadful and expensive at $10-20 each. The mashed potatoes were lukewarm and loaded with raw garlic. You could tell the baking dish had been baked in the oven, but was done long before. Brown on top but lukewarm? Yeah, heat lamps galore. The risotto was god awful. It was just a heap of bland, WAY overcooked rice. It wasn't even the right kind of rice. So overcooked the rice grains had split.

Lucky for us we skipped dessert after all this and went to a fantastic ice cream shop down the street (Ice&Cream Creamery).

To their credit, the manager discounted our bill and told us they understood our concerns (seemed to me they totally know it is all terrible). But even after the discount it was still a $600 bill for six of us.

The next night we had dinner at Pollo Tropical (a Florida fast food place) and got their steak bowls. To our amazement and amusement, we couldn't help but laugh about how the steak was better than at this very expensive steakhouse.

This place needs a complete top to bottom overhaul. Right now it is just a money grabbing operation counting on a steady flow of unsuspecting tourists. A place like this would never survive if they counted on local...

Tonight my lady treated me to this dining experience. We started with the Ahi Tuna tartar app and it was divine. Tuna was seasoned well and balanced. The flavors of the orange, soy and others played off of each other very well.

We had two cocktails, the Key Lime Martini and Blinkers lemonade, very well made and good value drinks.

There were a lot of great options on the menu such as the Tomahawk steak (lots of food for two people, comes out on fire from the kitchen and cut at your table). I was going to try the Sunday short rib special at first but we were informed by our wonderful waitress Michelle that there was a rare opportunity to eat a certified 6.5 oz A5 Wagyu steak. It wasn’t on the menu but she made sure to let us know it was available. She offered great options and descriptions of each dish we were contemplating.

The price for such a rare slice of meat was very reasonable. I’ve seen this go for much more in NY and other places. I decided to go with the Wagyu and my partner chose the Prime fuller that included Rib eye, scallops and shrimp.

The food arrived promptly after ordering, Michelle asked how I wanted the Wagyu cooked and I asked for it to come how the chef would prefer it. I wouldn’t dare assume I know how to cook something like that and I wanted it true to form.

The Wagyu came solo and beautifully seared. I decided not to order a side or have anything other than water with the dish. I bit into the meat and it was beautifully made, the meat melted in my mouth, the sear danced on my tastebuds and I smiled. I’ve never had a meal make me react in such a way! I was on cloud nine and this meat was on another level! I savored every thin slice and closed my eyes to let the flavors shine.

I’m not a foodie or a sophisticated food critic by any means. This food was so damn good y’all. So good that I’m writing this two hours after my meal and I don’t wanna ruin the afterglow with anything else! I’ve never had anything like it and it’s probably ruined meat for me forever. It’s so worth your time and money.

Chef Alian did a wonderful job in masterfully preparing this Wagyu. He came out to see if I was enjoying it and my big stupid smile is what he was greeted with. I was speechless so I couldn’t elaborate how great it was but I appreciated he wanted to see my reaction.

I gave my partner a slice and her reaction was also the same. Heavenly divine taste mixed with a tenderness of meat that we both have never experienced. We enjoy expensive steakhouses and have had lots of nice dishes and this was so elevated. GM Mike also stopped by to see if everything was up to snuff and was very hospitable.

My lady’s meal was perfectly cooked and seasoned and she enjoyed it very much as well.

This was my first visit here and won’t be my last. My only regret is that I don’t live closer to have another one soon. I’ll be dreaming about this damn steak for weeks.

TL;DR - the Wagyu was life changing, all of the food, staff and fare was...

Technically I'm giving this a 4.5 in lieu of 5 stars, but I'd rather go up a half star than down half.

Let's begin with the drinks and food. We started with cocktails. They were moderately priced, but were large pours. They didn't skimp on the alcohol, that's for sure. Best of all, they tasted great too. On to dinner. My husband ordered the bone-in ribeye steak. My husband said his steak was perfect, which is really saying something, because he is a steak snob. I specifically did not order the ribeye, because the steaks we cook at home are great and I did not want to spend the money for it and be disappointed. I was wrong. It was worth it. I had the "Nightly Special" - Pork Chop. The price point was great for the pork chop alone, but the special comes with salad and a side too. If I'm being honest and I think reviews should be 100% honest -- this was the BEST pork chop I've ever eaten in my life (and I'm getting up there in age). It was perfectly cooked through, but also very moist and had a crust that elevated the flavor even more. The salad was crisp and fresh and the side dish (loaded baked potato) was great. We had wine with dinner. Their wine selection is vast with something for every budget.

Our server was Vicki. If you make a reservation, I strongly suggest you request her as your server. Why? Because she obviously likes fine dining and knows how to make a guest feel special. She knows the menu well and had great suggestions. She was a very intuitive server and well organized. She made the dining experience happy.

The ambiance of the restaurant is typical for a fine-dining steakhouse. Beautiful paintings/artwork covers the walls. Everything seemed clean (I did not use the restroom, so I can't vouch for that one). Our table was next to the server area (where they keep condiments, extra chairs, etc. So it was not as nicely situated as every other table in the venue, but at least it's a table that will never be ignored.

Now for the downer - the reason for 1/2 star lower is the music. For fine dining in a dimly lit room, I expect soft background music maybe jazz if the place is more upbeat. Unfortunately, Blinkers choice of music is the loud thumping kind that you would find in a gym. That is the only negative thing I could find in this establishment. I would have given five stars if the music were a little softer, but as I said above, I'm a little older than most and most probably like to eat a good steak listing to their gym soundtrack.

I will definitely suffer though the soundtrack and go back for...