Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Dr. Phillips

We went to Fleming’s for dinner tonight and had the unfortunate experience of having Brandon as our server. Brandon was marveling about only being 23, and the way he treated me clearly showed it. When he brought the wine to the table, he filled everyone their glasses aside from mine; and he didn’t even ASK ME if I would like some. He ignored that I was there and he simply took my glass away instead. When it was time to order, I asked about clarification on the cauliflower steak, as the description was very rare, and he informed me it was just the cauliflower. Noticing that I didn’t like the idea of the dish anymore, he asked me if I was vegetarian, so which I responded I am, and so he suggested a salad. A SALAD. FOR MY MEAL. Suggested the vegetarian person to “simply eat a salad,” which is the most stereotypical and offensive thing you could say to someone who does not eat meat. Granted, the restaurant doesn’t have vegetarian options there anyway, and while it is a steakhouse, I have been to many others in Orlando that had way more vegetarian options and were more accommodating with their dishes, and no server ever has had the audacity to reduce my meal to “simply a salad.” Then, he brought hot towels to the table, but not knowing how to count to 7, he only brought 6 and alas, I was the one who was not handed a towel. Brandon apologized to my MOTHER instead of apologizing to ME, as if I were a child with no concept of what was happening, and I sat there while the rest of my group was cleaning their hands with no towel on mine. At the end of the meal, as it was my nephew’s birthday, Brandon asked his girlfriend on clarification of her age; which was appropriate as he had just turned 18. He then looked at my across the table, POINTED at me as if he didn’t have any manners, and asked me out loud, as if I were on a spotlight, for my age. I had a whole conversation with him as to why is he asking me that, and he simply said “just because.” I was embarrassed enough. He ended up bringing celebratory champagne for the adults to toast, and when he brought mine over, he informed me that’s why he had asked for my age. I was already pretty upset at his service, so I said “I don’t look younger than 21” because his behavior was very offensive. He tried to brush it off and blame his poor manners on just “doing his job,” which was still not the correct way to handle anything. I have been on the customer service industry for 10 years, and his behavior was completely unacceptable. Fleming’s is a high-class place, and I, too, cater to people who pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for their business, and if I act anything like Brandon I would be fired. While he was great with the rest of my group, he seemed to not know how to speak to women whatsoever. He did not know how to ask me on clarification for my age to begin with so he instead took my wine glass away, made me say my age out loud, and reduced my entire dinner experience to “have a salad.”

But alas, that’s what happens when you hire 23 year olds to work at a highly...

First let me say that i'm rating this 4 stars as to not severely hurt the star rating of this business. Upon entrance we were greeted and made to feel welcomed. The table was set very nicely and the Ambiance was very inviting. there were two waitresses assigned to us, i wish i could tell you their names but unfortunately it felt like they were either overwhelmed with other tables or were trying to avoid us.. I don't know this to be the case but it sure felt that way. (Also i will note that the waitress with the very short haircut at least smiled with us and was a bit more engaging that the other waitress) I ordered an old fashion and it was the absolute best i've ever had. I also ordered a California Jam Jar for my wife which never showed up and had to remind/reorder it again like 25 minutes later. The waitresses throughout the night would check in but it was more of a formality than a true hey are you guys doing ok.... Again i don't know that to be the case but it sure felt that way. there were 9 of us at the table and I want to stress that this is how my wife, my daughter and I felt. I want to believe the sentiment is true for the other folks but i don't want to speak on their behalf. As for the food.. We started with the Calamari for an appetizer, it was cold, soggy and chewy (very disappointed). My wife and I ordered the Tomahawk Tuesday Steak deal with the Wedge salad and the Flemings salad both of which were awesome. we also had the Creamy spinach, Lobster mashed potatoes and asparagus.. All of which were very tasty and i highly recommend. for desert had the Crème Brule (Which was awesome) and the melting Lava cake for desert. (this was also good but had more of a dark chocolate bitterness to it and i don't like dark chocolate) .. I have to say that the steak while very tasty was not melt in your mouth soft and a bit chewy, Also we ordered it medium and it showed up more more on the rare side... see pic below and you judge for yourself. My daughter ordered the BBq Salmon and so did another person at the table.. i have to say portion wise made it look like my daughter ordered a kiddie size compared to the other person..(She's 20 by the way) The same was observed for the Sea bass as two other people at the table ordered and there was a clear difference in the size of the portion. All in all it was not a terrible experience but if this is to be considered "Fine Dining" as a manager/owner reading this post i would be...

Flemings by far exceeded my expectations. I had heard about Tomahawk Tuesday's but never had the chance to check them out. My birthday was on a Monday but I was out of town so I figured why not go on Tuesday when I returned to celebrate with my family. As I stated already, I was NOT disappointed. The table was set up so cute for my birthday with confetti, a card and roses. Our server (Christina, I believe was her name) was amazing! Very patient, kind and attentive. We all ordered from the tomahawk tuesday menu and not a single complaint was had. One of the BEST steak deals in town. 1 tomahawk, 2 salads, 2 sides and 2 desserts for $150!! You literally can't beat it! The Ceasar salad is served with capers and prosciutto. Which isn't common but elevated the salad tremendously. I could have eaten a whole bowl of it. Out of 4 tomahawks ordered, 1 was slightly overcooked, but the staff immediately returned it to the kitchen and brought out another perfectly cooked steak. The sweet corn is almost like a cornbread but it was delicious and not overly sweet. The flemings potato are like potatoes au gratin, cheesy and flavorful! The Chipotle mac and cheese was nice and creamy. Absolutely no complaints on our meals. The sides were shareable portions with more than enough to take home leftovers for everyone. As Jeff (sorry if I got the names wrong) was putting down the steak for the couple whose first steak was overcooked, my father in law began to choke. His daughter attempted the heimlich but was unsuccessful. He IMMEDIATELY put the dish down and sprinted over to the other side of the table, successfully performing the heimlich, avoiding anything further from happening. We were beyond grateful for him. I'm sure we scared him, but he acted so swiftly we couldn't even tell. When I say the staff went above and beyond, I mean it!! They served us a round of champagne to toast, on the house. When we should have been the ones getting the staff a round on us! We were so full by the time dessert came around we each only took a few bites but every single one was delicious! They even gave me a parting gift of chocolate truffles which were so rich! Everyone at the table agreed they would be returning customers and we will let anyone that will listen know about how great the staff and food are here! Thank you again for an amazing...