501 Prime — Restaurant in Hot Springs

Euphoric... Food-gasm... Mouthwatering... Divine... all words to describe the food at 501 Prime. It’s not just a meal, it’s an Experience of Flavor. A euphoric journey for your pallet. This food is meant to be eaten slowly, savoring each bite as the flavors explode & mingle in your mouth. Tonight’s dinner plans were in the air as Billy got off work early & I hadn’t exactly prepared for dinner yet as I had a few other things going on. We discussed options & then I had a lightbulb moment. 501 Prime! Billy is normally at work during their operating hours but tonight we had an opportunity to finally go. We had planned to eat up top at the Bourbon Bar but our friend Dave had a different idea for dinner night! We walked in noticing the beautiful, modern, cozy, decor & atmosphere of the restaurant. It was comfortable, classy, and intimate. Our waiter Joe Don, who was a very courteous, professional, fun and friendly; brought us menus and took our drink orders. As we were glancing over the menu, Dave came over to greet us. I asked what was good, knowing he would say everything. 😉 🤷‍♀️😂 He began to describe an appetizer and entrees that would please us and then he said; “Let me order for you. Trust me.” Me being well me with a slightly picky pallet and finicky texture issues swallowed my anxiety, opened my mind & pushed every thought I had about my Likes & dislikes out of my mind. Tonight we’re expanding our pallets. We agreed to allow Dave to order for us. Dave ordered the Duck Egg Rolls, a 501 Wedge Salad, the 501 Pork Chop Double cut for Billy & the Boursin Filet for Me. The Duck Egg rolls are 2 smoked duck confit egg rolls served with a sweet Thai Chile sauce. I was nervous, I’ve not been a duck fan for a very long time. We Dipped the rolls into the sweet Thai Chile Sauce & took a bite, the flavor bursting into our mouths! Wow!!! They were amazing!!! The duck juicy and flavorful! The sauce a sweet, delightful kick in the mouth! Just Wow!! The 501 Wedge Salad; fresh, light, crisp. We substituted ranch instead of blue cheese. It was light and not tangy... it was great. The salad topped with a very delicious & generous portion of perfectly cooked bacon. Then our entrees arrived. 😳 & We did share our dishes with each other as to each try all the flavors laid out before us. The 501 Pork Chop Double Cut was huge!! A very thick, juicy, glistening cut of pork chop topped with what looked like chopped up yams (they were not.. keep in mind we did not finish looking at the menu so we didn’t exactly know every detail of our dishes until after they arrived) The chop was topped with a spicy peach compote; which I will tell you is delicious and I so need the recipe for! A bourbon peach bbq sauce and wood fired vegetables (squash, zucchini, & potatoes) surrounded the mountain of pork chop. Every single component to this dish was mouthwatering and delicious!!! The Double Cut Pork Chop, all of it, the entire thick goodness cooked perfectly! The Boursin Filet - so tender & juicy, melted in our mouths. Mouthwatering! Divine! Served on top of a bed of polenta and baby spinach. My first time eating polenta, I didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised & pleased at its bursts of sweet goodness. The Filet topped with Boursin Cheese & baby corn sprouts. The Boursin Cheese, quiet possibly the best cheese I’ve ever eaten. & who knew baby corn sprouts were edible? They are! & they’re good! We ended up bringing 1/2 of our meals home. We wanted to sit there finish every bite but were were full & just couldn’t. It wasn’t just dinner, it wasn’t just a meal. It was indeed a dining experience with a journey of savory & amazing flavors! We highly recommend 501 Prime. You will not regret it!! Thank you Dave, Joe Don, & the amazing Chef at...

It is absolutely maddening to see one individual wreck the work of an entire team. Our evening (12-14) started upstairs at the Bourbon bar with a round of drinks for our foursome. One of our party had a card for a free appetizer that was given to him by one of the staff back in the spring but was told by the waitstaff that they no longer honor the card. When queried further, a man came by who identified himself as the "general manager" and said the reason they no longer take the card is that it wasn't a popular promotion, and I have no idea what bearing that has on whether you honor a promotion that you started. Bear in mind, this card had been traveling around with this gentleman for six months in anticipation of the fact that he would use it at some point the first time he dined at the restaurant. The general manager said however, that he would comp one dessert because it was a birthday celebration for one of our party (they did and it was a "mini dessert"; not the same size as the one our couple paid for. They should have told us if they were going cheap and we would have paid for the regular size). We moved to our table downstairs after settling our bar tab and were seated promptly and ordered a round of drinks. Our waitstaff, Melissa, had a great disposition, had a good knowledge of the menu and provided thorough and competent guidance. We ordered Oysters Rockefeller, grilled oysters, and those arrived promptly, were delicious and disappeared quickly. Each couple split a salad and those also arrived quickly. It's worth mentioning that Melissa was very conscious of the timing of the arrival of our appetizers and salads and made sure to space everything out to allow us to eat at an appropriate pace. Finally the main courses arrived. Two of our party ordered the duck, and it was absolutely spectacular. Not a fault on the plate. The presentation was incredible, the portions were extremely generous, and the flavor was out of this world. The other of our party ordered the snapper, and a steak which they also raved about. Dessert arrived, was quickly made short work, and the conversation continued to flow. About 10 minutes later, the douchbag who had earlier identified himself as the GM, came by the table and informed us that we would need to leave because he needed the table for another party! Mind you, we were only a few minutes past dessert and settling up our bill which was over $300. We were a little startled, but gathered up and honored his request expecting to see a line in the lobby. There was not a soul waiting, save for two police officers who were working as security. There was also an abundance of open tables in the adjacent dining room. NEVER have I been asked to vacate a table and we were not "camping". Given the size of our tab, the fact that we had also enjoyed cocktails and oysters upstairs, and left a generous tip for our waitstaff, the behavior of this rube is even more puzzling and leads me to believe his previous restaurant experience was either at a dive bar or a Pizza Hut, but not a fine dining establishment (nice blue jeans, btw). If the owner/investor of 501 Prime happens to be up late, bored, and reading reviews, consider that you have...

Let’s talk food reviews!!!!!

501 Prime 215 E. Grand Ave. Hot Springs, AR.

First off I recommend reservations. I didn’t have them but was able to get in and sit at the bar. I normally prefer that if I’m dining alone anyway.

I actually picked 501 Prime as a back up to the restaurant I normally frequent when in Hot Springs. My normal restaurant was too crowded and I decided to take a chance. Man am I glad I did.

From the moment I walked it the space was gorgeous, the hostess was friendly and went out of her way to accommodate me and get me seated in just the perfect place at the bar.

Within minutes I knew this was the kinda place I was going to love and couldn’t wait to try their signature cocktails and of course dinner. (Might I also mention they have 501 Bourbon Bar upstairs with what I was told was a selection of over 500 Bourbons) I didn’t make it upstairs but that will def be on the agenda my next trip.

Once seated I was please greeted by the well dressed and very outgoing bartender Kirk. Kirk went out of his way to make sure I was comfortable as we started chatting about the specialty drinks. Honestly all of them sounded amazing but I went with what he suggested as one of their best sellers, a Basil, ginger, lemon martini. It was delicious and I enjoyed several as I looked over the amazing menu honestly excited to try as many different things as I could possibly eat. I actually joked how was I going to pick just one main course. I will also add this restaurant is a bit on the higher end of the price scale BUT the service, quality, and chefs creativity make it worth every penny.

For appetizer's I chose two, because why not right? The first was their classic deviled eggs (a southern staple of course) but these were topped with the most amazing caviar. I paired this with their New Mookie Blue Maine, Raw oysters. Honestly the best and possibly the freshest oysters I’ve ever tasted. I followed this with one of their specialty salads (I don’t remember the name but it was a bed of herbed goat cheese topped with tomatoes, basil, pistachios, and fresh cut up Georgia peaches. It was delicious and a testament to the creativity to the chefs. Finally with the much needed help of Kirk I selected my main course. That this point my expectations couldn’t have been much higher.

It wasn’t long and it arrived. Their petite select NY strip atop smashed potatoes and surrounded by fresh mushrooms in a delicious reduction sauce, I also opted to top it with their homemade Béarnaise sauce.

Y’all let me just say this was one of, if not the best meals and restaurant experiences I have had. Everything from the atmosphere, the service, the drinks, the quality and taste of the food were all off the charts.

Chef’s Jake Lee and Matt Fuller are knocking it out of the park. I literally can’t wait to go back.

I highly recommend 501 Prime it is outstanding.

Make sure you tell Kirk Chef Hunter...