F&D Prime Modern Steakhouse — Restaurant in Lake Mary

Where do I start?

I made reservations, checked-in at the front. I was a bit early. The hostess said it would be closer to my reservation time until my friend and I could be seated which was fine, we would sit at the bar and she could let us know when our table was ready.

My friend and I ordered 1 drink each. I looked at the clock and it was 5 minutes past our reservation so we went to ask about our table. Hostess said it would be just another 5 minutes which turned into about 15, I think she forgot until we went back over there.

We were seated. At first we had high hopes for the waitress, she seemed like she would be good upon the first initial interaction with her. That quickly changed.

When she dropped off our menus, she didn't come back to take our order for probably 15 minutes or so. She sold me on saying this shrimp appetizer with a bread add-on were amazing together. My friend ordered a new York strip that the waitress highly recommended.

The shrimp I ordered came out without the bread. I informed the waitress of my concerns and she said don't worry it will be right out. About 10 minutes passed and it still wasn't out. Eventually it comes out, I told her I was expecting to have it together. She asked if I wanted her to remake it (kind of a stupid question). Comes back out with the bread, shrimps already kind of cold but it wasn't a big deal, I just wanted to eat.

The rockerfeller oysters were hands down THE WORST I've ever had. Barely any oyster and basically completely spinach (not even sure if there was cheese on it).

My friends crab cakes were pretty good. No idea where our waitress even was, so the assistant GM brought out the seafood macaroni. I told her it was cold. She asked my friend if she wanted it reheated or remade (stupid question again, why would you just reheat it in a fine dining establishment). I also explained to her this was our first time here and about my shrimp and how the waitress is always disappearing and I doubt I would be back, it was a bad first impression. When she brought back out the remade macaroni, she offered to take the macaroni off the bill to make it right. My friend asked me to try it and asked if it seemed crunchy to me or if it was just her imagining it, but she was right, it was not fully cooked. I told the assistant GM again, and she asked if she wanted it remade and she said no you can just take it off the bill.

Eventually our entrees come out. My filet came out without the Oscar crab topping. My friend wasn't a fan of the recommended steak. We usually take home our leftovers but she just left it because she knew she wouldn't want to eat it later.

Waitress comes by with desert menus, literally just sets them on our table. Didn't say anything at all and then just walks to another table and starts talking to them for like 5 minutes. We did want desert, but not after this service so we opted out.

It was like almost $200 just for myself for mostly subpar food and 2 drinks.

My friend had 2 drinks also and we both woke up with headaches and feeling hungover so not sure what kind of cheap alcohol they are using but 2 drinks shouldn't make you feel like you were binge drinking the night before, especially at $17 a pop.

To conclude, the hostesses didn't know what they were doing it seemed/weren't punctual, the waitress should work at a Denny's/a sports bar, not a "fine dining" establishment, if the assistant GM is bringing out food for the waitress it kind of makes you question why someone in that role would need to do that, and for the assistant GM to ask questions how she did makes me feel like she's not very experienced herself and offered no real resolutions and didn't seem to honestly care, in my opinion. The decor of the place was nothing special either.

I gave it a 2/5 because although the drinks gave me a headache, they tasted good, and my filet mignon was pretty good.

I...

Ok so I have been in the hospitality business for 40 years. So I think my observations are probably more accurate than the average Joe who dines out once a week. And admittedly I am probably more critical than the average diner…

We had come here several times before when it was the original F&D But had not been back since they had renovated and turned it into F&D prime steak. But after a recommendation from a friend on a day we were in the area we checked it out.

From the minute we entered Sara the AGM Could not have been more hospitable And helpful. Even though we were not dressed for the occasion, she was more than gracious and seated us right away. That’s when Johnny (our server) along with Jasmine and Chuck (both of them assisted and made a point to stop by the table and ask if we needed anything) took over! The amazing servers could not have been more gracious, knowledgeable, and helpful. Service was prompt and attentive from beginning to end!

All of this and we hadn’t even gotten to the food yet! Having been a chef for over 25 years in many award-winning restaurants. I have a very good pallet and I for detail. The Japanese milk bread (Their take on a Parker house roll) Was fluffy and the citrus butter, a perfect accent! The Caesar salad was crisp and the dressing perfectly creamy, my ribeye, and my wife’s filet mignon were both cooked perfectly (Something that you take for granted, but isn’t always the case even in a nice steakhouse) The steaks were delicious and the side of scalloped potatoes Which was the Chef Alex’s creation…(Combination scalloped/pave potatoes) were a very unique and creative take on this classic and the extra cream sauce in the pan left us wanting more! We finished sharing the crème brûlée style cheesecake, which was easily enough for both of us. Chef Alex even took the time to stop by the table to say hi And ask how our meal was! An excellent touch as people always want to see the Chef!

Finally, as if all of this wasn’t enough Dano (I believe he’s either the owner or the managing partner) Came by our table just to thank us for coming and to see how everything was. We had a great conversation about everything from his background with Roy’s restaurants in Hawaii to the new concept for F&D!

As I always say there’s food and beverage, and then there’s hospitality. You can serve food and you can serve drinks, but having a spirit of hospitality is something different and this place has it 10 out of 10.

I will admit, it’s a little pricey, but as I always say you get what you pay for if you want not only great food and great service, but great hospitality, then F&D prime steaks Is a must

It was so good I told my wife I want to go back in a month for my birthday dinner. That should tell you all you...

Soft opening -

Reservation for 430pm and they were delayed 10 minutes. While waiting in the bar area, we were not offered a cocktail.

We were led to the dining room and the lighting, modern art and music was very nice.

Greeted by our server, Mason. Presented with white napkin but requested a black one and he happily obliged. He asked about preferred water and mentioned a few cocktails. I ordered a mango margarita that was delicious to start and a Pinot Noir with dinner.

We wanted to try a few things and started with the bacon steak, tartare trio and shrimp cocktail. The Nueske's bacon steak was two thick slices of bacon with a bourbon maple glaze. Good. The shrimp cocktail was served on a huge bed of ice. It was four large, flavorful pieces with very good cocktail sauce and other flavor enhancements. Very good. I was really looking forward to the tartare trio. The presentation was nice but there were a couple of misses with this. The steak tartare's egg was overdone and I missed the yolk breaking and adding that rich protein. The chili soy ahi tuna tartare was missing the Asian flavors. It was plain tasting. The citrus marinated golden beet tartare topped with goat cheese was very good. The GM Dano checked on us multiple times; we discussed my disappointment, he followed up with the chef and removed from the bill. I do believe with minor tweaks this would be delicious.

The fresh baked Japanese milk bread with honey citrus butter and sea salt was heavenly . They literally just baked it and it came to the table very warm. You literally cannot just eat one. This is not a complimentary bread basket.

Now to the entrees- FANTASTIC! The 1lb 85 day age Prime New York strip was cooked perfectly and seasoned to perfection.

The Prime boneless ribeye 16 oz was perfectly marbled and melt in your mouth delicious!

The Prime filet 8 oz was also perfectly cooked and good.

I will tell you that the cream spinach side was the best cream spinach the entire table has ever had in their life.

The potato pave au gratin was a generous portion of potato spears with just the right amount of cheese and onion.

To end the evening there was a 24 layer chocolate cake and a toffee cake with the consistency of bread pudding. Both were very rich and there is no way a person could eat in one sitting. I would definitely say the desserts are very shareable.

We were checked on quite a bit. Drinks were refilled. Plates and silverware were replaced with each course. Table was wiped with each course. The general manager was checking on every table.

Fantastic service and wonderful food. I am so happy that I do not have to drive into downtown or even further to get this kind of...