Teresa's Prime Steakhouse — Restaurant in North Reading

We arrived for a Christmas Eve reservation at 2 pm with a party of 7. At the time, there were only a few tables of guests— about 12 people total— in the restaurant with us. At first the service was attentive (perhaps too much— asking us about drinks before everyone was settled in their seats?) but as time went on, it became less so— or perhaps because we did not order alcohol (2 pm!) or appetizers?

The food was “fine”— nothing worth the price point. However, a steak was overcooked (medium when it was ordered medium rare) and given the price, it was returned to the kitchen. The waitress took it away and then CAME BACK WITH IT and said that the “kitchen says this is correct; but we’ll make you a new one.”. When the new steak came out, it was RAW.

We did order dessert and hot tea. The tea cups were brought out with the hot water and two (different) herbal tea bags. When we asked for “regular black tea” we’re were told there wasn’t any. There was no apology.

The desserts were “sub par”. One person had the “lemon ricotta” donuts which lacked lemon flavor and were completely over-fried. We had to wait a considerable time for the final dessert— the crème brûlée— but with no notice (meaning we had to ask for it).

I have worked in fine dining food service and honestly was appalled by the poor service. For the price point of this food, the waitress needed to be far more attentive and gracious (for example, noticing that a customer didn’t have a dessert and informing us that she was going to check on it, rather than having us flagging her down and telling her to forget it as everyone else was done). She did bring it out and take it off the bill, saying “It’s on the house”— again, no apology. The performance with the steak (coming out to correct the customer) was rude and unprofessional (and the poor cooking of the steak tells me that the kitchen doesn’t really know how to cook medium rare).

Perhaps some actual training is what is required? For example, in between courses silver wear was just dropped around the table randomly rather than placed at settings. When food came out the food runner didn’t know where the food went and had to ask— and the served on the wrong side.

When we received the $500 bill, a 21% gratuity was added for “large party” (in my experience, 8+ is a large party). So perhaps the staff did not feel she needed to impress for her tip. (Note when the reservation was made, I was not informed of the added gratuity — which should be standard; I question whether this was a practice at the restaurant or if our server stretches the rule bit given how badly it was going…?).

I understand that the prices of food and staff have increased— and so it is expensive to go out. However, good training (both front and back of house!) could go a long way at this place. People should feel that they are getting their dollars’ worth not only in the quality of food but in the quality and generosity of service. It was the holiday and we would have tipped our staff MORE than the added gratuity had the service been excellent. Excellence should be the standard at an...

The restaurant is very nice, we had great service, and for the most part, the food was really good. Our servers were very attentive, the drinks were excellent, and the appetizers were really tasty. My dinner, however, was not worth the money we paid for it.

For apps, we ordered the Bacon, and the Antipasto. The Antipasto had a perfect amount for sharing, everything on it was fresh and delicious. The Bacon was (to my surprise) amazing! I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't the perfectly cooked and seasoned (with cherries!) almost pork belly'ish slices we got - it was so delicious.

I ordered the night's special - we were told it was an 8oz filet, lobster tail, broiled brussel sprouts and roasted potatoes.

What I got was an 8oz filet that was overcooked on the outside and slightly pink on the inside (I ordered med-rare), a very tiny overcooked lobster tail, and 3 sprigs of asparagus. The plate was bare - and it cost $90. I don't mind spending $$$$ for a great dinner, but for $90, it should be darn-near perfect, and this was nowhere near that. I've had better steak at Texas Road house.

(I will interject here to add that I did not complain or ask to take it back - I was having such a great night, I chalked it up to an off-night for the chef).

My husband, however, got the Lobster Fra Diavolo, which he loved. He said it was delicious, although I question the spaghetti is homemade as advertised (it did not taste homemade).

For dessert, we got the donuts w/ 3 sauces to go - they were way overcooked or the oil desperately needs to be cleaned (see pic).

So overall, a really nice dining experience. Really nice ambiance, excellent service, great drinks and appetizers. Maybe the chef had an off-night, or maybe the 'special' was just the dregs they had left in the kitchen., but I'll let this one pass since it was our first time there and everything else was excellent.

I will definitely go back and try something else on the menu, but next time I want a steak, I'll go to Pellana - much better quality steak.

(sorry no pics of the meals, I was too busy eating bacon to remember to...

We had our wedding here on 10/20/2018, and I don't have enough words to express how unbelievablely beautiful and perfect our experience was with Teresa's! Kim was absolutely AMAZING and put in endless hours helping me make sure every little detail of my wedding was exactly how I dreamed it would be. We originally had montvale plaza in Stoneham booked as our wedding venue and they decided to let us know just 8 months before our scheduled date that they would be shutting down business. Kim & Sharon at Teresa's saved our wedding and booked us in short notice with no problem and worked with us to make our wedding plans come back to life. They gave us a better and more beautiful wedding than what we ever imagined! Teresa's is just so beautiful and brand new and modern, and the chandeliers in the ballroom are gorgeous! Kim is so patient and dealt with my anxious bridezilla craziness and brought all my worries to ease literally every single time. All of my guests absolutely LOVED the food, the drinks, and desserts. Everyone had such a blast! All of the Teresa's staff provided top notch service throughout the the entire experience! It's a beautiful place to have an indoor or outdoor celebration, and a place you can return to for years to come to celebrate anniversaries in their restaurant. We went away for our 1 year anniversary this year, but we plan to have all our wedding anniversary dinners at teresa's in the years to come :) and I hope we find other reasons to return to teresa's to celebrate because I just love this place and will take any excuse I can to go back! Thank you Kim for everything you did for us, and thank you Sharon & all of Teresa's! You all helped make our wedding day so special for my husband and I and all of our family and friends,...