Ocean Prime — Restaurant in Phoenix

If you want to go to a nice steakhouse DO NOT GO HERE!!!. My wife decided that she wanted to try a new spot for her birthday. She choose to try out this restaurant mostly due to the location and the plans after dinner. This was a major mistake, we should have stuck with one of many other restaurants(i.e. Arrohead Grill, Prestons, Mastros, Dominicks, Eddie V's, Richardsons). Here is an exact description of how the dinner progressed. We showed up early for our reservation and were taken straight to our table. Drinks were ordered, we asked what type of oysters they had and the waitress did not know. She did come back a few minutes later to let us know and we ordered a sea food tower. Oysters were not very good shrimp and crab were spot on. Our wive's ordered some Cesar salads and they were both happy with their salads. Three of the four of us ordered Filets and I ordered a Ribeye. I can not stress enough how much we hate sending food back especially steak. I cut into my ribeye and it was horrible, I attempted to cut into the center of it hoping for a better piece and not the case. The ribeye was thick with fat that was not melting and was very tough. I sent my Ribeye back and as everyone else started to eat their filets the same complaints came from every single person that their filets were tough and just outright bad. We all tried the sides and were very surprised that they were nothing to write home about either. At this point I asked for the manager and Amari Smith came over. I let him know to the dismay of our wives that we were not happy or satisfied with the quality of any of the steaks or sides to be honest. Amari in a defensive pompous attitude told us he would clear the entire table and he did not want us to eat anything that we did not like. The moment he spoke we all looked each other in the eye at the table and knew that it was time to leave. Never have we been spoken to in a such a way by a manager at what is supposed to be considered a fine dining steak house. Honestly we have had better service and steaks at Texas Roadhouse before if that would paint a picture for anyone. When we told Amari that we had decided to leave and just get our bill he kept the same attitude. The night before I took my wife to another steakhouse and there was an issue with my food, the manager was the definition of customer service and completely apologetic and has earned our business going forward for life. Amari is the definition of what is wrong with promoting someone to a position that has no ability to represent a business in a professional matter. There was nothing that Amari said that would have enticed us to want to ever go back to his restaurant or even fathom letting anyone we know have a single thought that it is worth their time. So thank you Amari you have lost a customer for life and we will let everyone that we know the experience that you provided as you attempted to ruin my wife's birthday. To the owner ship of "A Cameron Mitchell Restaurant" you might want to assess the quality of food and the quality of management you have at your restaurant...

If this place was cheaper I'd give it 3 stars, but at premium pricing I expected premium experience. It did not happen. I wouldn't go back unless someone else is paying.

I arrived and was immediately under-whelmed by the decor. We were seated at a round table with my back to the entryway. It wasn't cozy or private at all, felt more like being at chipotle. I think a nice booth or a cozy quiet table would be more what I was expecting. Seating was a bit crowded and I could easily hear conversations of other folks around me.

If there was one thing that was good, it was the service. The servers were dressed very nicely and they were trained well. No issues there.

Another good thing was the drink my sister ordered- a martini with berries and dry ice that was assembled table-side. The dry ice makes a bit of smoke as it dissolves and keeps the drink very cold. It was over $20 however.

Another good thing was the Scallop & Braised short-rib appetizer. The scallops were very soft as was the short-rib and the flavor was good. It was also over $20 but it was good, if not a little small. You get 3 scallops and 1 small piece of short-rib. Bread was also good.

Unfortunately where they drop the ball was the most important part- the entres. I had the Halibut, and at $52 or $54 (I don't remember exactly) for a 6oz portion it should have been a lot better. It was really dry and flavorless, almost rubbery on one end. It was paired with some kind of taco sauce and that was really not a good combination. I think a lemon-caper-dill sauce or something just lemon & butter would have been better. I really should have sent it back but I didn't want to make a scene. My niece had a roast chicken which honestly seemed no different than the rotisserie chicken you get for $4.95 at Costco.

Dessert was a carrot cake that was very sweet but seemed to come out of a box, nothing to "wow" anyone.

Next day I had a bit of a headache- a tell-tale sign that somewhere in that food was MSG.

I expected Prime steaks and prime seafood. It really wasn't. Unfortunately this is apparently par for the course of phoenix metro area. Its really hard to find upscale dining at any price. Most places have good decor and sub-par food. It's just the way things are these...

My girlfriend took me out to Ocean Prime for my 30th birthday on Friday the 11th of March 2022. The night started off really well and the service was fantastic throughout the evening despite one occurrence that could have been life threatening and easily avoided.

One of the starters that we ordered was the calamari dish which was absolutely delicious and this was the dish that could have led to my girlfriend being rushed to the hospital on my birthday. We ate about one eight of that dish before I spotted a deep-fried shrimp in the dish and I immediately called the waiter over who apologized and took the dish away. If I was not the type of person that eats with my eyes then the night could have been disastrous to say the least. The manager returned to our table with a new serving and apologized. The dish was ultimately removed from the bill which was appreciated but I personally believe that restaurants, especially of this caliber need to be held to higher standards and this type of thing should not happen as it is easily avoidable.

That said, my girlfriend and I both ordered their special which was a bone-in ribeye steak. I ordered mine with shrimp scampi as I am not allergic to shrimp and loved it all. Unfortunately, the next morning we both woke up to stomach cramps and diarrhea which lasted all weekend. I'm not sure which dish could have caused us to both be sick as we shared the starters and the side dishes (creamy spinach and garlic mash) and we both had our own servings of the steak. We ended the night with a mouthwatering creme brule.

If I was asked to rate our experience, I'd give Ocean Prime 5 stars for flavor, 5 stars for service but a 1 star for whoever is expediting and overseeing the food leaving the kitchen.

I would still return to Ocean Prime in the future even though I am hesitant based on our most recent experience. Hopefully something will be done to rectify this and to ensure this sort of thing doesn't happen to other patrons...