Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

Let me start by saying, “WOW!”. My wife and I don’t usually go to upscale restaurants mainly because we have 3 kids. But this is definitely a place to check out! While mentioning kids, for those of you with little little kids, this is not a place for them. This is not a place where your kid can be loud and it be ok. The setting is much more professional and there isn’t a kids menu. We brought our 3 month old and the staff was very nice to store our stroller in the front closet, was very accommodating to my wife when she had to feed the baby, but the restaurant itself isn’t set up for it. There is no changing table in the bathroom, beware!

First of all, it’s a fancy restaurant, you are going to pay $$$ for it. This is NOT a cheap fast food restaurant, nor is it FAST. Both of which I was totally ok with and will explain below. Our reservation was for 6:15 PM on a Monday and by the pictures you can see there weren’t many people here while we were eating. By the time we were leaving, which was around 7:45 PM, the restaurant had quite a few more guests.

The restaurant was meticulous. Everything was organized and clean. The waitstaff worked together and were efficient. They even carried around this neat little metal scooper thing and as we got crumbs on the table, as they were clearing away some plates, would scoop up the crumbs instead of wiping them to the floor. I made a note to look specifically at the floor and it was spotless.

The food! 🤤

Complimentary Bread: Hot and delicious. There were three different types of bread that came out in the basket that was hot and it came with a side of butter. I liked the darker bread (forgive me but I forgot what kind it was) and asked for seconds which they politely obliged.

Salad: from the picture you can see what looks to be a pretty small Caesar salad... this is not the case as we had them split it so my wife and I could share. The salad was light, the lettuce was crisp, and after finishing it was very satisfied. It was the right amount of food with the right amount of flavor, spot on.

Onion rings: I have never, in all my travels, had a more perfect onion ring. No joke. The onion was exactly like you would expect it. Not plumb and super juicy and not dried out, it was right in the middle. The breading on the outside was crunchy and was flavorful without being overly greasy and there was no sogginess to it. It is served with what I believe to be a chipotle sauce on the side (forgive me again I don’t remember what it was exactly). It had a fantastic flavor but was quite spicy. I happen to love spice so it was right up my alley, but my wife wasn’t as big of a fan... she doesn’t do spice at all. The sauce and the onion rings flowed flawlessly together for me.

Steak: Sexy freaking Ribeye Tomahawk Steak. Wow. I was a little nervous getting this steak because it is priced at $89 for a 35 oz steak. Let me calm your fears! Share this steak. It is huge. Not over the top huge, but after having bread, salad, onion rings, lemonade this steak was so big that both my wife and I only ate about half of it. I could have purchased the steak only and just ate meat the entire dinner. It was decadent. The steak is cut using a butter knife (almost). I know this is a raving review but I haven’t ever had a better steak. I grill at home and having eaten the tomahawk am now embarrassed by my steaks. The crust was crispy and seasoned to perfection, there was no gristle to be had and cut super easy. The meat was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I got the steak cooked to medium and from the pictures was quite pink. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Desert: we split a creme brûlée. This was rich and creamy with a crunchy caramelized sugar crust topped with fruit and served with a side of the house whip topping. Delightful. Again, made with perfection.

Overall, this was truly a 5 star experience. The waitstaff were very friendly and accommodating, the restaurant meticulous, and the food top notch! If you are willing to spend a little, you have to come here, it...

I enjoyed this meal quite a bit, and I wanted to post a quick review outside of my main publication.

Seating was provided immediately. Arrived around 7:30-8pm on a Thursday.

Waitress was "Bolina." Put together and tidy appearance. Looked to be organized and well trained, but could use a touch of casual energy to enhance comfort during the dining experience. Very professional, just perhaps a touch stiff. She provided excellent service and I would be happy to be waited-on by her again though. Extremely present without being obtrusive or annoying. Allowed me to dine in peace but she was there if I needed her. The floor manager left her station to open the door for me as I approached, which was appreciated. She appeared observant and present with the staff, moving about and overseeing majority of activities taking place between the kitchen and dining areas. She also checked in when I received my meal for a quality check.

No dress code enforcement observed, patrons are a mix of young adult to middle aged individuals. Nearly zero unaccompanied elderly or teenagers.

Table setting: Silverware had water spots on tines, knife blades, and handles, but were clean from food nonetheless. Everything else was good.

Music: Light jazz, Relaxing vibe. Nearly no percussion, which helps with the semi open kitchen noises as to not overwhelm. Just loud enough to be present without detracting from conversation.

Wine: Bucklin Bambino Red Zinfindel was recommended by the waitress when asked for an acidic and bodied Red wine for pairing with a prime dry aged steak. Strong acid notes with a mid bodied sweetness on the back end. Exhale presents a harsh but not unpleasant bitterness from mild tannins which plays to the light dry sourness of the young grapes. Medium alcohol content. Very little earthy tones, mainly red berry and peppery notes, perhaps a slight spiced or mulled flavor, but not overly sweet at all. Fat from the steak cut the acid and did reveal a pleasant sweetness on the back end, as one would almost expect of a Shiraz interestingly enough. Excellent recommendation for pairing with this steak in particular due to the mild seasonings and high fat content of the steak.

Food: Baguette style bread. Good for what it is. Not my taste personally. The compound butters were great.

I ordered the 16 oz dry aged prime ribeye, Medium Rare. Overall cook on the steak was perfect. Rich red color, warm and cooked texture center. Not gummy or chewy. Cooked to precise temp likely. 1.5" finished thickness. Likely around a 2" pre-cook thickness. Fatty and rich without being overwhelming. Dry age flavor was present and not excessive. 21-30 day dry age if I had to guess.

Served on quite a hot plate, and presented to the table by a runner girl rather than waitress. Pleasant girl though. Did not catch her name. The plate stayed hot for 20 minutes, keeping steak at a pleasant temperature for my dining experience.

Seasoning on the steak was present but light enough as to not overpower the dry age flavor. Salt, coarse pepper, perhaps a touch of garlic, and very light post-cooking applied parsley for garnish. Spices were not burned and did not impart any bitter flavors. Great maillard reaction presence. Very little grey banding along the edges. If not for the short preparation time I'd guess it were a reverse sear actually. Possibly sous vide? Didn't feel like it texturally. It felt grilled over flame.

Overall: Great dining experience with a very enjoyable meal. Expect to pay around $100-150 per person after drinks and such. Prices were in line with that if a steakhouse. Service was top notch, professional, and perfect on a technical training sense, but did lack a "wow" factor. No real complaints however. Wine selection and menu appeared to account for many choices and diet options without being overwhelming or reducing efficiency. Staff was instantly accomodating to requests. Concise and well executed preparation.

I enjoyed my meal quite a lot, and will likely make another stop here next month when I'm back...

Pros: -Everything was cooked perfectly. -Atmosphere and decor is beautiful and feels how a fine dining establishment should. -Even though it was busy it never felt crowded or loud and is a testament to the beautifully designed space. -Staff and service was very friendly. -Wine selection is second to none.

Cons: What you pay for compared to what you get is borderline extortion. Expect a dinner to be a minimum of $50-$80 for appetizer and entree. If ordering drinks this will quickly jump to the $100+ range in no time.

Service was slower than it should be and a little leeway is due as we had a large party. However, I felt with the advanced reservation this could have been handled better.

Dining Experience: As mentioned I expect the service suffered due to the large volume of people for the holiday season, but took close to 2 hours for the main courses to arrive. I will give them the benefit that this is likely the exception and not the rule. However, I was a bit surprised that they had one server for a table of roughly 15+ people.

The wine I had was excellent but drinks were a bit overpriced and I get it, this is Utah. However, I have a hard time justifying 8 dollars per drink for mid-high shelf vodka and whiskey in any establishment.

One appetizer was 2 shrimp and 2 scallops with creamed grits, greens, pickled red onion and a tomato cream sauce that was amazing. At $25 dollars this begins to feels a bit pretentious. Yes, it was very good and cooked perfectly but was it $25 dollars good? Debatable.

This was most of the menu and pricing that I experienced and quickly became the theme of the evening.

I had the Dry Aged Prime Rib steak and poached lobster tail with Bernaise sauce and caviar. Lobster was a bit too salty but still perfectly cooked and sauce was rich and creamy. Steak was criminally under seasoned but was also cooked to a perfect medium rare.

Conclusion: This is a fine dining restaurant better suited for more intimate occasions with a wonderful atmosphere and friendly staff. Expect to lay down a bit more money than you normally would for similar fair and especially if ordering drinks. Wine selection is borderline overwhelming and in a very good way.

I would eat here again but due to high pricing it would be to impress someone that I'm flush with cash (hint, I'm not) or for a very VERY special occasion. Otherwise, there are less fine establishments that serve quality fair at far more reasonable prices that won't break...