Prime Cuts Italian Steakhouse — Restaurant in Sault Ste. Marie

We visited on Saturday night to see this place for ourselves, and honestly the reviews on here have hit the nail on the head.

He ordered the Italian beef sandwich with fries, I ordered the Bermonte and added asparagus and shrimp. We waited a fairly long time for our food (and drinks), and agreed with the reviews that said a bread should be offered. A nice bread with olive oil, parmesan, and cracked pepper was something we longed for to munch on. To our surprise, they brought a basket with two small but warm rolls to us with butter! We split them open and realized the rolls were mainly crust. My fiancé stated "this reminds me of the first time I ever tried to bake", and while it was nice to have while waiting, left a lot of room for improvement in either the recipe or its execution.

The drinks list was okay, it was unclear what non-alcoholic drinks were offered and I was disappointed to see the only wine that looked good to me was bottle only as someone who enjoys sweet wines. Our waiter was kind enough to let me sample another, but was very bitter and sour in taste. Our waiter did provide a refill on my soda one time, but failed to ask my fiancé if he wanted another drink until I made it painstakingly clear that he was empty. The soda lacked carbonation and almost tasted flat like they were pouring out of old 2-liter bottles or something. We received water once at the very beginning but were unable to get a refill at any point during our visit. He opted to not order another because of how hard it was to get another drink and said he really just wanted to be considered and at least asked if he needed anything.

The entrees were the worst part of this visit. My food was incredibly bland, it needed a lot more of everything. When trying to add at least the salt and pepper offered on the table, the salt shakers were empty, which should have been a telling sign. After adding HEFTY amounts of what I had to work with, mine was good enough to finish. The shrimp and asparagus was good, but I was shocked that we were charged $4 for one stalk of asparagus to be added. There was barely any in the pasta and what did exist was cut very small. I received 5 good sized shrimp for $5 and felt that was a fair charge. If they added more lemon juice, parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, salt, and a smidge more parsley- this dish could be a homerun. The fresh pasta was noticeable and enjoyable.

His Italian Beef was so terribly salty that he started feeling sick while eating and had to stop, with even the au jus being bland in taste. The fries had no salt on them which made them hard to get through though it did kind of help to dampen the saltiness of the sandwich.

As I stated above, the service was lacking. There were about 4-5 people that we noticed working in front of house staff, and noticed a fair amount of standing around when we needed help and were very obviously looking around and trying to get assistance for things like refills and our check.

As a former front of house restaurant manager of 10 years, the lack of service was very concerning and one of the worst parts of our experience. I shouldn't have to try to get refills from the bar when I'm seated at a table or have to flag another server down in order to get our check.

The atmosphere we felt was like a diner and also that they had started decorating but unfinished. It was very loud in there and felt like we were at a subway terminal or airport due to the acoustics and lack of music or anything to set a nice mood.

Overall, we feel that there is a lot of room for improvement but it all lies in the seasonings and would try here again. For the prices being charged, you've gotta be able to nail the flavor palette and while the ingredients were quality, the lack of seasoning almost completely destroyed the dish quality overall. His was unsavable because it was in excess, whereas mine was somewhat savable because I could fix it to a degree. I'd almost considering ordering food to go just to take it home and make some corrections to get the best dish that I...

Visiting a friend in town so decided to try “the new place.” Lighting much too bright, seat yourself, although it wasn’t super busy. No real atmosphere, could’ve been a diner, nothing indicating Italian or steakhouse. Hopefully in time, there will be more attention to decor. Server Hunter was pleasant, obviously new to the profession, but has great potential. Until we asked, there was no mention of bread with certain meals, but he forgot it until we asked when the food arrived. Not “Italian” bread, generic dinner rolls, but warm. When I ordered a salad, no mention of it coming already dressed w a vinaigrette until I asked. It was tasty but should be mentioned for those who prefer a dressing option. I ordered spaghetti bolanaise. Angel hair pasta slightly overcooked. I appreciate everything being homemade, but there were multiple oregano stems in the dish. Not a real problem for me, but at 1-2 inches in length, could be a choking hazard. Extra parmesean cheese was needed, should actually be on the table, the salad would’ve benefited as well. $27.00 for a salad/ spaghetti meal, I would’ve expected better. My companion had a steak and mushroom, au jus sandwich, which was amazing! Served with wonderful fries full of fresh flavor. I truly hope the place is successful. Obviously still getting their house in order. Staff training should be tightened up, good help is at a premium these days, but good service makes it better for everyone. Emphasis on repetitive details, confidence and directness toward customers goes a long way. Tweaking food details, atmosphere, could make this place a gem. A good start, hopefully it’ll be...

Prime Cuts has a nice modern interior which allows it to stand out from other restaurants in our area which is a nice change of pace. My Fiance and I stopped there for dinner and we were quickly seated and the service was excellent. There are plenty of options on the menu and all of them are enticing, providing closer to home dishes such as Alfredo and spaghetti, but also providing a variety of other choices.

We ordered the Arancini appetizer which included 3 medium sized Italian Rice balls. These were pretty good and the cheese stuffed inside was delicious. However, we've had these previously when we took a trip to Italy. The Rice balls in Sicily, Italy were larger and extremely filling so I think these were downsized so they would be less filling. Which Italian Rice balls are the equivalent of filling up on chips or breadsticks before the main course.

I ordered the Cherry BBQ Pork Chops for the main course and it was delicious. I finished my entire plate. My Fiance had the handheld Chicken Parm and she was not impressed.

Our only gripe was the price of the alcohol versus the quantity given. It was $5 for a whiskey glass of blue moon draft. That equivalent could get you a 24 oz at the Dondee or some other establishments in town.

Pricing of the entire mean came out to around $67 which is not pricey if you're comparing it to other places in town. Still cheaper than eating at Applebee's or Bdubs and a...