Prime 44 West — Restaurant in West Virginia

Finally, a steak worth paying for!

To date, there are only two steak houses East of the Mississippi that are worthy of my time and money, funny enough they’re both in WV, Prime 44 at The Greenbrier and The Char in Beckley, WV.

I have a rule for my reviews, if I can do it better at home, the highest rating I’ll give you is 3. Prime 44 nailed it. This is the first time I’ve ever paid for a steak and wondered if I could do better myself.

For starters, we had the Caprese Salad and French Onion Soup. The tomatoes and burrata were SO flavorful, the tomatoes tasted like they were just pulled off the vine. The balsamic vinaigrette was as flavorful as it can get and was reduced to an almost perfect syrupy viscosity. I had the Kansas City Strip, my brother in law had the NY Strip, my wife and sister in law both had filets. For the sides we had hot honey sprouts, boursin mashed potatoes and fries w/ smoked tomato “ketchup”.

The steaks were cooked EXACTLY to the temp ordered. They had a perfectly seared “crust”, the kind you can only get with a hard sear on cast iron, and seasoned to perfection with finishing salt and pepper. They don’t have to “cheat” with a long rest while butter melts to mimic fat like cheaper steakhouses do, the steaks are full of perfectly rendered fat that melts in your mouth and the flavor goes on and on… I hated to sip my Boulevardier, every drink washed that amazing steak flavor from my palate.

For desert we split the raspberry sorbet and vanilla crème brulee. The sorbet tasted as if picking raspberries straight from the bush, and the crème brûlée was as good as it gets, could’ve used another pass of the torch for a darker caramelization, but it was nonetheless a stellar dessert.

Everything was perfect, from the bread basket to starters, through dinner service to dessert. Our server was outstanding, service was top notch.

My only complaint (and ding on the rating) is the sound of the dining room. It’s loud, much too loud for a relaxing dinner, especially at “America’s Resort”and disgustingly loud for a $700 dinner. They need to soften the walls and ceiling with fabrics, I have excellent hearing and was straining to hear conversation at my own table.

Another knock for atmosphere is all the annoying table side service - servers making salads, frying fish and flaming bananas foster at the table side is SO 1960’s… old fashioned, out of date, distracting and annoying side shows that just add more chaos to the atmosphere.

Would def go again, would def split another $700 tab, but would def reserve a private dining area,...

First of all, in my rating system, 3 out of 5 is better than average. That said, I had a mixed experience at Prime 44, which was mostly good. It’s a little like eating in a fancy sports bar, but the setting is appropriate. With the exception of the sommelier, the wait staff was very friendly and efficient. The food cooked as requested and there were plenty of things on the menu to suit robust tastes. Back to the sommelier (which may be an over-statement), who engaged me after I was offered the wine list and had a few minutes to look it over. I don’t recall all the details of the conversation, but it didn’t end that well. I wanted a Napa Cabernet on the list, vintage 2018, but the he brought me a bottle with a 2020 or 21 vintage for the same price… big difference. When I brought it to his attention, he told me this was all they had, and that is where the experience went wrong for me. I got no apology for the inaccurate wine list, and when i told him it wouldn’t do, he made no attempt to suggest something else I might like, he just turned away and went on to another table. Nevertheless, I ended up ordering another Napa cab from my server, and enjoyed the rest of my evening. I didn’t go to Prime 44 for the wine list (which is extensive), but for the overall dining experience. However a good wine with a good meal is important to me, so $400 later, (unfortunately I was dining alone) I’d say I was pretty insulted by the nonchalance of the sommelier. Since I have eaten at the restaurant once before (as a guest) it was my second chance to watch the sommelier (that’s a stretch of his title) in action, I would say that if you happen to dine at Prime 44, he probably won’t be remembered as the high point of...

Prime 44 west fits into the Greenbrier restaurant mix as an elevated dining experience on par with the main dining room but less formal.

Service was great especially compared to the rest of the Greenbrier which set up pretty low expectations for this restaurant. I was positively surprised however on all fronts. I got the impression that the more experienced Greenbrier staff were shifted to the steakhouse ( hence the great service)

Bananas foster was excellent and served tableside with ice cream and a coconut cake (see photos) must order!

Corn bread wasn't great. Dry, corse and a barn hay finish. Don't fill up on it.

Lobster bisk was excellent. It was smokey with prices of bacon and briscut and a strong truffle flavor. A+

Fried lobster bites were brought to the table by mistake but were a big crowd pleaser. They were crunchy on the outside without overlooking the meat. I would recomend

Cesar salad served table side was enjoyable but our order of 5 may have been too much to properly dress and toss the salad. I wouldn't order again. It was the weaker of our ordered dishes. The anchovies are pickled instead of the salted kind (my preference on a Cesar)

Steak was beyond mentioning. No hiccups

Lobster mash potatoes seemed to have too much butter... maybe in a good way? Still not sure. Overhyped.

Brocoli au gratin was underwhelming. Would have preferred potatoes in this dish. It looked like there was cheddar.

Brussel sprouts were very plain.

Mushrooms were also...