Prime 120 — Restaurant in Woodstock

My wife and I have lived in Woodstock for the last 8 years. We have been fortunate enough through our lives to experience many fine dinning establishments locally, throughout the country and in other parts of the world. We’ve visited this restaurant many times dating back to the previous ownership. However, we always came for the Sunday brunch. Last evening we were invited to Dinner Service to Celebrate two of our son’s birthday. I’ll admit, I was skeptical. This is an honest review… Reservation was at 6:00 and we were greeted and seated immediately by smiling staff. My alarm bells go off. This table is too close the door I thought. We meet our Lead Server Kynan and I never thought about that door again. Not only was he extremely knowledgeable about menu but also very personable. We were a party of 5 and quickly received our water while craft cocktail orders were being taken. The cocktails returned moments later accompanied by and ample supply of fresh baked bread with an herb compound butter. All the cocktails were tasted and perfectly done and we started on the bread. I don’t even know what they called this wonderfully baked perfection but it was crispy and delicious on the outside and soft and pillowy along with butter on the inside. Our app arrives for the table. It’s a beautiful Crab cake with a delicious sauce and wonderful greens. Pause, as we are sharing and devouring this appetizer, Kynan notices crumbs on the table from the crispy bread which we have now made disappear. He almost magically whisked them away without anyone noticing. Another round of Cocktails arrive and all are plates and utensils are removed and replaced with clean. Entrees arrive. We had all ordered the 8oz aged Filet medium rare with Bone marrow compound butter. Two serving of the garlic mashed potatoes, One of the 1 lb baked potato’s, which my wife and I split and I added three scallops. Everything was expertly cooked and seasoned. The scallops melted in your mouth. Now we are all feeling stuffed and gluttonous when out pops two dessert cakes filled with a raspberry filling in honor of the birthday boys. We all enjoyed them. Oh yea, cookies too. They were great! I realize I forgot to mention the wedge salad during the appetizer part. It was one of the best I’ve ever had. One more note, and then I will close. After the meal I made my way to the rear of restaurant in order to use the restroom facilities. As I moved through room from front of house and past the beautiful open kitchen I was greeted by everyone of the smiling staff I passed. The bathroom was even amazing. Spotlessly clean and lit by candle light. These folks thought of everything. In closing, it’s is amazing to find such a wonderful experience right here in our hometown. My wife and I don’t do fine dining much anymore and I have heard folks comment on the price point of the restaurant. At the end of this meal we could all agree that it was worth more than we paid! Prime 120, I thank you for a wonderful experience. I commend you for running a truly fine restaurant and business. We watched you pivot through COVID and survive. Bravo! To our Lead Server Kynan and all of your staff. Job Well Done! See ya...

None of it was bad, but as someone else said, the quality of the food is not worth the price. We had five adults and a child at our table, so we had several different items on the menu.

Signature drinks: I don't remember the name of the drink I had...it was gin, grapefruit and rosemary. It was absolutely heavenly! Two others at our table had some sort of a peach cocktail, neither particularly cared for it at first, saying it was heavy on the taste of beer, but both ended up ordering it again, so evidently it's a drink that grows on you.

From the Beginnings Menu: Beef Carpaccio. Absolutely delicious! Perfect.

Jumbo Lump Crabcake. Again...perfect.

Oysters on the half shell. They were ok. The horseradish was the best part of them. It was a super hot horseradish. It'll really sneak up on you. Our waiter told us you could get it on Amazon. It's called Atomic Horseradish.

Salad: Baby Gem Wedge Salad. You know how sometimes you can get one of these and you think...it's just a basic salad, why is it soooo good? All of it really comes together, you know? This wasn't that. The baby gem lettuce was more of that center core of the lettuce nobody wants to eat and the bleu cheese dressing was unremarkable.

Classic Caesar Salad. Only thing said about it was that the croutons were spicy (maybe peppery? Not sure, I didn't try it.).

Charcuterie: Nothing remarkable. We had three meats and two cheeses. Comes with flavorless toast, roasted garlic, micro greens, hot mustard, blueberry compote and I believe Marcona almonds. I've had much better for the same price.

Steaks: They weren't remarkable or bad. But again, the quality, not worth the price. We had: Dry Aged Ribeye Wet Aged New York Strip Prime Filet and Jumbo Shrimp. The steak was ordered medium rare, it was well done. It was returned and brought back cooked as requested. The shrimp were not commented on so I guess they weren't remarkable or bad. Not sure what kind my sister-in-law got, she didn't comment on it, but did love Red Wine Bordelaise Sauce she got to go with it.

From the Market: Mashed Potatoes. They were absolutely raved about! Enough for two or three people to share, but the way they were talked about, maybe just one person!

Cream Spinach. Not commented on so I guess it wasn't remarkable or bad.

Wood Oven Roasted Mushrooms. Classic. Good. Cooked perfectly. Probably seasoned with oregano. Enough for three of four to share.

Parmesan-Truffle Fries. I don't get the hype. None of us did. Someone commented they'd rather have McDonald's fries. Not crispy enough. Not seasoned enough. Enough for a table of six to share, though because none of us really were impressed with them there was a lot left over.

Crispy Brussel Sprouts. They were very crispy. Too crispy. Seasoned nicely on the bits that weren't overcooked. Enough for three or four to share.

Jumbo Asparagus. Not commented on so I guess it wasn't remarkable or bad.

The Service. It wasn't bad. It wasn't remarkable. The waiter got a bit flustered with the questions my mom asked and her indecisiveness. I get it, I would be the same, but that's why I don't wait tables. Again....The quality, does not...

My wife and I visited Prime120 for the first-time last night for dinner and drinks. I eat out a lot and have been to many outstanding steakhouses around the world - Prime120 was exceptional.

We had the pleasure of being guided on our Prime120 experience by our host, Noel and her team. Noel shared her wealth of knowledge about the outstanding menu and allowed one of her capable team members to guide us through the wine list. Noel was a fantastic host and delivered a level of service that is second to none. I strongly recommend reservations to secure a table with her service, which is easily one of the best parts of the experience.

We had oysters which were well presented, fresh and offered with one of the best horseradish accompaniments I have ever tasted. They were so good we had another twelve after the beef carpaccio. The carpaccio was about what you would expect from the dish with nothing to truly set it apart or define it. It was well executed.

Our salad course was the Ceasar for two prepared table side by an outstanding young man who walked us through his preparation in detail. It was a fun experience to watch and even better to taste.

The drinks menu was extensive and will have something for everyone with some real gems appearing in the bottle list.

For our main course, my wife and I shared the Elk Chop with a generous side of broccolini. The Elk was excellent, prepared perfectly and served with a delicious rich blackberry sauce. Elk can be hard to execute but the Prime120 team served an exceptional chop, divided ahead of time for us to share and cooked to tender perfection. Highly recommended!

Our final course was the sticky toffee pudding, which I grew up eating in the United Kingdom. We loved its delicate balance of flavors resulting in a sweet experience that held back from being overbearing, as these desserts often are.

The ambience was comfortable, lively and cozy with the addition of plenty of green plants to add vibrance and an awesome earthiness to the experience. I think this spot will be phenomenal in the Spring and Summer for eating outdoors. It was great to see the General Manager helping his team and adding to the sense of being welcomed.

Overall, this is an easy 5 stars, and my thanks go out to Noel and team for an excellent experience - thank you. We will...