Prime 360

If you'll recall... back on January 1 of this year, I introduced my first movie review. I also mentioned the possibility of restaurant reviews. Here's the first...

Prime 360 is reportedly one of O-town's finest steakhouses. So my people went there this past weekend. From what I hear, it's not as good as it thinks it is.

There was no doubt that the pre-dinner cocktail - a Manhattan - was good. A little heavier than usual with the bitters, but a good selection of premium brands must have been used for sure. For $8, I should hope so.

The appetizers were a mix of good and mediocre. The French Onion Soup was satisfactory, but it was light on everything but broth. For a soup touted by the waiter as Ottawa's best, it left the guests not wanting to try whatever soup finished second. A little more cheese next time guys. The beefsteak tomato salad lived up to its name. What a huge tomato! The oil dressing was nice and light... definitely not overpowering. Perhaps there has been a local cheese shortage because the amount of feta cheese included with this salad was much less than anticipated, same as the soup. The best appetizer was the calamari. Although somewhat small in portion size, the quality was very good. The breading was top quality and stayed adhered to the seafood without sliding off. Not a bit of greasiness to it at all. The tzatziki was fine too.

The main courses included a filet mignon and another steak with scallops. By all accounts the steak with the scallops was fine, but the scallops did not live up to the expectation. The filet mignon was disappointing. Quite red on the inside, it was underdone. For a steak with that name, and at that price, one also expects a smooth tender piece of meat. Not so. Gristle ran the length of the cut, and the flavour was very weak. That cut of meat should not require the amount of salt that had to be added. Sadly, the highlights of the main courses were the potatoes, one order of mashed, one baked.

Dessert was magnificent though. The two diners shared an order of creme brulee and it was deliciously creamy, not gelatinous like most bulk creme brulees. And the top was hardened perfectly and was super sweet. A good way to end the meal to be sure.

Service also left a little to be desired. It was a Saturday night and it appeared to be fairly steady business, but many of the staff seemed extremely interested in the hockey game on TV in the lounge. Not to say that the service was not professional, but it probably was not as attentive as it would be on an evening when the Senators were not playing the Maple Leafs. Worse, the Leafs won in overtime. Worst, Darcy Tucker scored the winning goal. Or maybe service was off because they knew my people were planning to use a gift certificate (only for a very small portion of the total bill).

Hopefully, this was not Prime 360 at its best. My people would be willing to give it another shot, but overall, this high end restaurant did not deliver even on the scale of some of its lower cost competitors in the steak world.