The Prime Grill

I came here with my family way back, and I still remember how great the sweet potato fries are. Also, very above average sushi roll. I ordered one with some very fresh tuna and mango.

I went here for a little work/​mixer party on a thursday night. This place is great, it’s beautiful. You walk in and you’re in this sprawling courtyard. The lounge is cozy. The house wine wasn’t pricey and it’s pretty decent. The people, despite it’s Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive location, were nice. Good vibe, good crowd, the DJ was ok but not terrible. Definately would recommend this place for a date.

I’ve eaten at several kosher restaurants around the world and I firmly believe that The Prime Grill is one of the best of them. It gets only 3 stars from me because I’m putting it on the same spectrum of all restaurants, but on the spectrum of kosher restaurants it’s a solid 4.5.
First, the design is very modern and stylish, particularly for a kosher restaurant. Also, I’m a bit of a music snob and I was pleasantly surprised to see a live DJ «spinning» very good music (e.g., RJD2, Basement Jaxx, bossa nova, and chill-​out) by the bar. This was a very pleasant surprise, although I’m a vinyl purist and the DJ was doing it digital (hence the quotes around «spinning».) Nonetheless, I’ve dined in the NY Prime Grill and the modern design and hep tunes is really what sets the BH PG apart.
As for the food, it’s amazing to me what this place does with kosher food. My girlfriend ordered the Aburi Spicy Albacore Tuna appetizer (crispy onions, spicy mustard-​lime sauce) which was delicious, although there were way too many fried onions on the plate, overshadowing the morsels of tuna. I had the Curried Beef Spring Rolls, which were extremely curry-​ish and tasted very Indian, which I enjoyed. Although the spicy honey sauce leaved a bit to be desired. I think there was a dollop of «cream» in the sauce which made the whole appetizer a little too rich — the spring rolls are deep fried as it is, so to slosh those around in something creamy was a little over the top.
We both had the filet mignon, medium. And we both thought the meat was a little bit on the tough and chewy side. We ordered the «creamy» spinach and potato skins which came with two dipping sauces: a horseradish «cream» and some sort of sundried tomato-​pistachio bruschetta. First, 2 side dishes was way too much for 2 people. In fact, we could have done without either of them since the steaks came with loads of fried onions on the side and a baked tomato. That said, the «creamy» spinach was really impressive (considering it’s non-​dairy). The potato skins were just so-​so — I ordered them because the sundried tomato-​pistachio thing piqued my interest but it was disappointing and did not go well with the potato skins. The horseradish cream was excellent but there was too much food so we wound up taking most of it home.
We settled on the special dessert: donuts! Yes, we went during Chanukah. So, it’s unlikely that they’d have them on the menu any other time of year. I thought they were okay but definitely not worth $ 8 for 3 plum-​sized donuts.
So, 2 apps, 2 mains, 2 side dishes, 1 alcoholic beverage, a bottle of water, 2 cappucinos, and 1 dessert ran us $ 175 before tip. As I said, we totally over-​ordered and wound up taking a lot of it home so normally I’d say this is pricey but we basically got another dinner out of it.
I found the staff to be knowledgeable and attentive. Service was very quick. Valet parking ran us $ 7.

This place is super beautiful, with the serene courtyard and fun crowd… We didn’t have an actual sit-​down dinner here since it was an awards show afterparty, but the upscale setting makes it worth checking out.

Sometimes the analysis of a thing is more about what’s missing from the analysis than the analysis itself. For instance, some jazz musicians find the Ken Burns «Jazz» series so lacking in broadness of view that they don’t even want people to see it, no matter how approachable it makes the oft-​intimidating art form.
Likewise was my experience at the Prime Grill last night. For an analysis, one first needs to look at geography. Where the restaurant is situated. It’s on Rodeo Drive. First clue, but we’ll get to that later.
The restaurant itself has by far the best ambience of any kosher establishment I’ve be to. Note that I said KOSHER establishment. The sculptures were great, the bar was cool. The Moby and Bob Moses-​sounding drum solo coming over the speakers were a little loud for a place that costs as much per person as two week’s rent in Iowa. And the wine list was a little offensive. The thing about wine lists is that they only work if you don’t know how much the wine usually costs. The $ 20 bottle that costs $ 62 there, the $ 24 bottle that’s $ 118 there, the $ 60 that costs $ 180 there. Now, I *know* the rent on Rodeo Drive must be extraordinarily high. But these markups are a little ridiculous. I mean, nearly 5 times the price at Wally’s? Come on.
The steaks, however, were pretty awesome. So awesome that mine was good cold today for lunch (two days later). Were they $ 50 worth of awesomeness? Absolutely not. At least not unless you keep glatt kosher, and then there’s not much other choice.
The fried chicken appetizer was good but the «wasabi guacamole» sauce it was sitting in was some kind of green hellhole I couldn’t get out of. The red pepper coulis on the plate was pretty, but didn’t taste right for the dish.
The service was wonderful, I’ll give it that. It had by far and away the best service I’ve ever experienced at a kosher restaurant. Note once again that I said kosher restaurant.
When we walked out of the restaurant we waited for our car at the valet, right out front of La Perla. If you don’t know, La Perla is a place where one can buy $ 300 panties. It was then I realized what I’d been facing. We live in a world where we often ignore our inherent interconnectedness, and choose instead to feel self important by spending money on things to represent what we wish our stature to be. I wonder if people who shop at La Perla even know that someone can get a perfectly lovely bra at Victoria’s secret for $ 36. Or downtown at the alley for $ 5. I watched the guy in the Rolls Royce in front of us at the valet pull away from the curb and wondered if he’d ordered the potato skins appetizer for $ 12, too, if the wine prices offended him, or if he just ate at Prime Grill because it, like his automobile, validated his sense of importance. You know what’s important to me? Good food. Our bill came to over $ 400 for the four of us. My steak was very good, not exceptional. Judge for yourself.

While I realize that opinions –especially about food– can differ wildly, I must admit I am a bit bewildered by the other reviews I have read of The Prime Grill. I had dinner there tonight with my family and we were all completely and thoroughly unimpressed and disappointed by this restaurant.
The service (inattentive, not knowledgeable, one dish forgotten about and thus never tasted), the presentation (absolutely no effort toward aesthetics; a nearly insulting lack of garnish), and the most important part, the food (3 out of 4 steaks overcooked, tasty but soggy sweet potato fries, uninteresting salads) were all truly poor to fair, with the ambiance/​décor being the only nice aspect (the canopy-​covered dining area is lovely, especially with a star-​filled sky above).
Now «Kosher» is usually synonymous with pricey, and frequently plagued by some rather horrible products (often in the dessert department) but having a well-​established sister restaurant in NYC and the capabilities to uphold such high quality here in LA, I just expected more. I sincerely hope the owners, staff and clientele do not tolerate mediocrity simply because there is little to no competition… and because its address –and price tag– implies that it should be worth it!

TRENDY, YOUNG CROWD AND COOL BAR
I’m not even Jewish but I went here with my orthodox friends and it was OFF THE HOOK. The restaurant looks really cool and has an amazing interior and design. Plenty of hot young people at the bar and in the restaurant. Btw Paris Hilton just had her birthday party here a few weeks ago. This is actually more of a con than a pro b/​c she’s a walking ball of VD’s but at least you know it’s a hot spot now.

I actually dined at the bar– which is great! A DJ was spinning tunes, the Lakers were on the plasma’s, drinks were at our fingertips.
The sushi is actually pretty tasty and the short ribs are delectable. Service is great. Décor is awesome.
See Ruben!

So it appears my prayers have been answered. Well, maybe prayer is a strong term but one of my bottom-​tier wish-​list items can be crossed off: no longer eat at Pat’s
for the company holiday dinner (that takes place in January, but whatever).
NYC’s Prime Grill
recently opened up a Beverly Hills location. A+ for décor/​ambiance, B for food. Let’s review:
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that this is the nicest kosher restaurant in the Westside. It’s modern, hip and a tad sexy yet not over the top. There’s an outdoor lounge area for the cancer sticks that’s dressed like a nice veranda. The pretty spacious bar room/​lounge is illuminated by snazzy under counter, bar lighting. If you work in the area, it’s definitely a great place to have a drink and relax without the snobby BH vibe.
The restaurant layout is interesting. They have different dining areas sectioned off and each room has it’s own «light color». One was blue, the other was pink and I saw a purple one secluded way in the back — but not in a Crayola fun pack way. Very warm and inviting. Our party was seated in an enclosed cabana that I can see being a wonderful group dining spot in the Spring & Summer months. Think Miami-​esque (not to be confused with Miami Vice). For our currently unusual cold weather, the heat lamps were in full effect and the waiters were great at monitoring them for my 5-​degree comfort range. ;)
The food…
Unfortunately our options were limited since it was a company dinner. 3 options for appetizers, 3 options for entrees and 2 options for desserts. I took a look at the regular menu and they had a great selection for kosher and non-​kosher tastes. The chicken tenders, served on skewers, were filling and the wasabe dip had a great zing. The prime rib was a great cut of meat (no fat whatsoever) however they could have had a teeny bit of a rub on it as it fell a little on the bland side. I can’t complain about the pistachio ice cream and chocolate cake; hubby argued it was more of a souffl and I had 4 glasses of wine at that point so take it how you want. I didn’t see any of the sushi being served as listed on the regular menu. And their wine list was decent.
All in all, I’d definitely go back to check out the rest of the menu. It’s a tad on the pricey end, but with $ 5 valet parking the place won’t break the bank too badly.