San Mateo Prime

Overall the food here is pretty good, but the service is so-​so. It is Asian owned, meaning Asian ways of doing business. For example, they always «run out» of things on their (already bare minimal) menu — «oh, were out of the chicken today», «oh, were out of the spinach» — one time they ran out of vanilla ice cream. How do you run a restaurant of that caliber and always run out of stock? Reminds me of a typical Chinese restaurant, where they run out of certain food, later in the day, to penny pinch. Also, the owner is rushing you out of the restaurant when its busy and when you proceed to leave he’s yelling at you, «oh no, take you’re time» …sorry you clearly gave me the hint, bastard. If i’m spending over $ 200 on a tab, you better allow me to loiter as long a I please and provide an ambiance of a high caliber restaurant.
There are PLENTY of Prime Rib joints, in the area… skip this one solely because of the poor service.

Three months ago they started using Prime-​Prime Rib.
Meat is way better than most Prime Rib now.
You should try it now.

Same price as HoPR ($ 40/​person) but not anywhere near their level: we were served sinewy, chewy meat that made me question the quality of their steak. Overall the steak wasn’t the star, if anything it was dessert. Their tiramisu was dang tasty. Also the knives we got were dull as butter knives, which made cutting extremely difficult. Overall a poor tasting experience. Service, on the other hand, was top-​notch. Crowd is full of families celebrating birthdays, or other events.
Still worth going if you can’t make it up to the great SF steakhouses (along van ness) and have a hankering for steak. You will get steak, but it will be mediocre steak.

San Mateo Prime is located in Downtown San Mateo a few minutes from 101 off of the 3^rd’ street exit across from Walgreens. There is plenty of street parking (meters) and parking garages in the area. There is an exterior entrance into San Mateo Prime from the parking garage.
The interior has a small area in front of the bar with the main seating area behind the bar. There is also addition seating the rear upstairs area. There is a full bar with a large wine selection and 3 beers on tap (Stella, Widmer and Lagunitas).
The dinner was started off with hot bread and a house salad. The house bread and salad were average which consisted of Iceberg Lettuce, crushed Egg Yoke, Beets, and Thousand Island dressing.
The Petite Cut — 8 Ounces (Medium) and Avenue Cut — 12 Ounces (Medium Rare) Prime Ribs were ordered for the meal. Each came with two sides and additional fee apply if more items added. The sides ordered were Cream of Corn, Cream of Spinach, Sauteed Baby Spinach and Garlic Mashed Potato. The Prime Ribs were also served with Yorkshire Pudding.
Prior to the order coming out the staff will offer and provide mild of spicy horseradish. The Prime Ribs were in surrounded in au jus, very tasty, tender, and moist. I preferred the Medium version because the Medium Rare was very chewy and hard to cut with the steak knife.
The side dishes complimented the meal and were not overpowering in flavor. The Cream of Corn and Cream of Spinach were average. The Cream of Corn was a little Sweet. The Cream of Spinach was pretty thick and creamy but did not seem to have much Spinach. The Garlic Mashed Potato was very tasty and the consistency was light. The Yorkshire Pudding complimented the Prime Rib very well. The Yorkshire Pudding had a crispy exterior with a soft and hallow interior.

So I was a large party last Saturday to celebrate my cousin’s birthday and all I can say for a place that is considered to be expensive, you’d think you would have quality service.
First, I order a drink at the bar and the bartender didn’t know how to make my drink and the manager even had to look it up on his phone. I had to tell the bartender my drink is ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ of each liquor. He apologized as it was his first day. I brushed it off and moved on.
Second, waiter takes our order from one side to the other going down the row and does the same on the other side. The order takes over an hour to come out (fine). When our orders finally do come out the sides do not get served at the same time. I watched all the sides that weren’t part of the plate sit near the bar for a while before it is finally served. By that point, the sides were cold. My party had to reminder the waiters multiple times that my side never came out and when it did, the waiter gives my side to someone else. So again I had to wait for another batch.
Maybe I was just in a bad mood or what but if I’m paying for prime rib to be served then the service should also match it. I’d rather go to The House of Prime Rib in San Francisco where at least the meat is on a trolley and is served right away.

I came here on valentine’s day, and had a reservation at 8 PM. We arrived earlier, and was seated not too long after. There was a special prix fix menu where every entrée [if I am not mistaken] came with a salad, sides, and tiramisu to share. We were starving, so we knew exactly what we wanted, but it still took like 15 – 20 minutes before anyone would come over to take our order or ask if we have any questions. The bread and butter arrived before we could even place our orders. And after we ordered, I was surprised our waiter came around with the horseradish before we even got our main dish [horseradish came in mild and spicy?]. We both ordered the prime rib.
Food was aight. The House Salad was really basic. It was basically lettuce and dressing. Only thing that made up for it was the fact that the dressing or salad had crushed up egg in it, which gave it a little texture and flavor. We also ordered the crab artichoke dip. This was probably the best part of the dinner. It came with bread rubbed with crushed garlic. Really oily, but so damn good. Prime rib was nice and tender, but it just wasn’t flavorful in our opinions. Sides included creamed spinach, creamed corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, and a popover. Our popover arrived nice and fresh, but we were more than halfway down with our meal by then. My gravy looked like it was sitting in the potatoes for a while because it was pretty solid versus a nice runny gravy. Tiramisu was pretty good, no real complaints besides the fact that I was trying to eat it really nicely and not mess up my lipstick, and end up inhaling the cocoa powder and of course choking.
The night ended with a rose for the lady which was really sweet. Knowing it was valentines, I could look over the service being a little poor, but if your restaurant has the word «prime» in it, I am assuming you are making some reference to prime rib, and it was a little disappointing. Each prix fix was $ 50 and I believe the crab artichoke dip was $ 13, with our final total being around $ 140. Overall, our experience was okay, nothing really stood out to us.

Not sure why I haven’t rated this place, been here at least 4 times. The food is delicious and so is the service. Please note that I have only eaten the prime rib here, I cannot comment on other items.
Also a fan of their wine selection.
Came here for dinner this time and didn’t realize that they had a Valentine’s Day prefixed menu. Was able to eat more sides than the norm and their tiramisu for dessert was quite tasty. I was also given a rose at the end, that was a cute Vday touch.

Had dinner here Saturday night. It was a great experience from beginning to end. We were served by Andrew he was very personable and made a very delicious Cranberry Martini. Of course we had the Prime Rib and we had the crab artichoke dish as an appetixer. The end was this yummy chocolate mouse cake
Would recommend this spot we really enjoyed our dining experience and the food was delicious.

I ordered the San Mateo Prime Cut which is a bone-​in cut of prime rib… definitely much more flavorful that way. The prime rib was cut thick and served with plenty of an jus… more was given on the side too as extra — excellent call by the waiter. I ordered it with sides of creamed corn and a baked potato. The creamed corn was definitely better than other versions I’ve had recently, but I found my baked potato to be pretty dry. The yorkshire pudding which I spent a lot of time hyping up to my friends was also burnt!
Service-​wise, given that we had a large party (24 people), San Mateo Prime was kind enough to offer us a «private room» which is really the second level of their split level restaurant. Compared to their chic, modern setup on the main floor, the upper level is very plain sans a display of oversized wines and liquors. Kudos to our single waiter though, trying to keep track of everyone’s drinks and orders and deliver them timely. He was definitely laboring after a while, climbing up and down the stairs eventually requesting for help in Cantonese.

This is probably my 2^nd favorite place to go to for prime rib. I’ve been here before and that’s usually whenever house of prime rib is booked. However, that’s not to take credit away from them. San Mateo Prime is a bit of a drive for me, which is why I typically go to HOPR. If they were closer, I’d go here all the time to avoid the crowd.
Their prime rib is A1 and I don’t mean that you need A1 sauce for it. The waiters/​waitresses here are super friendly and accommodating so if you have any sort of request, just let them know and they will take care of it.
I recently came here to propose to my girlfriend with a group of 16 right before Thanksgiving and I could not have picked a better place. They had a private room for us (more like private floor) and everything went as planned.
I’ll keep this review short, simple and to the point: their prime rib was great for the price, service was superb, and it was just the perfect dining experience for me.

This place gets five stars for food and service! Come here quick! Family and friends of mine claim this to be one of our favorite steakhouses. We live almost an hour away and we drive out here about every few months in order to come and have dinner here.
Always get the prime rib with creamed corn and creamed spinach. The best! The salad is also my favorite as well! Although today my meat was a little red for my medium liking our server Michael who always remembers us asked me if I wanted it to be cooked a little more after he saw what it was like. Thank you, Michael! However it’s the best because I can take home what I did not finish and when I reheat it is not dry.
Thank you Ken and Michael for always being great with us!

I will go three stars here, which is good because I was skeptical. It was a Friday night, so many of the places in the neighborhood were filled. So we were surprised/​worried when that didn’t seem to be the case with this restaurant.
We were seated immediately in a pretty romantic environment, but the vibe was a little off from that because of a large family party next to us. No huge foul, but if you are looking for a more romantic environment, it may be a good idea to ask for a table up front near the window. May be more secluded, but perhaps not because of the street. Your call.
The food was solid. The portions were decent and the flavors worked. Ordered the salmon, others in my party ordered various steaks. We all ordered the cream corn and were all well pleased. Would highly recommend.
The menu is somewhat limited, so definitely check ahead if there is anyone in your party that isn’t big on steak. The general backup plan at many steakhouses is that they have great seafood and while they certainly do, the options are limited. On the other hand, with two different types of mashed potatoes, the options for sides were less limited.
Overall, good experience. Would go again if invited, but not sure I would go out of my way.

NEVER AGAIN, SUPA DUPA DISAPPOINTED!
Party of 4 walk in at 7pm with no reservation. They were busy and the guy with glasses (manager or owner I believed) asked me how many and walked away and never came back. 5 minutes later, the waiter wearing glasses told me they have another party of four in front of us and it will be thirty minutes wait. We asked them again if they can take us and they decided to take us.
The other manager/​owner took our order and the waiting game started! 20 minutes later, still no salad but he offered us horseradish and started to bring us our side dishes. I had to remind him that we didn’t have salad yet. He took the sides back and made us wait again. Another 5 minutes went by, salad finally arrived. Didn’t offer any fresh pepper. We finished them in no time and wait again. Dinner finally came 10 minutes later and the guy who took our order said the popovers is coming in a few minutes. He lied, it never came! I was beyond mad. The manager/​owner with glasses asked me how was the meat and I told him the popover never came. I told him he should have told us he couldn’t take us right at the beginning. I told him I paid full price too, it’s just not acceptable!!! A sorry it’s not enough!
Good for you that you are busy and it’s completely cool if you tell me you can’t service us. But once you sit me down, I expect the same treatment as everyone else. By they way, when we sat down, all the other tables already got their salad or entrees so it’s not like a «rush» for them. Oh well, you learn your lesson after you spent $ 160…

Forgive me for I have sinned… for not taking any good pictures from my latest meal at SMP! I was way too hangry from starving myself in preparation for this meal. And the food was just SO damn tasty! I’ve been craving some good prime rib for the past few months and finally made it out to SMP. and I’m SO glad I made it out.
Food for the table:
— Bread: on the house. warm + has the perfect amount of chewiness to it.
— Crab and artichoke dip: this is an absolute MUST ORDER. bubbling friggen hot creamy deeeeyiiipp with garlic crostinis? fugyes.
— Garlic fries: piping hot + relatively thin fries (omfg, for the perfect damn crisp) with a generous amount of garlic and parsley.
— Tiramisu: don’t inhale this too quickly (like i always do) or you’ll end up choking on that cocoa powder. but needless to say. it’s cus IM IN LOVE WITH THE COCOA.
— Cheesecake: i’m not a big cheesecake fan but the rest of my table deemed it delish.
— Butterscotch pudding: i’m not a big fan of butterscotch but i took two heaping spoonfuls! so that should say something!
Food for me:
— House salad: big fan. i always ask for extra eggs and beets. salad is dressed perfectly and the waiter comes around to grind some fresh black pepper onto your salad.
— Avenue cut: perfectly cooked tender prime rib with a good spoonful of aujus to compliment it. i love to eat the browner edges last! SO MUCH FLAVOR!
— Creamed corn: there has to be some sort of white pepper or something in it that gives it an extra kick. give me like 5 scoops of this!
— Mashed potatoes and gravy: standard mashed potatoes but if you ask for a small spoonful of bacon… holygotdamnwoman!
Seriously. What is there to complain about here? Service was very attentive and fast. Not sure what the other Unilocalers are talking about. I’ve never received poor service on any visit, any day of the week.
Pro tip:
Ask for the upstairs seating for big parties!
TLDR:
Order the crab and artichoke dip. You’ll never go wrong with any cut of the prime rib. Get a side of garlic fries.

I REALLY wanted to like this place… but unfortunately having tried Broadway Prime before — San Mateo Prime fell really short! I love the service and people and atmosphere but the food was lacking… A LOT…
I ordered the 16 oz and it was SO tiny… especially when I compared it with what my dad and sister had… it was a thin piece of meat with a BIG bone… and for some reason they think «medium rare» is «rare»… it was so red I think I heard the cow mooing still…
The garlic mashed was like a creamy paste. really sticky — like poi with no flavor… the only redeeming thing on my plate was the creamed corn…
My daughter got the creamed spinach and it’s like they took frozen spinach — put it into a food processor and mixed with a gooey cream… had a horrible texture and a weird flavor…
Definitely NOT every coming back here — but like I said — the server was GREAT — very nice but the food was definitely lacking… :(

My review is based solely from one experience, but it’s enough for me not to come back for a regular lunch or dinner meal. Some family of mine had rented the restaurant for a red egg and ginger party, and while they were accommodating and welcoming in the beginning, the food was… less than palatable.
The salad was the most disgusting thing we had ever had — too much thousand island dressing (and cheese??) and just completely inedible. Looking around the room, everyone felt the same.
It took some time for the entrees to come out, so they gave us some hot bread to tide us over. Spongey, not my preference.
Entrees (prime rib, steak, or salmon) came out… one by one. At the very least, they came out piping hot, but the steak was chewy for a medium rare, and the prime rib was lacking flavor, even with gravy. Salmon was well cooked, but I was so disappointed by the sides! The sides were just not up to par for what I expected out of a HOPR copy. Creamed spinach was horribly watery, and creamed corn tasted like the type that come straight out of a can.
Not everyone received their entrees in time (many received seconds before others received their first plates!), and trying to navigate their delivery system was chaotic. Hungry adults and children are no fun to be around.
While I suppose that with large orders (especially a whole restaurant worth) may be overwhelming, I can’t imagine ever going out of my way to eat here, let alone renting the space for parties.

Juicy and delicious prime rib has been found in the Peninsula!
Compared to the Burlingame location, San Mateo Prime is ideal for a more intimate setting if you plan to dine downstairs; perfect for date night dinner.
Started off with the garlic bread with crab meat and artichoke dip and I had to refrain myself from eating anymore since this was just an appetizer! A lot of flavor if you are into hand-​food, but definitely save your stomach for the main dish.
Now on to dinner… I ordered the San Mateo Prime cut which is 16 ounces… I could never finish this, but I definitely ate like a king with this cut. I had it cooked medium-​rare and it came out nice and bloody; just the way I expected. For my own taste I have my staple sides to pair with my prime rib which are the creamed spinach and the garlic-​roasted mashed potatoes; heavenly meal right there! All of this paired with a glass of vino and you are all set.
I barely had the stomach to have dessert but I recommend trying their New York style Cheesecake.

I’ll keep this kinda short: San Mateo Prime charges inexcusably high, House of Prime Rib prices BUT serves bland Garden Club quality prime rib and gawd awful prison-​style sides:
.
Mind you, I like Garden Club for the price (5 course meal for $ 24!). Plus, it holds a special place in my heart. It was the first time I played anal acoustics on a date. The geriatric crowd didn’t give a hoot because they joined right along!
OTHER NOTES:
*Our waiter was awesome: friendly, prompt, and efficient. He even brought out dessert on the house for the birthday boy. I regret not getting his name (older Caucasian man with dark brown hair) but if it weren’t for him, this would be a 1 star review.
*Almost the SAME prices as HoPR (a mere $ 2 difference) except everything here is low quality and not fresh. Unacceptable at these prices.
–Pre-​mixed and pre-​plated salad tasted old with soggy wet lettuce leaves.
–Prime rib and au jus had zero flavor. One friend even had to ask for A1 sauce!!! Now, that’s a cardinal sin.
–The sides. Geesus Christ, did they pinterest San Quentin’s recipes?! Creamed spinach was grossly thick and toothpaste-​y. Creamed corn tasted like canned corn soup thickened with flour.
–Yorkshire pudding wasn’t light and airy but doughy and very eggy in the center.
*Major quality control issues. One friend ordered the less expensive Avenue Cut yet it was thicker than the rest of the table who ordered the largest cut (San Mateo Prime — 16 ounces) which all varied in «thinness». There’s no way any of our cuts were 16 ounces.
–They advertise the San Mateo Prime ($ 42.95) as «our thickest, savory slice»:
. LIES.
–Birthday boy ordered his cut, medium rare but it came out medium well.
*This is supposed to be a «classy» place but they didn’t control the rowdy bar patrons who kept screaming and hollering at the TV for the 90 minutes we were there. Fine for a dive but not cool when people in the dining room are trying to have a romantic date and/​or celebrating a special occasion.
*My picks for prime rib: Garden Club (cheap), Broadway Prime (moderate), and Hillstone (pricey). Shoot, even Outback has better prime rib than here!

Good location. Located in downtown San Mateo is a ample sized restaurant. Good for first dates since there is a dark warmer tone vibe. Restaurant within the same family of Broadway Prime which was open first. The owner was there that night and he was all smiles to everyone which was good to see.
HOPR (House of Prime Rib), BP (Broadway Prime) and now SMP (San Mateo Prime) is the order in how I would rank them. HORP if you can get a rsvp and can splurge a bit extra. The other two are equal contenders. Though, I would rank BP .5 stars higher for the cuts I typically get there. If you want a more quiet space SMP would make a good choice.
What you need to know:
Steak is good!
Popovers come out fresh but the center is a bit extra moist — I prefer it a bit more airy
Request to sit at a window table near the bar to watch the passerby’s take their stroll
Have a cocktail — The bartender makes a tasty gin and tonic
Good space if you want to rent the whole venue for a medium size party
Service is a bit slow (even when it’s not crowded) yet cheerful so it’s good if you come with chatty company

Had a group dinner with friends in the upstairs private dinning room. Great ambiance ! Excellent service from our waiter Michael. The rest of restaurant was almost empty. Extra stars for being accommodating.
16 oz Prime Rib cooked perfectly to medium rare. Melting tender. But very bland and swimming in Au Ju. They provided huge scoops of regular and creamed horseradish. The creamed corn and creamed spinach were beyond rich and more like ice cream then sides. The Yorkshire pudding was excellent light and puffy. I did try some of the rack of Lamb and that was the best dish of the night. Appetizers of Fried Calamari was just meh. Large clumps of battered calamari. The crab and artichoke dip served with toasted crustini bread was good.
I thought the service, the private room, the restaurant accommodating staff was well worth experience beyond the slightly disappointing food items. We had such a great time and closed down the place at 10 pm no one really talked about the food.