Fleming's Prime Steakhouse

12/07/09

why is this place open?

by cmk1126 at Citysearch

These guys have no idea how to fix a tasty steak. I've been twice. The first visit, they danced around medium rare until I lost patience and ate the third steak they brought (which was rare). The second visit, I was with a group and couldn't complain. But the steak was awful -- flavorless and dry or fat and flavorless. And there shouldn't be so much fat on a filet. I couldn't cut through some of it, and I gave up eating with about half on my plate. The server seemed to pause as he picked it up but didn't ask what was wrong (although, to his credit, he did follow up shortly after the food was brought).

• Pros: salad was edible
• Cons: steak

10/10/09

My First Dining Experience

by BeccaJane at Citysearch

This was my first dining experience at Fleming's. It was my son's 33rd birthday. There were 10 of us in our party. We were seated at a round top that comfortably accomodated all of us altho we had to reach or request someone to pass the salt, sugar, etc., as there was only 1 set-up at the table.. The decor was lovely, it was very clean, linens and table settings elegant. Our server was professional and eager to please. It would have been nice if A) we could have heard/understood what he was saying over the noise, B) we could have heard each OTHER (even the person sitting next to us) over the noise, C) there was more than 3 fingers separating us from the person at the next table, and D) THE NOISE!!! Waitstaff needed a megaphone to be heard or should have circumvented the table repeating the "specials" to each of us because no one could hear what he was saying! The food was very good (I had the seared scallops with a side of mac 'n cheese), but all-in-all I paid $28.95 for 8 scallops and what was supposed to be a puff of vegetables (I recognized the puff but couldnt' find the veggies even though I looked very hard!) and a couple of slices of a small bread loaf. We shared our sides all around, which was a good thing so that we all could have something to go with our entree. Others' portions were adequate (most ordered steaks). Might I suggest that, for the prices being charged, each entree should come with at least a dinner salad, THEN charge extra for the other sides. The provided a lovely "sampler" of desserts for the "birthday boy" which was very nice. I personally felt somewhat rushed - it took a while for our food to come, which was fine (our reservation was for 8:30PM) but once our food came, it was almost over before it began. The back-up wait staff was excellent and I believe other than taking our initial orders, they did all the work and the server got the kudos (and the gratuity, altho I realize the tips are probably shared at the end of the day). Our dinner came to $425.00 before gratiuity. For that kind of money, and with all the other reviews I've read, I hope they seriously consider adding some kind of sound insulation before I consider going back for seconds.

• Pros: Excellent Back-Up Wait Staff
• Cons: Noise, Noise, Noise & Prices

07/12/09

Simple, superb meal

by FluoroJockey at Citysearch

PLANNING: My girlfriend and I made a spur of the moment decision to go--reservations are easily made online. If your time is not available, you can select another. We were able to get our second or third choice on a table for two on a Friday night less than 2 hours before we ate.

ATTIRE: Any concerns we had about being underdressed were unfounded; designer jeans and a nice shirt were well within the range of dress. Collared shirts were the norm, and dress ranged from polo and button-up short-sleeve to dinner jackets.

APPETIZERS: Carpaccio or seafood dishes; we didn't get an appetizer

SALADS: I had the wedge with ranch substituted and ground pepper which was similar to others I've had, but still very good. I did like the smaller button tomatoes as opposed to large tomatoes on similar salads at other steakhouses. She loved the house salad, particularly the dressing, which she described as "very light."

MAIN COURSE: We both had filets, both cooked perfectly (large filet cooked rare, small filet cooked medium-well). The side of macaroni was recommended by the waiter. Similar to other upscale steakhouse sides, this was large enough to split, and was terrific.

On a side note, I like the larger plates for the steaks. Ruths Chris, which is a fine restaurant in its own right, has much smaller plates which are slightly more cumbersome.

DESSERT: This one was a no-brainer for us. We ordered the molten lava cake (with the order for the main meal as this takes 20-30 minutes to make). The cake and hot melted chocolate were served with what I can best describe as vanilla ice cream on a wafer cookie cannoli, with literally a bowl of whipped cream on the side, and raspberries. Truly, truly terrific.

COMPARISON TO OTHER RESTAURANTS: I've been to more than a few fine steakhouses. I really do love Pappas. Bros, but no matter how nicely dressed I am there is always a lingering sense of being out of place. Fleming's, although nice on the interior, felt much less stuffy. My girlfriend said this was the best meal she's had in 5 years, meals which have included restaurants that are borderline unaffordable. For my part, it's a rarity to not remember the last meal that was as good as the one you just had.

OVERALL: There's no such thing as perfect, but certainly this meal was 9.5/10. We would certainly go broke eating here every night, but it's well worth the price to make a visit once every month or two.

• Pros: Ease, availability of reservations; great for the price
• Cons: None encountered; potentially parking at peak hours