BREAKING: Meet the new Sarasota steakhouse that won’t break your bank.
There’s a major quality and value gap in steakhouse market between the Outback Steakhouses and the Flemings’ of the industry, and Prime Serious Steakhouse, which opened on Tuesday on the northeast corner of Westfield Sarasota Square, is filling it with its Chairmen’s Reserve corn-fed Iowa beef, in-house butcher window and accessible prices.
Dennis Valentino has bucked the a la carte trend and pretentious atmosphere often associated with high-end steakhouses.
He’s built Prime Serious around the idea that his guests don’t need to sit up straight and use whisper voices to enjoy a quality cut. His stainless steel tables, butcher block place settings and giant meat cleaver that hangs from the ceiling sets the stage for a relaxed but chic experience.
Unravel’s Elizabeth Johnson and I checked out the soft opening on Monday night.
Her take:
What I noticed first: The wall of wine!! As soon as you walk into PRIME, there is a curved wall of wine bottles to the right. Don’t fret when trying to choose. As soon as I opened my menu I noticed that pairing suggestions for wine, beer and or cocktails were next to each entree option. I followed the tip and ordered the draft Concannon Cabernet Savignon to accompany my New York Strip. Excellent!
The wine wall. Staff photo/Maggie Menderski
What I won’t forget: The vibe. The decor was modern and clean, using wood, metals, a black and white color scheme with splashes of red and incorporating butcher block. It was an environment where I’d be comfortable taking my family, having dinner with my ladies, enjoying date night or treating myself to a solo dinner at the bar. You could dress up if you like or go in whatever casual outfit you’re wearing to shop.
Why I’ll go back: The food. The tableside salad was a nice starter. The fries with Cabernet gravy was a classy spin on an old favorite. My New York Strip was a perfectly cooked medium rare – juicy and tender. I love a good steak, but haven’t perfected cooking one on my cast iron skillet at home and don’t always have the dining partner or the money to enjoy a fancy steak dinner and I try to steer clear of chain restaurants. Oh, and let’s not forget that salted caramel cheesecake. I could eat that every day.
Elizabeth’s NY strip steak. Staff photo/Maggie Menderski
My take:
What I noticed first: The in-house butcher window. You can pull back the glass window to Prime Serious’s butcher, feel the cold air coming from the room and order a custom cut steak.
Prime Serious’s butcher window. Staff photo/Maggie Menderski
What I won’t forget: The price. For the two of us the final tab would have been about $83 without the soft opening discount, and we both ate well. I had a bloody mary, a 12-ounce prime rib, bottomless salad and one of their signature baked-then-fried-accordion style “Hassleback” potatoes. The meal was served with fluffy popover style rolls, and they made the salad right in front of us. We ordered two desserts, too. I didn’t leave empty handed either. I’ll eat the other half of my steak for dinner tonight.
Why I’ll go back: The value and the quality. I’m struggling to think of another place in town where I can eat and drink at that level for about $40 — and still leave with leftovers.
Oh. And one more thing. On Sundays they have a burger brunch and a build-your-own bloody mary bar, and Instagram tells me it looks something like this:
Courtesy image via @PimeSeriousSteak Instagram.