Restaurant Review: Fleming's Prime Steakhouse

Restaurant:

Address: 555 East Lancaster Ave., St. Davids
 

Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★ 

Style: Upscale steakhouse and wine bar

Food: Heaven for carnivores and oenophiles

Atmosphere: Old school steakhouse/boys club

Parking: Complimentary valet

Service: 4 star service with tableside flourishes

Price Range: Expensive

Unique Features: Prime beef, extensive wine list, affordable happy hours and 3-course prime rib specials on Sundays. 

offers no apologies for its high priced cuts of prime beef because you are getting the creme de la creme with service to match. We began with the freshly baked bread and chardonnay infused and sun dried tomato butters. Steaming hot with a nice crust, the cheesy bread was tasty and a nice way to begin our meal. While the extensive wine list was impressive and multi-faceted, as the lone wine drinker at the table I opted for a smooth and easy drinking glass of Montepulciano.

For our first courses we had the Fleming's salad, the tomato and fresh mozzarella salad and the shrimp cocktail. The Fleming's salad featured mixed greens, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, tomatoes, onions and croutons for a nice blend of textures, flavors and sweet and savory combinations in each bite. Dressed lightly with a mild vinaigrette it was delicious.

The grape tomato and fresh mozzarella salad with basil chiffonade and balsamic drizzle was excellent. The tomatoes were firm, juicy and full of flavor. The fresh basil paired nicely with the sweet tomato and creamy cool mozzarella. This is one of the most perfect things you can eat in the summer.

The shrimp cocktail with Grey Goose infused chipotle horseradish cocktail sauce was a bit of a let down. While the treatrics of having a food runner pour out the cocktail sauce from a cocktail shaker tableside added some well deserved fanfare, the three jumbo shrimp were a bit chewy and had not all been properly deveined.

For our entrees we had the main filet mignon, the barbecued salmon, the special NY strip and a side of baked potato, sauteed corn and creamed spinach.

The filet was melt in your mouth tender and cooked a perfect medium rare. This clean and lean cut of beef was a far cry from the decadent behemoth bone-in NY strip steak. The strip steak arrived on the plate glistening with butter and a sprinkle of chopped parsley. Despite the sharp steak knife, this piece of meat required some elbow grease to cut through because it was about 2 inches thick. When I sunk my teeth into this unabashedly fatty, well marbled cut of beef, I actually closed my eyes to fully savor the flavor. It was a phenomenal piece of meat--pure and simple.

The Scottish salmon filet was cooked nicely and still juicy. The sweet and slightly smoky BBQ sauce paired well with the richness of the fish.

The baked potato was the size of my head and the quartet of toppings (butter, sour cream and scallions, cheddar and bacon bits) elevated the spud from merely good to excellent. I wasn't shy and added all four components to the potato and let them just meld together for the ultimate baked potato.

The sauteed corn was sweet and delicious but paled in comparison to the creamed spinach. For anyone who has ever maligned the leafy green, I say, try some creamed spinach. It tastes so good you know that it's bad for you... The sides are large enough to be served family style which is nice. 

We were too stuffed for dessert but I'm sure they are sinfully delicious. The service at Fleming’s is outstanding and reminiscent of a time gone by. Everyone is polite, chairs are pulled out for ladies, salad forks are chilled (just like in Catch Me if You Can), the beef is prime and prepared simply with salt, pepper and butter. Now if only we could revert back to 1960’s prices…

Click here for the Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse website.

Click here for the Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse menu.