Ocean Prime ~ national chain : Denver, Colorado

Latest visit: Sep 2022 (Denver - Larimer Sq.)

First visit: Sep 2021 (Denver - Larimer Sq.)

Well here's a place I didn't expect to revisit. But now it's brother-in-law's 50th birthday as noted below. And he too wanted to go here. So I called my banker to see if we had the funds... Of course it's only gotten more expensive. This time we were missing a nephew-in-law who had family business to attend to in Alabama. So instead of 8 of us, it was 7. And the bill was the same, and we all more or less got the same thing. On this visit, I tried the 14oz New York Strip. Like last year, I ordered it medium, and it came out medium rare. Fine with me - I expected it. Overall the food here is very good, but not exceptional - and it needs to be just that. Primary service wasn't as tight as last time. We had to beg for the bread again. The bathrooms were missing soap and the trash bin was filled with paper towels to the top. These little details should never happen at a fancy steakhouse. It's really a shame how little care these places show their customers. Just eat, pay, and shut up seems to be their motto. I really hope we don't go back here again. Fine if someone else is paying for it, but otherwise they act like I'm lucky to be there. Not a Regular Joe's Guide kinda place, that's for sure.

--- 9/20/21 review

Fancy schmantzy. It was time to celebrate my official sister-in-law's 50th birthday, and that means the Mrs. RJG brood is heading to dinner. And while most of us are modest about our birthdays, and we like to keep it low key, said SisIL's boyfriend likes to live it up. Well, to his credit, it is a special occasion, so what choice do we have? So we take the hour plus drive north to downtown Denver, grab valet parking (recommend you do this as well, not too expensive and much easier), and do the LoDo thing. While we wait for the rest of the horde to show, oh look - there's a record store across the street. Cool. It's called Garage Sale and they have vintage clothing, a bar, and real old school used vinyl. OK, it's Hipster 101, but consider where we are. And of course the vinyl was overpriced, but really not too bad considering. Did I tell you the RJG runs a record business as a hobby? Yes, and I've really picked that business up in the last 2 years. Anyway, I digress...

In comes the other 6 family members (of the niece and nephew variety), and into the building we go. It becomes apparent that Ocean Prime is dedicated to recreating fine dining of the past. If you're old enough to remember what that looked like before the 1970s, then Ocean Prime will bring back that glamour. Everything about it screams mid century class. As for me, my parents sometimes went to places like this on business or a special occasion in the early 70s, and they were always run down. Faded glory. So it's fun to see what it might have looked like in prime time.

Onto to the meal at hand. Recapping the drinks, I had a couple of craft beers (poured from the can) while most of the others had signature cocktails or just plain old water. We were wise to layoff the wine list*. For appetizers we got 2 orders of calamari. Excellent seasoning and perfectly cooked, though the portions were a little small. We had to ask for bread. Be sure to do this, as you will get high quality artisan breads. I think they should bring it out without asking, but now you know. For the main course, I had the 10 oz filet. I haven't had a filet in probably 3 years if not more. I ordered it medium, and of course it came out medium rare. They always undercook it so as to not have to recook it if not correct. Fine with me, I grew up eating meat rarer than I do today. No surprise, everything about it was excellent. As for a side, I went with tater tots with a gruyere cheese dip. Great choice. We were 4 ladies and 4 men, and the guys mostly stuck with steaks, which they gleefully devoured as well. And the girls stuck with variations of fish. Mrs. RJG and her sister had the blackened red snapper, which they both loved. Mac n' cheese, baked potato, truffle fries, and asparagus were also ordered. Since 3 of us were celebrating birthdays in September (including moi), the restaurant comped us 3 desserts. That was a very nice thing to do, and we had the creme brulee, peanut butter mousse cake (my choice), and warm butter cake. And, of course, they were excellent too.

Our primary server was superb. She was (well, presumably is)... normal. I know, what a strange thing to say, but it seems that variety of lady no longer exists. For the others hovering over our table, they were all a bit too fastidious. Removing plates while you're still eating off of them, that sort of thing. So stay alert!

*OK, time for the bill. I don't want to say it was expensive, but I had my banker on the line negotiating a loan. You can buy office buildings for less. OK, I exaggerate, but said boyfriend and I split the bill, and it's eye popping, even with the free desserts. But this was hardly a surprise. Sure, it's high end dining. Sure it was excellent. Worth the splurge? That's a hard one to answer. Ocean Prime does everything right, and the food is excellent. But even considering all of that, it's not really good value. This is a business expense account restaurant. If you do want to go here on your own dime to celebrate something, then by all means you should. Save up.

9/20/21 (new entry); 9/25/22