Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Excellent food. Excellent atmosphere.  Very friendly and attentive staff.  They truly attempt to make your experience pleasant and exceptional, I'm assuming in an effort to secure your repeat patronage.  A classy upper class dining/bar experience.  Only shortcoming in cost.  Items listed nearly 20% higher then comparable items at other high class establishments across the board.  Perhaps the up charge is worth the atmosphere?  Perhaps only rarely, at least for me.

We met a group at Fleming's for my friend's birthday.  The hostess was pleasant and seated us in about 5 minutes.  There were ten people in our group and we were seated in a secluded area of the restaurant which was perfect.

We started with drinks and my wife and I both ordered a mixed drink.  The drinks were excellent and did not disappoint.  After 30 minutes or so the whole group arrived and we ordered several appetizers, two chilled seafood towers and one brie.  The towers were abundant and the seafood was fresh.  There was an adequate amount of shrimp, oysters on the half shell and lobster. The brie was small and served with sliced apples.  

When it came time to order I chose the bone in-ribeye done medium rare.  Bone in steaks usually have the best flavor and I find it is usually worth the extra money.  I also ordered asparagus as a side dish. My wife ordered the main fillet Mignon Oscar style with lump crab meat on top, done medium. She also ordered a side of garlic mashed potatoes.      

When diner was served I was excited as the steak looked wonderful and the outside was browned perfectly.  I cut through the steak to find it was rare and had a lot of gristle.  Ribeyes should be tender, well marbled and flavorful.  This was nothing close to a good ribeye and for the $48.50 it cost I was extremely disappointed.  The asparagus was small and tough.  I was expecting nice sized amount of asparagus that was grilled and tender.  The side dish cost $10.50 and I ate only a third of the dish.

My wife's fillet was done perfectly.  The Oscar style finish was done with a Bearnaise sauce that was overpowered by a large amount of pepper.  All said she did enjoy the steak which was priced at $51. The garlic mashed potatoes were very disappointing.  They were not only cold but seemed to have been made the day before and frozen. Restaurants like Carrabbas make garlic mashed potatoes with pieces of garlic and lumps of potatoes you can see and taste.

The bill included 3 drinks, dinner (above) and tip for a total of $187.40.  I was underwhelmed and do not recommend Fleming's.  There are too many local steakhouses that offer better food for half the price.

My wife and I make the 30 minute trek here as often as possible.  Ask for the panko crusted shrimp with jalapeno jelly as an appetizer, even if it is not listed - one of my favorite samplings in any restaurant.

Steaks are above average, and I have found the seafood to be very good as well.  I would definitely sign up on their email list before going, you get some really nice discounts and coupons.