Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

I was very disappointed with my meal.  I ordered swordfish, which arrived almost raw. They asked if I'd want something else, and I asked for salmon. That arrived, and was excellent.  The kicker is when I received the bill they made no discount for the poor swordfish, in fact I was charged an upcharge for the replacement salmon.  Its too bad, as there is a Fleming in Michigan where I live and has an excellent reputation.

Fleming's the review Part 2....

After my less than perfect experience at Fleming's a few weeks ago, I was flattered that the operating partner (Chrystal) reached out to me to get my feedback on why my previous dining experience was less than exemplary.  After corresponding a few times Chrystal invited my wife and I back to the restaurant to try them again and to cover the charge for our dinner.  My wife and I were a bit hesitant at first, but decided to take Chrystal up on her offer.  We are glad we did.  

Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted warmly by the hostess.  She even made the effort to make sure she pronounced my last name correctly (when your last name starts with a Z it can be challenging!).  I appreciated the effort.

We were swiftly brought to our table, and were very quickly and efficiently brought our drinks.  Service was moving quickly but not to the point that we felt rushed, it was almost like they were anticipating what we needed and when we needed it.  We were pleased to see that they had a seasonal menu which was a nice change of pace.

Appetizers: 4 out of 5 stars

My wife started with the french onion soup and a beet salad while I started with the caesar salad.  The waiter brought out chilled salad forks for our salads, and they were exactly as he described nicely chilled.

I must say that the caesar salad here at Fleming's is excellent, great combination of richness, a slight anchovy flavor and strong cheese flavors.  Pretty darn good caesar salad.  

My wife loved her onion soup and her beet salad was decent.  Highlight of the appetizers was the onion soup and caesar.

Entrees:  3.5 out of 5 stars

I am a sucker for a bone in rib eye.  I ordered it last time and I ordered it again.  I ordered it medium rare last time ordered it the same way this time.  Came out perfect both times.  My concern during my last visit was never about the steak.  Fleming's can cook a great steak.  It came out perfectly salted and medium rare all the way to the bone, which can be hard to do, I have been to some places where it's medium rare on the outside but closer to the bone it's rare.  Not here, perfectly deep pink, perfectly seasoned and hot.  My wife ordered the filet off of the seasonal menu.  I have to be honest here, her filet did not stand up to the rib eye.  It was beautifully presented as you can see in the pictures, and the garnishes were great (prosciutto wrapped asparagus was excellent) but the filet seem to suffer a bit from over aging.  It had taken on a somewhat gamy flavor.  Some may like their filet aged this way, in our opinion it was a bit over.  It wasn't so far over that it was rancid, but it was close.  

We ordered the Fleming's potatoes as a side again and they were great.  Highly recommended.

The excellence of the ribeye and the sides tip this to the 3.5.

Desserts:  4 out of 5 stars

My wife ordered the blueberry tart and I ordered the carrot cake (from the recommendation of our server).  I am so glad I listened to our server.  The carrot cake is one of the best carrot cakes I have had EVER.  So moist and It has pineapples in it to give it a twist.  A thick layer of icing that isn't too sweet and a rum caramel.  Seriously wow, an awesome carrot cake.  Wow.  My wife, alas, her blueberry tart was a tad disappointing.  It was a weird combination of a chewy "cookie" on top of a short bread like cookie.  It was decent at best.  The incredible carrot cake tips the scales here.  Fleming's should recommend their carrot cake more often.  It is that good.

Service:  4+ out of 5 stars

This was the area that I felt like Fleming's really underachieved at in our last visit.  It was very different this time.  They took the time to understand how to pronounce my name, and our waiter was amazing.  Now I don't know if his name was Charles or George because the card in my bill had one name and the name at top of my check said another name, but this young man was excellent.  He would ask if we needed anything, give us all of our options and then quickly recede into the background.  He made sure all our needs were taken care of in a professional unobtrusive way.  There were no awkward pauses or anything like that.  Just efficient personable service.  Perfect.  My wife and I also appreciated the fact that he took the time to recommend to us his favorite dessert.  Its that personal touch that means a lot.  I have been to Fleming's several times and I would highly suggest to them that they encourage their wait staff to recommend menu items.  It makes the experience that much more memorable (especially when their recommendation is good, like that awesome carrot cake!).

Management:  4+ out of 5 stars

I am so amazed that Chrystal took the time out of her busy schedule to invite us to dinner personally; she also took time to come by the table and say hello.  Again a great interaction, she knows how to make guests feel at ease.

A great experience, we will be back again.  Thank you Fleming's.

Fantastic experience all around. Great wine list. Went with three friends. We all ordered steaks that were perfectly prepared. They were also very accomodating with food allergies once we brought it to their attention.  We had an awesome time.