First, I love Prime 16. The franchise in New Haven is great and I've never been disappointed. The food is good and the staff know what they're doing.
You can imagine my disappointment with the newly opened Prime 16 in Orange. It was closer to home and the parking is free, but the new place hardly lives up to the name.
I called ahead and left my name, which the hostess informed me that my table would be waiting in 30 minutes. Great! Except when I arrive, I'm told my wait time is only cut in half. Okay, maybe I just didn't know their policy. I wait the estimated 30 minutes (again!) and then I'm told it's going to be another 20. I wait the 20, but then I approach the hostess again, who informs me that it could be up to another 45 minutes.
I speak to the manager who tells me that "he's doing the best he can", while other people are walking up and complaining more vehemently because they've been waiting even longer than I was. The whole time, a table was reserved for 18 people and sat empty for the entire time I was there. The staff and manager! got very hostile and said that he couldn't do anything and didn't care that people were upset.
As you can guess, we and a large group of people left after his outburst, disgusted with his arrogance and lack of responsibility. It was shameful that a new restaurant was already treating its customers with such little regard. Five guys ended up providing a far better meal.
Being in the restaurant business, I understand that things happen and that hosts have a very difficult job during a weekend dinner rush. But my experience led me to believe that this was not only incompetence, but arrogance by the staff and its management.
Avoid this place. Go to the New Haven one instead. If not, Plan B or Five Guys is right down the road.
My husband and I went in last week and had a great meal and time. Â We went in the day after the 4th of July holiday so people were still out celebrating the holiday and there was no wait at the restaurant. Â We sat at the bar and had drinks and dinner. Â My husband had a chicken wrap with sweet potato fries that we (I) enjoyed. Â I had the farmer's salad without the goat cheese and it was delicious. Â My reason for the 5 stars is this: Â As a vegan, I usually don't enjoy beer and burger places, so I'm amazed when I find something to eat - AND it's amazing. Â The muchrooms, red peppers, and pecans on the salad were great. Â
As I said, we don't go to this type of a place often because of limited to no options for me to eat, but we managed to have a great meal and a good time chatting with the bartenders and other customers seated at the bar. Â The bar is beautiful, and has a "local watering hole" feel - the type of place you'd want to go at the end of the day and catch up with friends. Â For drinks, I had a cider and my husband tried a few beers. Â Everything was great. Â For my husband, who is a beer and burgers type of guy, he's glad we have a place to go where we can both get what we want and have a good time.
I've already written a review on the New Haven location, so I don't go into too much detail. It's the exact same menu.
Consistency not quite up to par yet the last few times I've been there. Service has been fine, I honestly never thought it was superb in New Haven either. It's a beer and burger place, so I don't expect to be treated like royalty.
Much bigger than the New haven location.
A great new spot in Orange nonetheless, and more or less the best burger option in the area.
The staff that we had was all amazing here. We had a chance to meet the manager too, he was very professional. We were a bit early (close to 6p) so there was no wait. The burgers and salads were awesome! Truffle Fires...mmmmm. Every new place has new servers people, you complainers must never have waited tables in your life.
Review Source:All around disappointing lunch experience..
Service - Our waiter looked as if he never waited a table in his life before. The place was not busy at all and we could see him standing around several times doing nothing when we had empty drinks or needed something for the table. We also had to ask for water 3 separate times after we sat and got it about 20 minutes into being there. He also knew nothing about beer, at all. Like Bud Light lime was the most exotic beer he's tried. Educate your staff if you're gonna be this kind of a place.
Beer - Tap list was decent but beers were overpriced. The one the wife and I ordered was served in the wrong (and smaller) glass. Hop Head Red is a standard IPA (not imperial) and should be served in a pint glass, not in a smaller chalice for $7.
Burgers - My friend's burger was so totally raw (ordered medium) he had to send it back and it took over 15 minutes for his new burger to come out and we were all done eating by then. The manager did come over and comp his burger so that was a nice gesture. However, the burger's were terrible. Thin, unseasoned, and on bland low grade UNTOASTED buns. I'd take most fast food burger over these, especially for the prices.
I also asked for some hot sauce and they brought a side of Sriracha. When the bill came they had charged me 50 cents for the hot sauce!! That was a first.
They are still new so maybe in a few months I'll try again. In the meantime, I'll be going to Plan B.
As a burger fanatic, I've been excited to try Prime 16 for a long time, and now that one was opening fairly close to me, I was really happy. Â Unfortunately, it fell far short of any expectations that I had, and I'm not sure that being a new restaurant is enough of an excuse at this point.
Service: Â Subpar. Â We were seated promptly, our server was helpful, attentive, and down to earth. Â Unfortunately, she was too down to earth. Â She was trying too hard to make it seem like she was hooking us up, instead of actually promoting the restaurant and its food. Â She did help us with some great beer samples to make our selection, but then she said something I couldn't believe. Â My sister ordered the lamb burger, and the server said, "We've had a lot of complaints about that burger. Â I don't want you ordering that." Â I'm not even kidding, she actually said "I don't want you ordering that." Â My sister handled it wonderfully, smiled, and said that she liked lamb and it was okay, but the server kept trying to say that she wouldn't like it and should order something else. Â The service would have been pretty good otherwise, but you just can't come back from that, not to me, anyway. Â And for the record, when the server finally accepted that she could make her own decision, my sister enjoyed her burger.
Decor: Â Usually not something I rate by, but it's pretty boring and bland in there. Â
Food: Â Fried pickles were decent, although not exciting. Â My burger was overcooked (ordered medium rare came back between medium and medium well) and underseasoned. Â Plus, the burger is pretty thin, I was surprised by that. Â Bacon was nowhere near crispy. Â Cajun fries were okay, maybe a little overseasoned, but they tasted kind of stale pretty fast, which makes me think they were sitting out before I got them. Â
I honestly don't get the hype. Â I really tried to like it because I love burgers and having a new burger place to go to would be fantastic, but this is definitely not the place.
Like others here I too can see the potential here but since they just opened they have a lot of kinks to work out. Our waitress and a few runners/other waitresses were obviously uneducated on the menu, i know there is a lot to learn in a few short weeks/days when opening but some of them just blatantly had no general knowledge of food or dining. My burger was slightly overcooked and lacking in the usual amount of toppings I get at the fabulous New Haven location, I usually order the NY steakhouse burger and it had maybe 2 small pieces of spinach on it i had to search for. We were told it would be a 25 minute wait and it ended up being probably about 45 minutes. The bartenders there were all very nice, as was the rest of the staff, but the bartenders were also very knowledgable on what they were pouring and able to make great recommendations for us on what to drink. I can see this place having great potential and I did enjoy myself overall, but I think i'll wait a few more weeks once the kinks have been worked out.
Review Source:5 stars for Orange...and I haven't updated my New Haven Prime review since 2010...I've been countless times to that location since then. I should get on that.
I've been to Prime Orange three times since it opened. Once on a Monday, once on a Thursday and once on a Friday. ALL at prime times. First off, the bar area is the size of the entire New Haven location. So, people who have been complaining about a wait....why don't you head to that one instead? Then talk to me about a wait. That is based on talking to some patrons who had never been to the New Haven and have never seen how small it is...because they didn't want to "drive into New Haven." Get over it people...I can tell you at least three lots downtown that are free, not to mention it's a straight shoot off the highway. If I felt like sharing. Anyways, I digress. Second, they have been open less than a month. Almost ALL new restaurants have growing pains. Give it a few tries before judging.
The Thursday and Friday I was there, we were told a 25 minute wait....but were very sweetly given bar seats once patrons were done. If you order a drink (all the bartenders are great and come from various different well known local restaurants--ie. Carmen Anthony's, Wood N Tap, etc) and hang out, you shouldn't have a problem getting a seat. Â By the time 845 rolled around there was NO wait at all. Monday, it was no problem at all.
Decor: same as the original Prime. Dim, but comfy and not stuffy at all. GREAT beer selection (if I could drink it, sigh) with 30 taps and a lot of local beers. Kudos to them being able to make some drinks (ahem, Moscow Mule) that other places can't.
Food: Just what you would expect from Prime. I've had the half bacon/half beef burger, the bison, and split a cowboy. SO GOOD. They cook it exactly how you ask (in my case, rare, go ahead and judge me, see if I care!). Upcharge for specialty fries--but go for it and get the parmesan truffle fries. They are like crack. Fried pickles are delish, wings are delish, french dip (turn that menu over if you are new, there are two sides!)....you really can't go wrong. Can you tell I'm a fan of Prime?
Nothing has lasted in this spot since Jacob Marley's (RIP, I loved that place...and I'm dating myself!) but I think this place will finally make it. Give it a try.
I am a big fan of Prime 16 in New Haven, so what I saw one in Orange I was very happy to see.
Being newly open, my family and 1 ( 4 adults) came here on a Friday night. The hostess said it would be a 35 minute wait, which ended up being closer to a hour.
That being said, the bar area is MUCH bigger then N.H. and also a much bigger place to sit and eat at the tables in both restaurant and bar.
Our waiter was very friendly and answered the questions we had about the menu.
The food came out within a reasonable amount of time. The food is just as good as the one in New Haven. We all ordered specialty burgers and beers. We shared the Roasted Artichoke Dip, very tasty!
I will go back, and update see if the wait time have improved, and not so crowded.
Plus- free parking :)
Wanted to try a good burger place and a friend told me all about Prime 16 and how good they were in New Haven. Â So a friend and I decided to try out the one in Orange. Â So we called ahead and told us that we could leave our name and that we could come in 30 mins. Â When we got to the restaurant, the girls in the front told us that it would be another 25 min wait. Â So we waited the 25 mins, then spoke with one of the girls again who then told us it would be another 20-30 min wait. Â All the while, there were 4 empty tables of 4 in the back that was being held for a group for well over an hour. Â We spoke with the manager John and he told us that he would look into what was going on. Â 15 mins later he came back and didn't even speak to us. Â So I approached John and asked him what was going on and that I was extremely unhappy with the poor service. Â With his thumb pointing towards the door, he said, "Well you don't have to wait if you don't want to." Â Can you believe this "manager" John? Â I'll be calling the owner and voicing my displeasure.
Review Source:I went here twice within a week for the beer selection. Â The beer selection was very good, 30 craft beers on tap. Â The first time I came here, the salmon burger was pretty dry and not too good. Â The beer brat hot dog was pretty good, but I could get a good hot dog for much cheaper elsewhere. Â The second time I went here my girlfriend and I ordered medium burgers. Â Hers came out correct, but mine came well done. Â Neither of our burgers came with the side of sauce they were supposed to. Â My burger was supposed to be stuffed with mushrooms and shallots, but it seemed to not be the case. Â Beer was good, but my girlfriend had to wait a while for her second beer. Â She ordered a 3.9% Irish dry stout from Victory, but was served in a smaller than pint glass (maybe 12oz). Â Those glasses are usually used for stronger than average beers, not weaker. Â Overall, I would say this was a disappointment, and that I will not be coming back here. For what you get it was pretty pricey. Â I would be willing to give it another try after they have gotten there shit together, but until then I will be at Plan B or a similar "gourmet" burger place that can actually make your burger correctly.
Review Source:So this was the 2nd day that they were serving lunch and it was phenomenal!! I had a Cobb Salad with a rare cheddar burger atop! It was the best burger! Service was top notch! Our waitperson was Jason and he could not have been more professional and personal. He also brought Joya to the table, also a waitperson, and we had a nice convo! Owner is a classy guy who wants to please! I highly recommend Prime 16 in Orange. My buddy had a flight of craft beers. We had a great time. Gonna test it out again with my family. I think my kids will love it too!
Review Source:Love that New Haven places are moving to areas that don't require paid parking!
I think the reasons they lost 2 starts is probably due to still working the kinks out of a brand new restaurant, although, the owner is more than experienced enough to be able to have a smooth opening, don't you think? Â He owns Prime 16 in NH, the Meatball House AND a Mexican restaurant so I was expecting close to flawless.
I'll re-evalutae after future visits.
Sweet potatoe fries were cold and being that they have an upcharge of $1.95, this is unacceptable. Â Also the Maui burger we ordered came with just a slice of pineapple....nothing else even though the menu described it as having cheese and bacon. Â So we needed to return that. Â Food took a very long time considering the place was empty. Â
Dina, our server, was wonderful. Â She kept apologizing for the wait and the mixed up order. Â She was attentive but not annoying.
Overall, I would go back to see if they could get it right the second time. Â I had a chicken wrap that was loaded and plentiful and very tasty. Â The regular fries were delicious and a huge amount which was a pleasant surprise!!!! ...Totally blows away the amount you get at Plan B!
They kids had burgers and said they were delicious and they loved the cajun fries.
Nice portions for the money. Â Give it a try!
They are new, so they need to get their act together. We'll probably give them a chance again down the road. My tea tasted like coffee, I asked if they ran the water through the coffee spout and the waitress said yes, she promised to report it to the manager. My husbands rare burger was well done. They took it away and in within 30 seconds the manager brought a new one, which was done perfectly. I asked if the crab cake had much breading in it, she said no, but when I got it, it did have quite a bit of filler and was basically tasteless. My salad was drowned in dressing, rendering it unedible.. I guess if you go to this restaurant you should order a burger. On a good note our waitress was friendly, pkeasant and attentive. II'd rather email the restaurant than talk trash about them, but their website has no contact us feature.
Review Source:This place just opened, and I think they're still learning how to run themselves. I was in a large party and we were told the wait would be about 45 minutes. An hour and a half later we still hadn't been seated, and when we asked the hostess, she said she had no idea when our table would be ready.
The food was good, and I enjoyed my burger quite a bit, although we all ordered our burgers medium, and they fluctuated from rare to well done. I might try this place again down the road when they know what they're doing.
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