More like 4 1/2 stars not a true 5 but I like to round up as most people round down for no reason.
Stopped here for drinks on our first night in Lenox. The service at the bar was so good that we decided to come here for dinner on the second night.
Let me say as growing up in an Italian household, I know good Italian food. This food is great! The red sauce is fantastic.
We started off with the meatballs and sausage and the calamari appetizers, both were very good.
My wife had the lobster ravioli which was okay, not great but not bad.
I had half plates of gnocchi and bolognese and both were fantastic.
Our server Josh was a true professional and answered every question and made great suggestions.
We were in Lenox off-season so this place was pretty quiet. The style in here is red leather and dim lighting - it feels a bit like an old school lounge and you'd expect to hear Frank Sinatra coming out of the speakers. It definitely seemed like the kind of place to attract an older crowd, but I think Lenox is like that in general. Â We had a nice, private booth though it was pretty quiet in there and we really didn't need the privacy. Â We picked this place because a) options were limited and b) my husband thought a good steak would be nice. Â
As it turned out, we opted for the Italian part of the menu as opposed to the steak part. We started with 'Chaci's Calamari" which was quite good but there was maybe too much lemon and garlic sauce drizzled on it, which made the fried calamari a little soggy but it was still quite good.
My husband had the Gnocchi Bolognese, thanks to the recommendation by our waitress. I think the gnocchi is traditionally served in a sauce without meat, but since he was torn between a steak or the gnocchi she suggested he might like to try it with the bolognese sauce. Good thinking on her part - he was very happy with the outcome. I tried some and I was pleasantly surprised. I always think I don't like gnocchi but then when he orders it somewhere and it's really, really, good I realize, it's not that I don't like gnocchi, it's that I don't like bad gnocchi. This was really light and fluffy and melted in your mouth.
I had the Shrimp Capri which was in a very light garlic and oil sauce and included tomatoes and broccoli and was served over whole wheat pasta. It was on the safe/healthy side, but that's what I was in the mood for. Ok truth be told, I was really in the mood for the eggplant rollatini, stuffed with and then topped with gooey cheese, but I exercised some self control.  My meal was good but I'm sure it's not one of their stand-out dishes and maybe not something I'd recommend - only because I know other things  are better. Who would choose whole wheat pasta out of a box when you can have homemade gnocci instead? A fool like me, that's who. Â
Our waitress was really terrific. Â She was great about making recommendations, for food and wine (note: she did not recommend the Shrimp Capri. I did that all by myself). If back in Lenox, we'd definitely come back here, and I will maybe try steak next time.
This review is based on a few things... #1 we where there on the off season, #2 we ate dinner at 5:30pm (yeah, don't judge me, we where hungry) #3 they where open.
Overall great experience! We where sat right away, i mean there was only 2 other tables but you never know.
The bread they serve was delicious - warm and very tasty sour dough i think. Loved it.
Appetizer - we ordered the meatball and sausage. It was great as well! The sauce was particularly good.
Entrees - I had the chicken milanese and my other half had the filet mignon. Rave reviews from both of us. We both had the mashed potatoes and veggies on the side.
Overall - great experience.
Downside - they are not open on sundays and we wanted to go back again the next night.
Girls' weekend in the Berkshires and we all chose this place because it's opened late. I had the best, hand-rolled gnocci I've ever had at this place. Pillow-y soft and light in a light delicious tomato sauce. Decent potable house wine -- and we're all fairly seasoned winos at the table -- for $6. $6! Â Everyone oohed and ahhed over their pasta dishes. The smoking hot waiter was knowledgeable (he should be as he's the chef owner's son and makes some of the dishes himself) AND he even had a great tip for getting ink stains out of white clothes, which he credited to his mother. Fab service. Great food. Decent prices. Looked like a neighborhood favorite as the place was packed.
Review Source:We stopped in for an early dinner with friends and were seated immediately. To my tastes the decor looks like they're trying too hard to look like a club, but it's totally fine and does not detract from the dining experience.
Service was very good throughout the meal.
Our main courses were all terrific. The spicy sausage a la Gennar (sausage and peppers with sun dried tomatoes over pasta) was excellent ($23). Two of us had the fish of the day which was fresh, tasty and very well prepared ($29). The fish was flaky and not overly seasoned. Our other dish was Pollo a la Nonna ($19), a farmer style dish of chicken on the bone served with roasted potatoes, carrots and tomatoes. Again, a delicious dish. Crispy skin on the chicken and the simple veggies and great. We all were very pleased with our main dishes.
The downside was that the appetizers and deserts are not nearly up to the high standards set by their main courses. The fried calamari ($11) was tender, but the breading had no flavor to it and the whole dish tasted flat, similar to average pizza place calamari. The "jumbo" (heavy quotes) lump crab cakes ($14) were flat out terrible. Very little lump crab meat, and they were about as thin as crab cakes get. They also were slightly overcooked and rather tasteless.
Desserts were nothing exceptional. The pineapple upside down cake ($8) was average as was the cannoli ($6).
Drinks were very fairly priced for a nice restaurant. Â Campari/Orange ($6) and draft craft-brews were also $6.
To sum up...if we went in for main courses only, which we'll do next time because the food was really excellent, this would easily rate 4 stars; however the really poor appetizers and average deserts drag down the overall experience.
UPDATE IN RESPONSE TO MANAGER'S COMMENT:
The fact of the matter here is not the economy, nor how other customers have tipped waitresses at Prime over the summer. The fact of the matter is that the service we received from the start of our meal was poor, and that we were berated by the manager, who showed no iota of sensitivity or graciousness. Gerry, you and I both know exactly what happened. I did not yell obscenities, nor did I verbally assault anyone. We were aware of the tip situation, but you had to insert yourself in the situation and blow it out of proportion. After your explosion, we were no longer able to deal with it quietly, without humiliating our guest. Additionally, it seems like you need to look up the definition of gratuity. In this country, it's optional, and is a reward for good service (being ignored for twenty minutes is not good service). If you had let me speak to you on Saturday night, without getting so irate instantly, I would have been able to explain that after many years of waitressing, I have been in the same situation, and have learned the hard way that asking a table if service is okay is not a method of quality control, but will only be interpreted by customers that one is fishing for a higher tip. It is unprofessional and low class, traits you demonstrated many times over on Saturday evening.
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Disclaimer: I don't expect a lot from Berkshire restaurants. They tend to be overpriced, have poor service, and subpar food. That said, with my low expectations, you'll really be shocked by how upsetting my experience at Prime was:
To start off, it took about twenty minutes for a waitress to come to our table. She came by once, but was distracted mid sentence by another table. It took about ten minutes until she came back. Even then, we were fine--we weren't in a rush, just out to enjoy a fun dinner before a Tanglewood concert.
When the food came, I was less than impressed. We had the Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes for an appetizer. There wasn't a lump of crab to be found, nor were the two cakes that arrived jumbo (they were about an inch and a half in diameter and a half inch thick)I ordered the Pasta Bolognese. The sauce was bland, the meat was over cooked, and the noodles were slimy. Even then, I wasn't bothered by the poor quality of food. I was just out to enjoy the evening.
The company at my table was great. I was out with my partner and a guest, who we were hosting for the week. He's a conductor, from China, and was checking out Tanglewood. He's new to the country, and we were happy to be ambassadors to the region. To thank us, he wanted to take us out for dinner. Going to a place as expensive as Prime was obviously a generous move on his part. When the bill arrived, he paid, and tipped the waitress. The tip was not great, but understanding that he is new to this country, he was not aware of local tipping customs. I noticed the tip amount, and decided to slip the waitress a few extra dollars on the way out.
The waitress picked up the bill, and came back to our table a few minutes later, asking if the service was okay. Now, I've worked in the restaurant industry, and it's incredibly rude to insinuate that a tip isn't high enough this way. I told her the service was just fine. Not more than a minute later, I noticed a very angry looking man with the check in hand storming in the direction of our table. I quickly jumped up, and beckoned for him to follow me. I was already embarrassed by the waitress, and absolutely did not want to cause our guest any type of humiliation after he had treated us to this meal. I met the man in the back of the restaurant, and tried to explain to him the situation. He would not hear me out, and instead got in my face, told me that he was the owner, and that he has a responsibility to make sure his servers make enough money. When I told him a little "cultural sensitivity could be useful in this situation, and that I was planning on tipping an additional amount of my way off" the owner dismissed me and told me that he was going to go have a talk with the person who paid at my table. He rushed back over to the table, threw the check in our friend's face, and told him that "in this country it is customary to tip between 15% and 20%." Our poor guest barely understood--he hardly speaks English, and he had thought he was doing something nice.
At this point, I was mortified. I was in disbelief that a restaurant owner could treat a customer with such disrespect. We had just spent $150 in his restaurant. The owner told us that we were no longer welcome, which wasn't any problem--we will never be back.
Ok, let's be honest with each other. Â The choices in The Berkshires for dining are limited these days. Â Don't get me wrong. Â I love it here, but the best meals these days seem to be at home. Â With that said, Prime is an interesting choice within a limited pool of options. Â It looks slicker than it is. Â The food appears better than it is. Â If the glass were frosted, the crowd would appear prettier than it is. Â
Prime is an atypical option on a Berkshire continuum of countrified, inn-like restaurants at one end and chains on the other. Â Order wisely, and you could have a good time there.
We huddled in here after a torrential downpour  forced us to run from Tanglewood in search of celebratory libations, and Prime earned its stripes by its billing as the "only place open after a concert."
Inside, Prime's decor is a bit club-y with a slick glass bartop and neon lights around the shelves. We ponied up and ordered desserts and cocktails. Their molten chocolate cake was tasty and our drinks were well-mixed. Â The bar service was friendly and attentive, which is always a plus when after midnight.
A-OK, indeed.
What can be said about Prime? It's a family-owned restaurant, the father passed off the reigns to his son a year or 2 ago.
The food is pretty good, but I come here most for the atmosphere. The staff have always been welcoming, and the decor is pretty darn cool. There are several glass dividers on the bar side, and you can transform them from clear to opaque and back again at the touch of a button. Similarly, there are large booths located in the center of the restaurant and they are surrounded by the same glass. So you can see and be seen, or screen yourself from prying eyes, if you so choose.
They have a patio for outdoor dining when the weather is nice. They also have a bar menu with some cheaper food, but it's only served certain hours...and I can't recall which ones! I'll update with those.
It's a great place for private parties or groups (as long as you make a reservation).
In my experience, they mix a great Manhattan here. And I have to mention the staff again - fabulous!
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