Barclay Prime

Doesn't Recommend

cssino

Joined 6 years ago

Nothing Special. I've been here twice now and wasn't impressed. The decor isn't anything special, the service isn't great, and the food is o.k. yet they charge such high prices. It wasn't the worst experience ever, but i definitely won't go back.

Doesn't Recommend

citysearcher47

Joined 5 years ago

Odd. Barclay Prime can best be described as overrated. I have had a much better meal at a 1/4 of the price. Service was terrible. I have never been to a restaurant where the hostess felt it was a good idea to come to your table and flirt with your date. She came up to our table interrupting our meal, completely ignored me, even had her back facing me the whole time and flirted with my date. I was waiting for her to give him her phone number. It was pretty embarrassing and strange experience.

Doesn't Recommend

griffin1996

Joined 5 years ago

Service was terrible. My husband took me for dinner on saturday night for my birthday. The service was terrible our appetizers arrived before our cocktails did. Our food was good although everything was room temperature nothing was hot. I suspect our dinner sat waiting for our server.

The restaurant is very loud and we used our candle to read the menu.

I would not recommend this restaurant.

Recommends

flawedxfantasy

Joined 5 years ago

A+. I went here for Valentine's Day and everything was perfect.. form the steaks to the waitor I couldn't have asked for a better experience and the food was delicious. We also received a complimentary treat as we left. Thoughtful!

Recommends

bafoolamagotz

Joined 6 years ago

best steakhouse and wonderfull service. Last weekend, my wife and I journeyed to Rittenhouse square to dine at Barclay Prime. I consider myself to be a kobe connoisseur and self proclaimed "foodie". We were very excited to dine at this particular restuarant because of a bone in kobe steak (which is unheard of in the U.S). The cut of meat was was a 36 ounce Tajima porterhouse offered at $245. Me and my wife split some wonderfull appetizers and salads. Then we embarked upon this porterhouse as well a butter poached lobster. The porterhouse was so tender and buttery, we were in steak heaven. To top it all off the service was stellar, our server was the best I've ever encountered , so knowledgeable and funny. I've dined at steakhouses all over the country (wolfgangs place, craft steaks, peter lugers, charlie trotters joint) and none of them were comparible to the all around service and food at Barclay Prime. Great job folks!

Recommends

malin1

Joined 6 years ago

barclay past its prime. seems there's only one group in filthadelphia who know how to run a restaurant. i've eaten at striped bass, alma de cuba and now barclay prime in the last couple of months. they were all fair.

i found it funny that i called less than an hour before i wanted to get a table of a friday night and got in without a problem. we surely weren't in manhattan. the receptionist asked me if we'd be celebrating anything this evening. i said yes, we were celebrating my girlfriend's leaving the city alive after living there for a year. she said, 'oh, celebrating your leaving the city at the best restaurant in the country'. puh-lease.

was given a table shoved over in a corner even though the room was half empty. waited a bit too long for any service, but the waiter was efficient enough. ordered 1/2 dozed oysters, 3 from the west coast and 3 from the east. they were fair. we split a 16 oz. austrailian kobe filet that was a special on the menu for $145. it was good and well prepared although too salty. the whipped potatoes were also too salty. the aparagus was forgettable. the desserts were ok. i had a vanilla cheesecake with a strawberry compote and my girlfriend had a banana cream thing that she enjoyed. bill was $283 with tip.

if you like kobe beef then it's a good choice for a decent meal.

Doesn't Recommend

carnivalrex

Joined 6 years ago

I was bored by all the pomp.. This place is for rich folks who prefer to squander money on an 'experience' rather than getting a meal worthy of its pricetag. If it weren't, they wouldn't offer a $100 cheesesteak (gimme a break). The dining room is lovely, with a modern library feel to it that's actually a really neat vibe. Everything is done all fancy (and pretentious to the n'th degree). Everything is overpriced. You can end up paying $85 for a steak alone, not counting what you'll pay for sides, salad, appetizers, wine. Once you've ordered your steak, the waiter will come around with a plate of different kinds of knives and ask you to select which one you'd like for your steak. This is laying on the BS REALLY thick, now. I told the waiter I'd be satisfied with any one that cuts meat. The steak itself was decent, but I always prefer a juicy steak to the dry aged cuts they brag about. I found this to be an extravagant experience for an average meal at an outrageously inflated price. You're paying to be able to select your knife and feel important, if you're into that sort of thing.

Recommends

kdandrea

Joined 7 years ago

Good stuff.. My wife and I made this our 2nd stop on an ongoing steakhouse tour. We both loved it. She had the filet and I had the 20 oz ribeye. Both were absolutely delicious. The truffled potatoes were as advertised in many other reviews I have read. Excellent. We had the crab cake as an appetizer, the only thing I would say about it is that there is tons of crab, but it could have been maybe a little more moist. The banana cream desert was awesome as well. The service was great, we loved the decor. The only thing is maybe the seating against the walls can put you a little close to another party.

I've seen the bar described as cozy. Not sure if that is the word I would use, but the drinks were good.

It is expensive, but if you have any history with these type of steakhouses, you should expect that going in.

One cool thing is that they allow you to pick your knife from a selection before your steak arrives. I took the German model carved from a single piece of carbide steel.

We will definitely be back.

Recommends

mscheirey

Joined 8 years ago

Fantastic food, ambience, and service. Shocked to actually see a negative review on here. With all of the amazing restaurants in Philly (and there are numerous), Barclay Prime stands out as one of the best. Not stuffy like your run of the mill Capital Grilles, RC's or any other overpriced steakhouse....great retro design and comfortable plush couches...

I recently had a friend bring me back her leftover kobe steak, freeze it for me, then I heated it up a week later, and it was still one of the best steaks I've ever head.

A must eat at place in Philly.

By the way, the 100 cheesesteak actually comes with a nice bottle of champagne if i'm not mistaken.

Doesn't Recommend

idaniele

Joined 7 years ago

The Emperor's New Clothes. "Just because everyone else believes something is true, doesn't mean it is."

I made the unfortunately decision to take a friend of mine to dinner at this Stephen Starr location. Being a resident of San Francisco, I consider my City the birth place of all of Stephen's restaurant ideas. Trust me when I say this man is not original but merely the Marco Polo of delivering hip cuisine & restaurant design to Philadelphia. There is nothing original about this restaurant except for the fact that it is unique in its hideousness. For those of you willing to pay the outrageous prices for inferior cuts of meat, I implore to save your money and donate your money to your favorite political party. It enrages me that my fellow Philadelphia friends and family pay homage to this tourist trap of a restaurant. (Would you respect a restaurant that advertises a cheese steak for $100.00?) This is something you would see advertised at a restaurant in Las Vegas. Make no mistake, this is restaurant is an insult to those chef's that devote their careers to preparing fine cuts of meat. I made a fool of myself taking a friends here and I hope you do not make the same mistake. Avoid being duped by the positive reviews, trust this critique and visit another "steak house."

Sincerely,

A friend