06/20/09

one of my favorite places

by larisa

very nice place, it's classy and very comfortable . the steak is outstanding, lobster soup is incredible. always look forward to come back to this steakhouse.

• Pros: great service, nice decor, fabulous food

05/17/09

Have not found a better restaurant in Philly

by BobbyBee

I've been to a lot of places to eat in Philly, and a number of its steakhouses. Barclay is the best, period. Capital comes close, but does not equal it. The 24 oz porterhouse is the best deal on the menu. The Wague/Kobe is good, but in my opinion not worth the added price. Ask if they have any Kobe actually imported from Japan (that's not on the menu), that IS worth the price. Everything else, 5 stars across the board. My only beef (pun intended) with the place is that I can't afford to go there every week! I've been at least a half dozen times and every visit has been top notch.

• Pros: Porterhouse
• Cons: can't go there every week.

09/23/08

what a dissappointment

by PhillyCritic2008

oy vay - my father said don't bother, but I had to try it, especially since we had reservations at Table 31 rthe next week. Dad was right. (I just had a great time at Table 31 by the way.) So, I thought I shoud write this. First, I must say, the service was great. I was with a tried & true wine connoisseur & she said the wine list was boring & the usual (same as capital). I thought the cabernet was good. The the appetizers were boring and unfortunately tasteless - I wished they were good, I was paying good money for them. Then the steaks, boring too. And the steak knives....you couldn't cut your throat if you wanted to they were so dull. We split the porterhouse & it iasted like it must've been frozen, watery kind of. We left without getting dessert. We decided to walk it off & go out for some great gelato...somewhere else.

• Pros: nice couches, cool room, great service
• Cons: tasteless food

09/08/08

Everything is top notch.

by aggiemay

This is my anniversary dinner place, and I look forward to it every year. Yes, you will spend a lot of money here, but it is worth it.

The place is decorated beautifully, and there's not a bad seat in the whole dining room. I have always gone early on Saturday evenings before the dinner rush, but always make reservations anyway. It has none of the retro-kitsch-tongue in cheek-ness of the other Steven Starr's I have been to- it's just very, very good., and classy. Pricing on the steaks alone is reasonable compared to other steakhouses in the city, and the sides are standard (whipped potatoes, asparagus, spinach), but always delicious.

My boyfriend loves the shrimp cocktail- I have never seen shrimp so big! and the presentation of it is spectacular. I have tried the lobster cocktail- which was small, but flavorful. will switch to the crab cocktail next time.

The wine list is extensive, and we like that there is no snobby sommelier trying to upsell the bottles. If you want to enjoy a $20 bottle of wine with your $80 kobe steak- it's no problem-- this place will cater to you no matter what your tastes are. We have ordered a few reds in the $35-50 range and they are wonderful- wish I could remember what they were...

Since it's really a 'special-occasion' place for me, I always dress up, but there seems to be no dress code- a plus for some, I'm sure. There's always at least one guy in there that looks like he just finished mowing his lawn.

• Pros: Service, Steaks, Ambience, Romantic setting

06/30/08

Expensive steak house with great service

by sudeepbose

Good food....but great service...the appetizers were great...the kobe slider appetizers were phenomenal....the kobe steaks were good but very expensive...great service

• Pros: Great service
• Cons: Very expensive

06/17/08

great service, great steak

by goosemonkey

From the decor to the service to the melt in your mouth steaks and sauces, barclay is outstanding. why go to a chain when you can get great food here.

04/20/08

I was skeptical, but this place delivers in aces!!

by remy4378

Ate here last night with my girlfriend. The atmosphere was different from other traditional steak houses (capital grille, Morton's etc) We found the atmosphere inviting and the seating very comfortable and not as loud (music) as some of the other reviews suggest. We were 15 minutes early and were given the option by the hostess to be seated in the dining room or to relax in the lounge with a cocktail. Our waitress was attentive and prompt. Excellent wine by the glass selection (they even have a super tuscan and a bordeaux by the glass). We had the bacon wrapped scallops that rested on fried green tomatoes. This simple sounding starter was cooked to perfection with all ingredients exhibiting their optimal flavour and texture. We both had steak for our entrees. She had the Kobe filet and I had the Kobe strip. While my steak was excellent, her filet was simply one of the most succulent pieces of beef I have ever had. We had truffle whipped potatoes and asparagus as our sides. I highly recommend the potatoes as they have a generous pool of truffle oil with lots of truffle bits atop (if you like truffles, i need not say more). We were quite full but had a relaxed dessert over coffee. We had the deep dish cookie (comprised of chocolate chunk, sugar and oatmeal raisin) with home made vanilla ice cream on top. This was accompanied with a rich chocolate sauce. While we were craving a spoon or two of something sweet, we were unable to exhibit restraint. We took a bit of time, but our waitress was acomodating and did not bring the cheque unit I asked for it after a couple refills of coffee. The cheque was steep but fitting for a dining experience that delivered on multiple levels. The only minor gripe I have with this restaurant is that the dining room is very open (I personally would not chose this as a venue for a romantic celebration) Other than that, I highly recommend this restaurant.

• Pros: High quality food and service
• Cons: Very large single dining room is not intimate

04/09/08

Nothing Special

by cssino

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.

03/18/08

Odd

by citysearcher47

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.

02/27/08

Service was terrible

by griffin1996

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.

• Cons: loud, dark , poor service