La Prime

Doesn't Recommend

lovedowntownla

Joined 3 years ago

WORST STEAK IN TOWN. First, there are only two entree's you can order the filet or the fish. Went with my Fiance' and his parents to this restaurant on Valentine's since they were visiting from out of town... we had to send our steak back because they were all sent to us WELL DONE. We all ordered - Medium, Medium rare, Medium well- ALL well done- burned...could barely cut mine with my knife- they were $48 each! The second time around- AGAIN well done! It took them over 40 minutes to serve us the first time and another 40 minutes to receive our second over-cooked steaks. We were so hungry we ate what we could anyway and vowed to tell everyone how horrible this place was... We were also told after we had to reorder that the our bill was on house which lifted our spirits, but we received our bill and they had only comp'ed us a bottle of wine (one person at our table was drinking) and deserts (his mother is a diabetic) These are things we didn't order and really didn't make up for the fact that their MAIN dish they don't know how to cook. The manager was dismissive and passive about the problem. We had to ask for water and silverware repeatedly... The pop music blearing made this place almost unbearable. The only redeeming thing was the view which you could go to the roof of any place downtown to see. A HUGE WASTE OF MONEY. DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT; there are a million fabulous places in LA and in Downtown LA this is NOT one of them.

Recommends

psboston7

Joined 11 years ago

Come for the View and the Ambiance. Our Food Server was Mark and we went the first weekend in December 09 on a Saturday evening. He was extremely attentive and the ambiance of this place is what does it for most. We actually just had a light dinner that evening Thomas Jefferson had the Butternut Squash soup with Creme Fraiche and I had the Pistachio Salad topped with an Airline Chicken Breast (i had them modify my selection) we were both pleased with our entrees but then again we didn't order anything to complicated. Also keep in mind this is FINE DINING... meaning your meal will not be rushed in service or in the meal itself.

The bread was good and so was the tapenade they served it with. We didn't have reservations but they treated us kindly still :) So if you want to impress a date call ahead make reservations ask for a booth (they are not near the windows though) come with the idea of spending at least $100.00 per person but KNOW your menu do some research on line see what some of the entrees are.

Respectfully Reviewed

Doesn't Recommend

JonSol

Joined 4 years ago

Don't know how to cook a steak. I ordered a $50 Filet Mignon, medium rare...and it came back burnt. TWICE! After the 2nd time, I asked for the manager AND Chef to come out, so I can explain to them how to cook a steak. When you order a medium rare Filet Mignon, it should be PINK on the inside, and NOT BURNT all around.

I've NEVER done that before, but if I'm paying THAT much for a steak, I better be getting what I ordered. What a HORRIBLE restaurant!

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fluteplyr011

Joined 4 years ago

Inconsistent Quality. The first time I dined here was for DineLA. The food was so good! I wanted to take a tub of the lobster bisque to go! The service was good and if there's a chance, try to get a table on the revolving floor, it's pretty neat. The second time I dined here was for my birthday, the steak I got was over cooked and smelled/tasted like the meat had gone bad. They remade my steak, but the same thing happened. My friend had gotten the fish and she turned white as a sheet and had to empty the contents of her stomach (which was just the fish, lobster bisque and beer), after which, she was fine. It was a little scary to witness that and it's a little pricey to be making a gamble on whether the food is good or not that day, so, I am most likely not returning.

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Rakala

Joined 5 years ago

Wonderful View. I am a LA native and this is a great place to see the city scape, especially at night. What most people do not know is that you can order the drink without the suveniour glass and the price will be dropped down, pretty significantly on most. ;) I found this out quite by surprise because I didn't want some glass when I live here anyway but still wanted the drink. Hope that helps a lot of you!!

Doesn't Recommend

bev1

Joined 5 years ago

meh.... So after hearing quite a bit about LA prime, we thought we would give it a try...and I can't say I'd go back. Now in terms of ambiance and the view, the place is really romantic and cozy, but I found the food less than impressive. I had the filet with sauteed shrimp....and was served a golf ball sized piece of fillet with 3 shrimp on the side...for $49.00. Mind you, that's with nothing else. All sides are extra. The flavor of the meat was good but a bit overcooked and the shrimp were tough and bland. My husbands steak was chewy and also overcooked. If you can live wthout the view, you're better off at Ruth's Chris.

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stephll

Joined 5 years ago

Please re-decorate!. So we decided to try out L.A. Prime for the first time last week since we've heard rave reviews about the food. The food, yes, was exceptionally incredible. The lobster bisque was fantastic. Their take on caprese was to-die-for. I usually don't go for caprese, but the yellow beefsteak tomatoes were fabulous and the balsamic reduction they create is incredible. So I was happily surprised. The food was great. The atmosphere, however, was quite horrible. They placed us in a small booth for couples, which seemed romantic at first, but ended up driving us crazy. The decor is like a 1980s flashback and the whole booth is covered in diamond print that was making us dizzy the whole time we were there. Atmosphere is really important in a restaurant, and the fact that they haven't put in the time or effort to redecorate the place since the 80s is a little disturbing. Eat there, just don't sit in a booth.

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nextascy

Joined 6 years ago

Why this isn't on Best of Citysearch top 10 Steak places confuses me?. I usually don't do review but seeing some of the people complain about cost of the place, I decided I would help outt

You're dining at a nice hotel up on the top floor in the heart of downtown LA, what do you expect? It is no secret that this is an expensive restraurants, so don't criticize base on price, as so many do with other places like Maestro, Ruth Cris, Morton, etc. If you can't afford it, go to Claim Jumpers or Sizzler, and you'll probably get a better deal for your dollar.

I have dine at alot of steakhouses all over the US, including more than half of the Top 10 on Best of Citysearch, and how any of those receive the ratings they do, beats the hell out of me. I have to say the steak at LA Prime has to be the softest, most buttery tasting steak in all of the US. Only thing I had better are Kobe Steak, but that's not in the same catagory.

Also, the creme bulee are the best and most creamy bulee I've tasted so far.

Appetizers are not worth it and you're better off just skipping that. The variety of bread you get to start and the olive spread are excellent. Ask for the raisin bread if you have the time to wait for it to be made.

If you're not light in your wallet, this is well worth the experience.

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dms365

Joined 6 years ago

Great views, Amazing Filet, Shotty Management. We went to LA Prime on the evening of the 4th of July to watch the fireworks. We were promptly seated and ordered drinks. Then we noticed a piece of meat on the ground...just hanging out! We told our server and she removed it - gross. The silverware was spotty...not really upscale if you ask me. However, the food was delicious! The soup, salad, steaks and sides were great. I took one bite of my steak and I melted into my chair and I loooooooooooove filets! The steaks were $40-50 and came with no sides...that was sort of annoying, but expected. The sides were enough for two people...the server did not tell us this. The drinks were strong and worth the $10-15 a pop. We watched the fireworks throughout our entire dinner and went down to the rotating bar afterwards to enjoy the evening even more. It was a bit of an annoyance that we made reservations and they couldn't accommodate us at the bar at the time we anticipated being there and the management tried to affix the blame on US (ummm...you don't do that), but we quickly got over that when we watched the finale of fireworks at Dodger's Stadium from the comfort of our seats.

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

New York-style steakhouse atop the Bonaventure hotel offers a panoramic view of Los Angeles.. In Short
Tourists and first dates flock to the 35th floor for a top-of-the-world experience, where surrounding windows offer 360-degree cityscape views. Late-'80s Melrose decor flourishes in black-and-white booths draped with gauzy fabric. The comprehensive menu features traditional cuts of steak kicked up with sauces like bearnaise, tart-sweet house sauce and peppercorn. Time-honored appetizers and sides, like lettuce wedge salad with blue cheese and potato au gratin, complete the a la carte menu.