KO Prime

08/29/08

Best New Reastaurant in Town!

by gina2626

KO Prime has done everything right! Great food and great service. Chef Jamie Bissonnette's take on a new high end steak house is fantastic. The steaks were cooked perfectly, the short rib mac and cheese is to die for and the mushrooms are the best in the city! Good thing i didn't listen to any of the reviews below, obviously they were done by people that either never eat out, never worked in a restaurant on have no taste buds.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: nothing

04/16/08

Huge Disappointment!!!

by food4thesoul

Never been more disappointed at a so called "high end" steak house. Sure, the place was pricey but we all new that and expected to get what we pay for. But boy, were we wrong. Went with a party of five to celebrate a birthday and none of us were impressed. Steak was dry and overcooked and when the waiter was informed, they brought out a little flashlight and hunched over my shoulder to examine it at our table...how LOW CLASS!! I mean I felt like I was getting a PAP smear at the table!! All the apetizers and side dishes were nothing fantastic, not to mention our rissotto was RAW with crunchy rice grain....Our lobster was also overcooked (tough and chewy). I mean, come on, does Mr. Ken Oringer have any clues what's going on at this place? I can't imagine he does, he should be EMBARASSED to have his name associated with this place!!

• Pros: ambience
• Cons: no clues how to cook their steaks

03/17/08

Outstanding steak house, food lives up to its rep

by citykidd

My husband took me there for my birthday and we had an absolutely fantastic meal! The room is beautiful and cosey with a mix of booths and tables. Knowing it was my birthday, the chef sent us out a few dishes on him... nice to know that someone paid attention when my husband told them it was my birthday! All the food was amazing and cooked to perfection... the one dish that I just cannot get out of my mind was this homemade sausage that had this french farmer's cheese melted inside of it... unbeleiveable! Have never had anything that tasted so incredible. Really good time.

• Pros: Great food and service
• Cons: A little pricey for an everyday place, techno music did not fit the atmosphere of the restaurant

02/13/08

Everything and More

by RhoneRanger84

If I followed all the negative and "it was OK..But....." reviews I have read and listened to about Ken Oringers latest venture, I and my partner would have missed out on what we both agreed was as near a perfect evening as one could have in a restaurant. From the moment we walked up the marbled stairs and were greeted by a most genuinely warm hostess, to the moment we savored the last sip of a most stupendous wine, the evening was flawless.

The bone in rib eye I had was cooked to perfection and the side if chantarelle mushrooms only added to the near decadance of the entree. The size of the portion was extremely generous only to be matched by the exquisite flavor. My companion had the king salmon which was moist and cooked with just the right amount of enhancing spice.

I could go on and on in great detail about the surroundings, the service, etc......but that I feel would detract from your own unique experience. I would like to thank all those before me who said they had a sub par experience for my initial apprehention, I feel only helped project our experience out into the stratosphere.

Expensive .... it can be, depending upon how much you wish to induldge.. that is relavant only to the individual. My bottom line ................. GO .......... Often.

• Pros: Decor, wine list, food quality, service
• Cons: None

02/11/08

Waste of time and money

by cfreview

My fiance and I went for dinner this past Saturday. We often go to Ruth's Chris or Mortons when we're in the mood for a good steak, but we decided to give this place a try. Unfortunately it was a bad decision. After being seated we asked the hostess to see the wine selections. When the waiter came over he handed me the menu and said "wines by the glass are on the first page......but they are a bit on the pricey side". I thought this was a very interesting comment, seeing as we were just about to spend over $300 on a dinner for two, not including a 20% tip, without batting an eye..... In my opinion, its not usually in your best interest as a waiter to offend your patrons before they've even spoken a word to you!... Moving on, the both of us decided on the filet, and ordered them medium rare and medium. Both filets came out medium well and to our surprise were saturated in a ridiculously salty marinade of what tasted like teriyaki sauce. The tast actually can be compared to bad homemade steak tips from someones backyard barbeque . They were sooooo salty and saturated that I had to swish water after every bite. I know that most restaurants will use salt and pepper or additional rubs but this was over the top. We ate only about a quarter of the steaks and finished off our apparently "too expensive" bottle of noir and asked for the check. The steak should be in no way compared to any of the top steakhouses in Boston (Ruth's Chris, Mortons, Grill23, Abe & Louies). We will not be returning.

• Pros: Nice ambience and lounge area
• Cons: Overcooked/over-marinated steak, not worth the price

12/15/07

Just Pass On KO Prime

by rcr3

Just arrived home from ko prime. It was easy to get a reservation. Should have known right there. The host was helpful and the valet was great. The service was not good. After we had our meals, c+ at best, we received the check. I noticed the glass of wine my wife has was 20$ dollars. Don't mind spending money when the food is great and the service is equal(neither) but the response from our waitress was disappointing. She showed my wife the menu and said "it's right here hun!" Wrong answer. We eat at other fine restaurants in the city, this is never going to be one again. Just Pass On This One!!!

• Pros: mushrooms,valet service
• Cons: salty steak,service,lack of experience

12/03/07

Waste of Time and Money

by stemilionfan

The wine list was quite nice, so if all you are interested in is wine, go for it. Although be careful, the wine we ordered was not the one served (they brought out the 2nd wine of the St. Estephe we ordered). The fois gras was excellent, by far the best appetizer offered from the "Hot" section. The service was appalling. The entrees were brought out sequentially, misplaced on the table, and two of the three had to be sent back because they were not cooked properly (med-well was a cool-pink center). When they were returned to the table, the sides which had been on the plate had been placed in the broiler with the steak, indicating they just threw the plate back in the oven, and overcooked the braised chard. The duck came back over seasoned.

The wait staff disappeared after taking the dinner order

I would not go here again, ever, under any circumstances. Take the money and go to Denny's instead.

• Pros: ambiance
• Cons: everything else

11/16/07

Don't bring clients here!

by bjfboston

I agree with the previous review and had a very similar experience last night while dining with clients at KO Prime. The waiter was not very friendly or attentive. One of my guests had to wait about 10 minutes after everyone else in the party was served to be served his dinner. It's always awkward when everyone else has their hot dinners in front of them and one person does not. After his meal was finally served, we did not see our waiter until after we had all finished our meals. Another person in my group had asked for a medium steak. It was overcooked. When the waiter finally came over to our table and she told him, he seemed annoyed. He then brought a candle to the table to get a closer look and argued that it was not overcooked. In fact, it was medium just like she had requested. I have never been to a high end restaurant where a waiter argued with a guest to prove a point that he was right about how the steak was cooked and the guest was wrong. I will never bring clients here again. It was embarrassing. If you want to impress clients with a nice meal, there are a lot of other steak houses in Boston that give much better service and know how to cook steaks how the customers request. I would suggest going to Capital Grill or Grill 23 next time!

11/15/07

AVOID AT ANY COST!! don't bring any of your clients unless you want to lose your deal!!!

by glenn_h

I've been wondering how come an average of 2.5 star reviews came up to be 4.5 in citysearch summary. That just doesn't add up. We have about 5 people giving this POS place lower than 3 and only 2 giving full 5-star (most likely paid by the restaurant) and the summary says 4.5 star... I think citysearch is not being honest here. What a scam!!!!

Anyways, this is one of the worst high-end restaurants that I've been to (I've been to many great restaurants in Boston, L'espalier, Mistral, Excelsior, Federalist, No. 9 Park, etc). Good thing I was using my expense account. I ordered a steak and I had asked them to cook it MEDIUM. The steak came overcook, it was more like medium well or even well done. It was really dry. For a restaurant that claimed to be a "steak house" they should at least get it right. It was ridiculous!!! I told our waiter that the steak was overcooked and he gave me this annoyed look and suddenly picked up my plate without asking anything. I thought they were going to give me a new one (like a good steak house should) but no, they just cut the steak in the middle (which made it even dry) and showed me this slightly pink middle. well mister waiter, that was definitely not medium. By then I was so annoyed and said "you know I'm starving, let me just have it". I must say that they have some good bar menu and apps. but for steak go somewhere else. I would never set my foot on this restaurant again, and I'll make sure that all of my friends and colleagues know to avoid this place at ANY COST!!!

• Pros: Nice view, nice interior
• Cons: bad service, bad steak

11/11/07

Decent but nothing exceptional

by heinslmn

Upon being greeted the maitre?d offered to check our coats; a nice touch. Seating was prompt and reservations appear to be a must on weekends. The noise level is fairly high providing a level of privacy should you be sitting close enough. The staff were helpful and the service was above average.

As the 3rd person to ask, I was told the bar didn?t carry Pomegranate martinis. They're allegedly in the midst of redoing the cocktail menu and the Pomegranate will be added. The Blackberry Apple and Cherry Cane (as in cane sugar, not candy cane) were both tasty consolations. The tuna tartare appetizer was delicious but the tuna was so finely chopped as to lose its texture. The crabmeat salad was equally delicious; the only detractor being an avocado half with partial slices which broke into several half slices and a big chunk.

We were asked if we wanted still or bubbly water, opting for still, assuming that meant taking chances with Boston's tap water, only to be served a $7.50 bottle of Fuji. The price was not mentioned and discovered upon checking the bill, leaving a taste in the mouth equal to that of Boston?s tap water.

The fillet was topped with a spice mixture and a smidge of vinegar, which complemented it nicely. The 30 oz rib eye had a huge bone attached to it. Neither the menu nor the server mentioned anything about on the bone and it was cooked med-rare instead of medium as ordered; a small sacrifice to avoid someone standing over you asking that you cut into your steak as it's served. It also appeared to have been coated with a veal stock glaze (as the 26 oz T-bone allegedly is). Why would one do that to a fine piece of beef? Our plates were room temp when served; patrons at another table were warned the plates were hot. The sides all sounded delicious; we opted for the pea tendrils and spaetzle; both were tasty but the portions were more for one than two. The Frozen Mint Mousse with liquid chocolate center was a nice way to end an average meal.

• Pros: Service, Food
• Cons: Ambience, Food