Prime West

The place is closed. There are signs in the window that the property has been repossessed by the City Marshal.

STAY AWAY. With so many great Kosher options in New York, this fell far below a decent standard.
I was so excited to come here based on the website and a few recommendations from friends — so my wife and I made it our 7^th anniversary dinner spot on a quick getaway to NY.
As reflected in the comments below, the service from start to finish was atrocious. The manager/​head waiter (not sure what his role was) was obnoxious and loud, not only with us but with every table which he visited. At one point, as another server was bringing us food, the server asked the head waiter whether he could bring additional plates, to which he responded «you have hands, don’t you?» Even in jest, that type of comment at an «upscale» restaurant is ridiculous. He also sang Happy Birthday to several tables in an overly obnoxious loud voice, which clearly annoyed everyone in the dining room.
The food was also below standard. We ordered appetizers to share, and a dessert. Each appetizer was greasier than the next, each over-​sauced (with heavy mayo sauces or bbq sauces). Of course, the waiter was obnoxious about our order, too, insisting that we needed to order a main entrée, as well. Glad we didn’t. The dessert — banana crepes — was fine, not worth nearly close to the $ 14 they charged.
Would never go back and would recommend you stay away, too. This place won’t last.

I have been in many kosher restaurants, and in all of the Prime hospitality group, but there is no place like Prime West (Prime KO), the owner might be pushing hard to make the place resurrect, but he needs to start by changing the manager. I was seated upstairs and was a total show seeing this guy act. Of what I saw he doesn’t allow the hostess to seat anybody, he wants to have the control of everything and all of a sudden this becomes a mess and irritating. The guy has no manners or modals at all, I saw him yelling at his crew in the middle of the dinning room when they were totally busy, you can see in his face all the anger and depression that he carries or maybe it is frustration but this is not helping this place at all. You can feel a heavy ambiance in the restaurant and the perception that you get from the staff is of fear due to him.
Not to mention he left the place many times to smoke, i guess this is also part of his issues.
I graduated in psychology, and trust me the guy has a serious issue with his life according to my perspective.
I’m writing this review, hoping the owner can do something for the people who works under his command, we are not anymore in the days of slavery or abuse of authority.
Get this manager out, and make him a favor by letting him take some time to spend on his own and find himself.

With apologies to A Chorus Line, for Food, 10, for service, 3. OK. I’d really say food 8, Service 1, but I wanted to use that line.
The restaurant had a guest chef with a special menu, and the food was, generally, excellent. Our table of 8 ordered every virtually appetizer to share among us, and the only one that people didn’t enjoy was the tuna taco, which was tasteless. I wasn’t that fond of the duck bolognese or the 120 day salami chips, but others raved about them, so I’ll say that maybe it just wasn’t my thing. We also shared entrees — two steaks for two, brisket, and lamb ribs — and sides — brussels sprouts, cauliflower, fries, mashed potatoes. Again, I didn’t care for the lamb, but others did; and I liked the fries, but others didn’t. The chocolate fondue arrived cold, but was quickly replaced.
But the service — horrible. The waiter didn’t bring serving forks for the appetizers (or the mains, for that matter). He didn’t clear the dirty used dishes or glasses. He didn’t refill our water glasses. It was okay that the appetizers came at different times, but not that the main dishes did. Two mains came. Twenty minutes later, the other two came. Fifteen minutes after that, the vegetables, and ten minutes after that, the potatoes. Even at the end of the meal — the tea came several minutes before the cappuccinos, and my coffee came several more minutes after that, and only after several reminders to the waiter.
At one point, the waiter was clearing an empty table that would not be used until the next day, and leaving dirty dishes on our table. When asked to clear our table, he said that his boss had told him to clear the other one instead. Finally, one of my companions started clearing the table herself. At that point, the manager came and complained that she was making a scene by removing dirty dishes, and further complained that we were a large group that had lingered a long time — we hadn’t «lingered,» we were waiting for our food! He raised his voice as well, which was completely inappropriate, and complained that they couldn’t accommodate a group of 8 (maybe they should have mentioned that when they took our reservation).
In the end, they took about 10% or 15% off our $ 700 bill. Didn’t make up for the bad experience.
Edited to add — They have TV screens all over. For sports? Who knows. I didn’t mind seeing Criminal Minds out of the corner of my eye; who doesn’t love Shemar Moore? But after that, it was some medical show, showing a (faux) surgery, with blood everywhere. No thanks.
In sum, go elsewhere.

This is kind of the go to place for business meetings in NYC and there is a reason for that. Because if you want to impress someone who doesn’t keep kosher this is the place you take them. And the food is magnificent. Try their sushi — it will take you to a whole new level.
Read our full review on our kosher blog:

Service was attentive and friendly. Food as a whole was ok. Ambiance nice. My problem with this place is that it has a habit of pawning off cheaper meat as expensive cuts. Our party ordered three dishes of duck bolognese and everyone agreed it tasted like chicken. A few years ago we ordered bison steaks and it was most definitely beef. Jello can never be crème brûlée.

My pepper steak was the worst Ive ever
was so loaded with pepper and grainy that I could barely taste the meat. The meat was dry and hard to chew. The salmon was good and simple, nothing to wow about. They give you like 3 potato slices and 2 string beans total, thats not a side. The apps chicken was undercooked but some didnt mind. (Lets see how they feel tonight lol) The sliders were very dry and tasteless and buns were hard. One person in my group who ordered the rib eye said it was excellent since he likes his meat burnt. The bernaise sauce fell flat like soup, gross. Mustard was cheap. When dessert came was excited because I couldnt eat my meal and I was starving. The fried banana and crêpe was good but how can that go wrong. Not impressed with the menu at all. The kids were starving since we had waited 35 minutes and still no food. so we asked the waiter to bring the fries that come with my steak, and he did. However, when my meal came with another fries he asked me to give it back to him and that it belongs on my brother in laws plate. That was obnoxious and unprofessional! He also took our order and after half hr said that the dish we ordered on the new menu «crispy rice» was no longer on the new menu. Surprised because I used to like this place. Def not taking a trip to come back here…

I was here about a year ago with a dining companion, and I found it to be a unique spot, with a sleek interior. The food was very good, but portions left much to be desired for the prices charged. I had three appetizers, in lieu of a main course. All were delicious and I’d come back and order them again in a heartbeat. You can really taste the kobe/​wagyu difference. The fact that they reduce the stress levels of the cattle, and massage them and give them Japanese beer to drink comes through in the well-​marbleized, tender, juicy fattiness of the meat. The Kobe pizza was a unique experience; what kosher keeper ever heard of meat on a pizza? It’s ordinarily a taboo for us, but they use a vegan/​parve cheese that went well with the seasoned beef. The kobe meatballs came on a sizzling pan and they had red & green peppers, onions, potato, and a miso sesame sauce that was pleasantly both sweet and salty. The wagyu ribs were an experience. The meat was fall-​apart tender, and was accompanied by a tangy, fermented kimchi that packed a little heat and came with a fantastic Asian barbecue sauce. The dessert menu looked very good, and we had the green tea mochi ice cream and the crepes with nutella. I was floored, because it is highly unusual to see parve mochi. It must have been specially made non-​dairy, or maybe they have a special purveyor. In addition, the crepes were very good, not too sweet, and the hazelnut spread had the perfect balance of chocolate and hazelnut. It can’t be nutella, since nutella has milk, and this place is meaty. Service was very good, the hostess helpful, and they were patient, as I waited half an hour for my companion to come.

Me as person I appreciate fine dining and I go out quite frequently to eat at upscale places. One of the most important things I’m looking from an upscale dining place is the service. And I most say the service at Prime Ko is HORRIBLE. It takes forever for a waiter to come to the table, they all have a very unfriendly attitude and very not helpful.
We waited for our main dish for the longest time, when it finely came my dish was accidentally served to another person. When I confronted the waiter about my food she finely noticed that she made a mistake and gave my dish to another person she simply picked up the plate from the other person and put down next to me. I tried explaining to her that I didn’t come here to eat from a plate that another person ate from, the simply didn’t care. When I approached the manger he told me they all he can do is give me a 50% discount on that dish. I explained that I don’t need a discount, they should either replace my dish or not charge me for it. But they were being very ignorant and simply didn’t feel that they have to fix their own mistake.
I wouldn’t recommend this place for anybody!!!

Came for Shabbat dinner with my parents. We had a gift card to use before the new year and so we decided to come for Friday night Shabbat. We had challah that tasted stale and wine (not a selection, Could choose Marlo or white) I had the white, my parents the red but I tried both as we used the red for kiddish, both of which were decent.
The the appetizers were ok and the salad out beat the aintree. It was prefix course. For our first course we got a platter of cigars, meat puffs, meat balls, and chop liver app of which were decent, didn’t taste homemade.
Next came the best part, our house salad. Big plate size so I couldn’t complain. Then the waiter brought us a small piece of cooked salmon and gifilta fish which were both disgusting! The salmon was so dry and flavorless it tasted inedible and a bit stale. Next we had matzah ball soup which was nasty! The broth was watery and didn’t taste like it was made with chicken stalk, the matzah balls were not fully cooked and the vegetables were not also not cooked and 100% flavorless. When I added salt and pepper, still no improvements.
Then came the main course, since I didn’t enjoy the cooked salmon as an appetizer I chose the meat and chicken option, my parents also ordered the same dish. When it came the chicken and meat looked inedible so I avoided it altogether. My parents both enjoyed the meat but they agreed the chicken was overcooked and not prepared right. I ate the broccoli and string beans, both of which were just a side of plain cooked vegetables not what I expected! Lastly, we got dessert, it was not the best and didn’t taste as true to the description on the menu, «rich, velvety chocolate and vanilla gouache cake.» Instead it taste like simple parve chocolate and vanilla cake that was store bought. Th meal in all didn’t mirror what we expected it to be. In all if I could give them less than one star, I’d do that but I did enjoy the ambience.

Mediocre appetizers at best and overpriced steaks also mediocre. Service was slow and non-​attentive. My steak showed up overcooked and tough. The side dish never arrived at all. The manager would not take the steak back but rather discounted the check and gave us the steak in a doggy bag. I don’t have a dog so it ended up in the waist basket. The final check came to $ 75 and we left having waisted a hour and unfed.

The worst service I’ve ever experienced. The appetizers weren’t anything special. Our waiter disappeared after he served our apps and for about 25 minutes we did not have any service whatsoever. The hostess was the one to replenish our waters and clear the table, only after we complained. When our steak was finally served, an hour and a half after ordering it, it was ridiculously cold. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Reasonable kosher – and overpriced – Japanese food in a stylish environment. The salmon fried roll is delicious. Meat is rather average in quality and taste, and not well cooked; it isn’t worth of paying the price. Sushi and sashimi pieces are really good. The salted fried peppers is a great side for any dish. Service is friendly.

Trash food. One of the worst, overpriced meals I have ever had in my entire life.
21 dollars for two rolled meat cigars that were the size of my pinkie. 60 dollars for a 10 ounce filet mignon that wasn’t even that hot. I am calling up my credit card company when I get my bill to dispute the charge. I at least got a credit for my fiancees chicken which looked so small, old, and dried up.
Service is terrible, menu items have no culinary creativity. Just a really garbage restaurant, and the owners should be absolutely ashamed of themselves to charge sch a high prices with such small portions. I also loved how they were out of certain wine on a Saturday night. The WORST meal I have ever had.
If I could give ZERO stars I would. Do not go unless, you know no decent food. They don’t even give bread on the table, a really slimy cheap restaurant that tried to take advantage of customer. BEWARE!!!

Realllly good food!
My problem? I think we got the backup serving staff on New Year’s Day. Waiter was 100% trying too hard to get us out the door. If give it a good 3 seconds after we sat down and the server asked us if we were ready to order. When I said we (obviously) needed a few minutes, he must have thought I said 30 seconds because that’s when he came back asking if we’re ready!
That happened about 2 more times.
Regardless, great food, pretty pricey, not a place to go if you don’t like sushi or steak Bc then you’ll end up paying $ 21 for 2 teeny tiny burger sliders.

New Years DISASTER!!!
I came to Prime KO knowing that the restaurant is on a steep decline. The only reason I went was because friends wanted to avoid going downtown on New Year’s Eve. I tried to persuade them against it but they were too stubborn to listen to me. Walking in I noticed that the health rating is grade pending– wonderful!
Let’s start off with the drinks. A glass of laphroiag 10 costs $ 34. Outrageous. Most restaurants would charge mid to high 20s for a glass of this scotch. Mixed drinks some in the $ 40+ range for a tequila sprite. Even mixed with patron it should cost half that.
Moving on to service– nothing against the individual waiters/​bus boys but the staffing at this restaurant is a joke. No coordination with clearing, replenishing water, ordering food, or serving food. People got the main course before some got their appetizers. (Understandable because it’s New Year’s Eve, they were clearly understaffed, and we were a semi large party– 14 people. This should not be an issue for a fully functioning restaurant that has been open for a number of years)
The host at the door is a nasty guy who’s been there since it opened. Ridiculously understaffed for a restaurant that was half full. Forget the price point of this place this service would’ve been a joke for a pizza place. Getting a simple glass of scotch not even a mixed drink took half hour. Clearing the food, a waiter dropped a dirty fork on me and tried to convince me that it was clean. Firstly, there was one fork and one knife for a 3+ course meal; so there was no way there was a clean fork on that table. Secondly, It was not clean and he got oil on my shirt. All I can hope for is that it won’t stain. And with a little oxyclean and dry cleaning hopefully it won’t.
Moving on to the food. Appetizer ribs were mediocre at best and for $ 51 it was a joke with 4 bulky ribs with 1 soft tortilla cut into 3 tiny triangles. Seriously how much cheaper can you get. Ribs came out and were hot– good start but after a day to digest, they were clearly old ribs that were nuked. Steak I got was $ 69 for a 6oz filet. That was a bigger joke. Cut of the meat was very poor quality, but hats off to the chef for cooking it at the correct temperature. That’s the only reason I was able to justify the required one star rating.
Finally the bill– $ 2500 for 14 people. About $ 180 a person!!! That is the biggest joke of all. Some people only got a soup and a salad. We did not walk out of this place full to the brim or wasted beyond belief; so how can you justify this bill. My justification is that Mr Joey A needs to compensate for how poorly this place is doing. He cut staff to the bare bones, served old food, served poorer quality food, and overcharged for everything.
My suggestions to diners– DO NOT GO HERE. go somewhere else. Even if it’s a cab ride away. It’s worth not going here. For Joey– close this place before someone gets sick and your slapped with a food poisoning lawsuit. It’s also killing your «Prime» brand.

The service is a bit slow and at times the place can get realllllly busy. However my meals have always been delightful. The sushi is good and fresh. I love the tuna crispy rice, sushi tacos and tuna tar tar. Sometimes I get sliders or sea bass skewers. The steak is very good. so is the roasted chicken.

Avoid Prime Kos downstairs burger restaurant called Prime Burger and if you must go, skip the chicken and burgers. The service was horribly slow, the waiter claimed there was no soup, which we saw served at the table next to us as we prepared to leave. The burgers and chicken were overcooked and dry. The coffee was served in a cup half filled and was cold. After paying the bill, I sought out the manager to share our experience and although he agreed with our assertions that the chicken was too dry (apparently the waiter showed him when we returned it), his only response was I’ll speak to the chef. By the way, their letter grade was pending. The place is just horrible. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Outrageous!
They burnt my steak (I asked for medium rare) and then had the audacity to make me feel as though I had insulted their mothers when I told them the situation. Stay away from this place. The food is bad and the service worse.

I don’t live in New York but I would have to say that New Yorkers are very strict about their Unilocal stars.
I really enjoyed Prime KO. This reservation was made without knowing that this caters to the Jewish population serving blessed meat. That did not make a difference to us. In fact it made our experience more enjoyable that there was a place that made blessed meat a priority.
First let me give kudos to our server Eduardo. He was entertaining, informative, flexible and anticipated our tables needs. My wife is pregnant and he seemed to have a knack of understanding what she may enjoy or not given her food aversions.
I had the illinois corn fed rib eye. I had ordered medium. I cut into the middle of the beef and it was well done. I called Eduardo over. Without arguement or hesitation he took my plate took it to management and had a new rib eye cooked medium in front of me in moments. It told me that they took their product and customer satisfaction seriously. I also had the Ko fries with the wasabi aioli. The aioli was good but the fries were standard.
There cocktails are fresh and refreshing. I did have a sushi roll and I remember it being good but I can’t tell you what it was.
I do know this. There is so much of this menu I would like to try unfortunately it is in a city with so many restaurants I want to try. If I lived on this side of the park, and wanted to have a good to nice restaurant, it would be on the top of my list.