I was thrilled to go to Ocean Prime the day after their opening. Located midtown, this American restaurant replaced Ben Benson that closed several months back after facing a rent increase. 

Like Mastro's across the street or STK, few blocks away, it boasts an elegant decor that is both modern and classy, and a service that is perfection. Setup on two floors, this 250 seats place has three different private rooms, accommodating 12 to 20 guests if I recall. I liked the fact that the main dining room had a view to the kitchen through a frosted window. We got seated in one of them, far from the noise of the main dining room, at least until a party of six came...

Of course, as we were seated, they brought the expected bread basket that had nothing spectacular if not for the pretzel bread that is always a nice thing to have.

Menu wise, there is a wide range, and for the appetizers, the emphasis is definitely on seafood. I decided to go for the crab cakes. 

Served with a sweet corn cream, I thought it was pretty good, not being made with tons of fillers and letting the jumbo lump of crab shine. It paired perfectly with the corn cream that did not overpower it.

For the steak, I went for my favorite cut: the ribeye. Apparently, it is not dry-aged; solely the Kansas City strip is. 

Steaks are seasoned and then broiled at 1200 degrees. The ribeye was 16 oz that is a perfect size (although I would have eaten more), was juicy and deliciously fatty (you can see a ring of fat on the photo), with that perfect bold taste and a very slight char. It was perfectly cooked medium rare.

With it, I got a delicious béarnaise sauce as well as a mouth watering black truffle mac and cheese (check out the black truffle on top!). 

I should mention that with the ribeye, I got some wine: a Chateau Carbonnieux Grand Cru Classe Graves 2012 from France.

For sure, I could not leave without trying their dessert. I chose the chocolate peanut butter pie that I could have shared as I was full...Inside was a peanut butter mousse that was light and decadent with the chocolate ganache: a perfect dessert if you like peanut butter.

That was a fantastic dinner: the food was delicious and the service spot on. I am sure that their menu will change over time as they will probably adjust it, but at this point, it was very good. It is a perfect place for the area as another steakhouse would have been probably too much considering the number of these nearby (Mastro's, Ruth's Chris, Quality Meat, Quality Italian,...). I definitely recommend it and would surely go back, this time maybe for seafood (I will probably not resist having another ribeye though...).

Enjoy (I did)!

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