Oklahoma City goes ultra-hip with Red Prime Steak
by Tim | October 4, 2007 | 12 Comments
(votes: 17, average: 3.76) 
Loading ...Red Prime Steak is located at 504 N. Broadway at NW 4th in Downtown OKC (map). They are open for dinner only. Contact them at 405.232.2626 or visit their website. Reservations are available online or by phone.
I recently got to check out one of Oklahoma City’s newest restaurants. Red Prime Steak is a new upscale steakhouse brought to you by the folks behind Cheever’s and Iron Starr. I love their first two restaurants so expectations for this new place were high.
One thing I love about Red Prime Steak is the location. It’s downtown, but not in Bricktown. It’s in the old Buick building at 4th street and Broadway. I love to see new places opening up in this area. Let’s hope they can sustain and continue to encourage more growth and revitalization downtown.
The restaurant brings a couple of things that are extremely unique.
First, the interior renovations really stand out. They are the reason for my inclusion of the word “ultra-hip” in the title of my post. It’s not that I’m 100% sure you would really categorize it has ultra-hip if your job were classifying interiors, but when you compare it to the landscape of restaurant interiors we currently have in Oklahoma City, Red Prime’s look definitely sets itself apart in the ultra-hip direction.
Concrete flooring, exposed 18 foot ceilings, and a smattering of very thin, brilliant, red lighting instruments set the stage. An enormous floor to ceiling wire mesh serves as a wine rack and requires the wait staff to utilize a home-depot-like aisle ladder to retrieve certain vintages. Also intriguing is the use of enclosed, circular leather booths which provide a few “private” dining areas amidst the rest of the “open” seating. So, if you are looking for a lively atmosphere, stick with the open tables, but if you want something a little more private (and quiet) ask for one of the booths.
The second unique treatment Red Prime brings is their use of crusts and sauces. With each steak, you can choose up to two crusts or sauces (more are available for an extra charge). Now, I’m not much for putting sauces on really good steaks. I mean, what’s the point in paying for a quality steak and then drowning out the flavor with a pungent sauce? The crusts, however, are very intriguing and tasty.
You can choose from a list of crust options — everything from black pepper to unique chile peppers — to be encrusted onto your meat as it is cooked. I chose the guajillo chile crust and I highly recommend it for a little kick that doesn’t overpower the flavor of the meat.
Now for my complaint — I have just one. There’s no brewed iced tea. If you ask for iced tea, they bring you a bottle of something. Now look, I’m all for trying to be fancy, but I’ve been to some really nice restaurants in a lot of really large cities and most everywhere I’ve been, even the highest of the highest end, has served fresh brewed iced tea. Not only that, but even my favorite restaurant of all time, the Gotham Bar and Grill in Manhattan, provides iced tea with free refills, and it doesn’t get really any more upscale than the Gotham.
So, I would recommend that Red Prime make fresh brewed iced tea with refills an option. I mean really, it’s just about as common as water. Sure, you won’t make as much money on it as the bottled stuff, but really, is that a reason to withhold something so basic?
Speaking of money, you will spend a good bit visiting the Red Prime. I was fortunate enough to be treated by my parents on my visit (thanks mom and dad), and I would have to reserve any future trip for a pretty special occasion as the price is a bit prohibitive for me to make it a regular stop. But if you are looking for a high-end experience in OKC, I definitely think Red Prime offers a unique and modern flair that you won’t find at any other “steakhouse” in this city.
We want to hear from you!
So far, 12 people have responded to this article. Won't you join in?October 5th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
I haven’t eaten at Red Prime yet because as a vegetarian, I don’t frequent steakhouses that often. But as a huge fan of Cheevers, and because we just up the street, we visited the red bar when they first opened. RPG has a great wine list, but really is very expensive and a little to “poncy” for my personal taste, but overall it was a good experience.
Incidentally, when I inquired at the bar if they had any meatless options at all, the bartender immediately summoned someone (the sommelier, I think, of all people) to allay my fears. He promised they could put something together for me if I would just let them know, and invited me to call ahead so they could prepare with the shopping. They seemed completely prepared to accomadate me for dinner. Based on the wonderful experiences I’ve had at Cheevers with Chef Don, I’m sure this is the case.
BTW: Next time you go, if you have “room for dessert,” I definitely recommend their creme brulee. It’s perhaps the best I’ve had in OKC. Exquisite, in fact!
October 5th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Hey Caryl, thanks for the great insight.
I didn’t try their creme brulee but my wife and I love that dessert. We may have to check it out based on your reco.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
You definitely should. We almost always go for the creme brulee, which is a dessert you can frequently judge a restaurant by - and there’s was the best (and the biggest!). As good as anything I’ve had across the pond. Incidentally, it wasn’t Cheever’s I was thinking of when I wrote my comment… it was Tom and Jerry’s… sorry!
October 27th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Ate at Red Prime last night…we were with a group and wound up in a red circular room which we accessed by a circular walkway hall…that was kind of fun…
I got the 10 oz fillet and Greg got the dry ribeye…something like that. We both got the blue cheese rub and the mushroom sauce, which came in a little bowl of its own.
We had the RP tomato salad…split it and I wished we hadn’t…heirloom tomatoes, fried green tomatoes and mozerella cheese…maybe the best thing of the night for me.
Since we were with a group and the sides are served family style, we had a number to sample…broccoli and cheese was good but nothing spectacular…pan fried spinach was crunchy, which made for an interesting surprise. Asparagus slivers were good and I probably would choose them for my green vegetable the next time.
We tried the au gratin potatoes and the mashed and they were both fine…I love corn casserole and it was good but not sweet…kind of a little spicy. Carrots were cinnamon scented and good but I wouldn’t want a whole bowl to myself.
The take away (in my opinion) of the sides was the green chile mac and cheese. Very good.
Coffee was excellent after dinner. We both got (bad planning) the fudge spoon cake and it was not near what I expected after such a meal. I would not get it again. If I were to try again for a dessert, despite the name, I would probably get the (gag) chicken fried strawberry shortcake. Almost got it yesterday, but chocolate won out, much to my chagrin.
$$$$ for sure, but we will probably go back. The steak, the tomato salad and the mac and cheese were worth a return trip and others thought the crab cakes and tamales were excellent as well…
It took us forever to eat dinner there though…a group of 10 and we were there from 6:45 to 10:15…maybe that’s not long to some, but there were some huge lags between courses…all that to say, prepare for the possibility of staying awhile.
October 30th, 2007 at 1:18 am
We ate at Red Prime for our anniversary, right after they opened. Kenny is actually not much of a steak eater, mostly because he likes his meat so well done it often looks and tastes like shoe leather. Anyway, he and I both agreed that this was by far the best steak we’d ever had in OKC. (I’d say The Ranch is a close second.)Even his well done filet was tender and flavorful. We went on a Sunday night and it was not busy at all. Our service was excellent and friendly. We also had the creme brulee and it was indeed wonderful (and big!)And, the urban feel is definitely unique for this area. All in all a fun “special occasion” place that we will return to as well.
Great website!
December 6th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Caryl, don’t worry about being vegetarian at Red Prime. The sides here are to die for. They are served family style so you will need someone to share with you. I had the ginger carrots which even my children loved. I can’t remember exactly the other side I had but I think one was a corn bread pudding and of course the green beans. If you haven’t tried Iron Starr, their barbeque restaurant you need to because they also have an extensive list of sides.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:17 am
I took my husband to Red Prime this weekend for his birthday, decor is trendy and attractive and we have been waiting for a special occassion.
We have been previously for drinks and appetizers at the bar, we had the sloppy joes and onion rings. Sloppy joes were an interesting appetizer for a steakhouse, not very impressive. The bartender raved about the onion rings, they were heavily battered and a bit salty, you could barely taste the sweet onions.
With that on the backbone, I was not dying to have dinner there, but it was a special occassion. First of all, I am a beliver of not covering a goods steak with too many seasonings and sauces. We both ordered the aged rib-eye and shared the horseradish potato gratin, we wanted to leave room for dessert. My husband ordered the steak with the coffee crust and house steaksauce, the steak sauce was nothing memorable. I ordered the salt and sugar crust with the truffle butter, truffle butter is served on the side as a cold pat of butter, if you are going to pay $43 for a steak, you would think they would serve the truffle butter on the steak so it could melt on the way to the table. Both of us ordered our steaks medium rare, these steaks were definitely rare and not cooked as requested. Either their steaks were not really “dry aged” or their steak knives that they present to you are horribly dull, we both had trouble cutting our steaks, it could also be that it was served rare. The plates that the steaks are served on were cold, the sauces were cold, not my idea of a fine steakhouse. The horseradish potato gratin was good but there was no horseradish flavor. We decided to skip dessert as everything we have tried so far was not impressive. Our next special ocassion, we will go back to Mahagony, their steaks come out searing hot and simply seasoned so you can appreciate the steak, something you could never accomplish at home, so well worth the $$$.
March 18th, 2008 at 7:22 am
LNC, thanks for sharing the contrasting opinion. Good to hear a different perspective.
I agree 100% on the idea of not covering up a steak with too many seasonings and sauces, but I have to say that is one of the things I liked about Red Prime. I think the “crust” option gives a nice flavor addition without overpowering the steak. I never use the sauces because I just don’t believe in putting sauce of any kind on a great steak, but I think the crusts are a nice enhancement that I haven’t seen many other places.
I have not yet tried Mahagony, but I will have to check it out sometime. Thanks again.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Cynthia, the red round room is actually an old turntable that cars used to sit on in the showroom bacj when the building was a Buikc dealership. I heard that the owners were wanting the room to rotate but were unable to find the proper machinery to get everything to work.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:54 am
I love this place but unfortunately had a bad experience recently while taking my Mother here who was in from Seattle. Someone in the kitchen was tripping out on the Salt shaker. The steaks were so salted and the fried spinach was so salted that it made you pucker and cringe. They comped the steaks… it was still sad. I love this place. No one wants to see their kobe over salted…
September 29th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Red Prime is personally my favorite steakhouse in Oklahoma. The atmosphere is topped only by the quality of the food. I don’t branch out much now that I’ve found my favorite cut: the 10 ounce Ribeye with black pepper crust and truffle butter is unequaled. If God raised a cow, killed it, grilled it and added truffle butter you would basically have the exact same steak…. A Vegetarian should hate this place because for every 28 day dry aged Ribeye they don’t eat I will eat three.
The corn cassorole is a little too “liquid smoke flavored” but still good. The broccoli with melted cheese is very fresh and a huge portion. The dessert we had most recently was basically a bowling ball of vanilla ice cream rolled in white chocolate, milk chocolate, almonds, pecans, and then drizzled with more chocolate. Oh yeah, it was slapped on top of a huge hot brownie. What? That’s right, a huge brownie. Anyone foreign nation that looks at America and says we’re too fat or too wasteful could win the argument with a single poloroid of this dessert. Try having more than a couple bites after a steak. Which I don’t know if I mentioned yet or not but it’s amazing.
October 5th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
My husband and I went last winter and were very disappointed. The lobster martini was drenched in this creamy liquid and the only other item we could taste was the (overuse of) pineapple; it was awful and the lobster was beyond over-powerd. The steaks were wonderful, done as we had asked, very tender and very flavourful however, the sides we ordered (potato gratin and asparagus) were very rich and made the meal far too heavy. How can asparagus be made rich, I have no idea. The “signature” red velvet cupcakes were dry and certainly nothing special, to say the least. Also, considering we were there celebrating and had informed them when we made the reservations, it was unfitting that we were seated at a table at the very front of the restaurant, where the setting sun was in our eyes, amongst three other larger parties who were obviously there for business. As a mark on the service, they took far too long to return to us with the bottle of wine we had ordered and didn’t pour a tasting for one of us to try before setting the bottle down and leaving. Given that the bottle was almost $100, it would have been nice to have proper wine service.
So to conclude, while the steaks themselves were up to expectations (as they should be for a steakhouse), the remainder of the meal was not and we wont be back.
Please tell us what you think.