House of Prime Rib is a San Francisco institution. Practically everyone I know (who eats meat) has been. I’ve always been tempted, but it also feels very antiquated, so I never had the motivation to give it a try. That is until my father really wanted to go there on one of my parents’ visits. Knowing that they were coming far enough in advance gave me the opportunity to book the four of us in to try it. (He was so obsessed with it, that he thought we were going every night of the trip, even though I told him it wasn’t until the last night they were here.)
Walking into the restaurant definitely felt like a blast from the past. It reminded me of restaurants I went to as a kid, but it’s forty years later, so perhaps some sort of modernization might be nice. I suppose that may be part of the atmosphere though, that retro feeling of a bygone age where times were simpler (or at least people were less aware of how terrible their behavior was). The place was packed, and we waited for them to seat us at our booth.
The menu is pretty simple: Meat. Okay, there is a fish option, but really, why would you come to a place called House of Prime Rib for fish? The prices aren’t cheap, but it includes a lot of sides: Bread, salad, choice of potato, choice of creamed vegetable and Yorkshire pudding. You basically choose how large of a cut you want (the largest cut includes a bone and the middle cut can be sliced thinly for “more flavor”) and how you want it prepared. Then you’re good to go. The wine list is pretty long and fairly reasonably priced, and we found a tasty and cheap-ish Chianti that we could all enjoy.
The bread came out, and it wasn’t anything special, but the salad is definitely a spectacle to behold. It’s “prepared” table-side, but actually, the salad is pretty much ready with the dressing on the side and they spin the bowl quickly while pouring the dressing inside in order to dress the salad. Then it’s plated at your table. The salad was actually fairly tasty with cheese and a lot of vegetables, so it was quite a pleasant experience. However, the food does come out very quickly after the salad, so don’t expect much of a break between courses.
Obviously, the main event is the meat, and I ordered the largest cut, knowing full well it was going to be way too much food, but I’d be able to take the rest home and make something with it the next day. That’s one nice thing about going here if you are a local, you definitely can go all out and take a lot of it home. I also went with the baked potato (instead of mash) and the creamed spinach over creamed corn because I had already heard that the spinach was tastier (and it was). The meat was cooked really well, but it wasn’t as flavorful as it might be if you decided to do something at home. The jus was really flavorful though, and I liked the selection of horseradish sauces that the beef was served with. The Yorkshire pudding, however, was a huge disappointment, as it was just a bit underdone and not like the beauties I’ve seen in the UK (or have made at home, to be honest).
I always want dessert (even though I was full), so we split a couple of desserts: Tiramasu and bread pudding. Honestly, the desserts weren’t amazing, and I really felt like I could have done without. But knowing it was likely to be my only trek to House of Prime Rib, I am glad I at least tried them. But if you’re feeling full (and I don’t know why you wouldn’t be), I think desserts could definitely be a miss at the end of the meal.
I definitely enjoyed myself at House of Prime Rib, even if the food was nice, not amazing. The service is spectacular, so that is definitely something worth experiencing. It’s also nice that I got to take a lot of the beef home to make my own Yorkshire pudding the next day and fill it up with beef, gravy and broccoli for an amazing leftover dinner. If you’re ready for a lot of meat and a feeling like you’ve stepped into the 1970s, House of Prime Rib is a fantastic location for that.
Score: 3.5/5
Recommendation: Prime Rib? Why else are you here? Seriously. And get the creamed spinach.
House of Prime Rib
1906 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94109
