Rick's Prime Rib House

Had a work event here for about 25 people. The food was good but the banquet room was in the basement and it smelled very musty. When it came time to pay, we presented our nonprofit certificate (and warned well in advance we would be doing that because we were tax exempt) and had to go through a bunch of extra hoops to finish paying for the event. The decorations and fixtures could use some TLC but all in all it was ok.

Sadly this place has really gone down hill. The decor is very outdated and it 's too dark. It 's also not the cleanest of places...maybe that 's why it 's so dark...? You know when you sit in a booth and you can just feel the grease and grime, that 's how I feel about this place. As for the food, it really isn 't what it used to be and I definitely would not categorize this place as upscale . The rolls tasted freezer burned...I know, weird right? Well my theory on that is they get their fresh bread from Martusciello 's (which is an amazing bakery btw and whatever is left over they throw in the freezer and reheat when ready to serve. This is fine, I actually do the same thing (did I mention how amazing Martusciello 's is? but ummm you can only keep the bread in the freezer for so long. Their side salad was gross, wilted and just not fresh . The calamari was chewy, again you could tell it wasn 't fresh. I 've also had their filet, not good. The prime rib however is amazing! The service was mediocre. I probably won 't come back again because although the prime rib is on point the rest of the food is not. And when you go out to dinner you go for the whole dining experience and they are seriously lacking in most areas. 2 stars for good prime rib.

Had an agreement with the owner for a group meal. 40 plus people. It was $19.95 plus $2.00 per head for prime rib. And half Price for kids under 12. The owner even gave me the half price cost of $10.98. No email confirmation, no contract. At the end of dinner the bill was $24.95 for adults and $17.95 for kids, not even half price. After arguing with the staff, who couldn't reach the owner, he came out of the back. I asked what he quoted me and he said $21.95 and half price for kids, I showed him the bill and he correct it (although he wasn't happy about it. . Upon leaving I read the new bill to see that he added 2 extra adult meals to our group. I explained what he did and he, again unhappily agreed to send me a check for the $47 overcharge. After 3 weeks of not receiving the check I called to ask for it and he said I could sue him for it. I never received an apology and this was completely caused by his sloppy business practices. We'll not be back.

Do not go here if you are a self respecting human being. I was very optimistic about this place, we were able to get a reservation at 7:30pm for New Years Eve. I heard mixed reviews about the food, but it was the only place nearby still taking reservations for the holiday. I went with my boyfriend and two other couples. As we began our first course and drinks, the owner of the restaurant came to our table to ask how things were. He began talking to the guys at our table, saying how he started the evening with martinis and some beers. Reminding you, this was the owner. No big deal, I 'm sure that because we were the only 20-some year olds there he wanted to impress us. He was very dismissive of the girls at the table, when I began to talk THE OWNER looked at me and asked me if my bra went any higher, because my 'boobs ' were hanging out.... we laughed it off because I can be a good sport. He bought a round of shots for the guys, and one for himself. As we were wrapping up our dinner, the owner came back. He stood next to me and looked at me and said 'So, what did your dad say when you left the house looking like that? ' Of course nobody laughed or said anything. I looked at him, and he said 'Sorry I 'm a conservative ' and continued to tell me my dad was probably disappointed at my dress choice, and it was too revealing. I walked away from the table. The end result was a half assed apology, only my steak was taken off of our bill, and for him to ask us to please come back again. I don 't care about having my meal paid for, I 'm a working 22 year old and have the money to spend. However, I will not spend it on a restaurant owned by someone who talks to paying customers and women in this way. To top it off, the food was not even that good.

Most West-Siders have been to Rick's at least once, for their reputation of being one of the bigger steakhouses. I don't think that Rick's lives up to that reputation anymore. The steakhouse is located downstairs, with a full bar, and lots of dark woodwork. Tables have thick white cloths, cloth napkins, and a full flatware setting. The restaurant provides a lemon sorbet palate cleanse after your appetizers/salads and house bread basket. You need to have a reservation, but the time we went on a weekend was lacking of service. When there is a banquet/retirement party, or some kind of corporate event, Rick's is understaffed. It took over and hour for our food to come out, after the salads, and some of the entrees were different temperatures than others. The steak person in my family loves Rick's, but has noted that the quality of the prime rib varies from time to time (and he eats the whole 44 oz). The Shrimp Scampi looked good, but it was a little skimpy scampi on the actual shrimp. The filet mignon was good, but a little overcooked. My other half enjoyed the porterhouse immensely. One thing that I didn't love was that there isn't a drink/wine menu. The waitress didn't know what beers were on tap, and they didn't seem to have a big selection. Most people order Stellas, If I am sitting down at a fancy place, I don't want to have to get up and go to the bar to ask what they have. They get their desserts from Cheesy Eddies (at least the NY Cheesecake and Carrot Cakes). We left out of the ramp exit because it was closest to our table, and we had the luxury of walking through a receiving line of people smoking. Rick's needs to do some fine tuning.