"2011-06-10T00:00:00"^^ . "2"^^ . . "1"^^ . . "1"^^ . . "**1/2 star review:\n\nWhen one ponders about where to grab a steak in Toronto, names such as Morton's, Hys, or Harbor 60 come to mind. These are tried and true steakhouses that are the Prada in their class. For those of us with shallower wallets, there's the Keg or Ruth's Chris. Prime on the other hand is a steakhouse that I have never heard of, occupying a corner space of the Windsor Arms Hotel. The hotel is well-known for its tea room, but Prime has been a neglected feature of this classy hotel - and for good reason.\n\nI walked into Prime with a WagJag voucher in hand for $60 worth of food. Yes, I really need to stop buying vouchers until I use up all the old ones. We were promptly seated and our water glasses filled. The server then came back with a basket of Focaccia, butter balls as well as 3 types of dip: hummus, baba ghanouj and tzaziki. The bread, albeit being cold was light, airy, buttery, and flavourful. However, it was unevenly salted.\n\nI ordered my favourite Lychee Martini to cool myself from the hot and humid weather outside. For my starter I ordered the grilled calamari with pesto on mixed greens (to share). \n\nThe calamari, though flavourful was overgrilled which made it very chewy. I found the pesto sauce to be a tad bit on the oily side (probably stemming from the calamari drippings). The salad was nothing extraordinary. It was nice of the server to bring out the calamari on 2 separate plates, knowing that I would be sharing. The portion size was surprisingly big and I'm glad I decided to share, otherwise, this probably could've been an entr\u00E9e for me.\n\nPrior to arrive, I had done my research on what cuts of steak render the juiciest and most flavourful steak. Everyone had a different opinion. But since I had a voucher, I decided to splurge and go for the most expensive steak on the menu... the 24 oz ribeye. Make no mistake, I did not partake in a steak-eating contest of any kind, the 24 oz steak was shared with a fellow dining companion. Yes, I share a lot of things... Maybe I was African in a past life where communal living seems to be prominent?\n\nI like my steaks seasoned with salt and pepper and nothing else. There is no easier way to ruin a steak than to drench it in rich sauces... I find that restaurants that need to rely on sauces to up the flavour really do not know how to cook a good steak... Otherwise, there would be no need to accessorize it. I had asked for the steak medium-rare, and it came as requested. Despite the inside being cooked to a perfect medium-rare, the outside was burnt. I contemplated sending it back, but decided not to because the server was just so great. Again, they separated the 24 oz steak onto 2 plates, which was thoughtful. The steak was nicely marbled and was juicy, moist and tender. It was too bad that the outside was burnt.\n\nVerdict:\n\nThe Prime definitely gets points for its relaxing and upscale d\u00E9cor... but unfortunately, these things are inedible. I would also give top marks for service as the server was neither too in your face, nor too invisible throughout the evening. He checked up on us at the right intervals of the meal. Considering its location, and calibur, a 24 oz ribeye ringing in at $49 is definitely reasonable and other than the outside being burnt, the steak was quite flavourful. At the end of the day, the bill came to about $98 (divided by 2, since I shared almost everything), less the $60 voucher, which made the payable total around $34 excluding tip. That accounted for a Mojito, Lychee Martini, grilled calamari and ribeye steak. \n\nWould I dine here again? My answer is - probably not. There are other places in Toronto that cook up better steaks in Toronto and none of the dishes particularly wowed me."^^ . "1"^^ .