Mark's Prime Steakhouse and Seafood - Gainesville

Venue: pretty large restaurant, tables and booths available. My party had a large private room in the back to ourselves. Service: we had two staff dedicated to our table, they were pretty accommodating and friendly. Didn't have any issues and felt like they managed the large table pretty well. Food: it was pretty good, delicious steak, but you're definitely paying for it. Drinks: they had a large selection, no complaints but don't think they had anything special.

We visited for our anniversary dinner, and overall, we had a really nice experience. Parking downtown can get busy, so I recommend arriving early so you’re not circling or stressed before your reservation. Inside, the ambiance is definitely romantic — dim lighting, soft atmosphere, and a cozy upscale vibe. It’s great for date night or celebrating something special, though the lighting makes taking photos a bit tricky. For starters, I ordered the French onion soup. It was fine, but not as flavorful as I hoped — not bad, just not one of those soups that blows you away. The calamari, however, was easily some of the best we’ve ever had. Perfectly cooked, great texture, and really well seasoned. For my entrée, I ordered the petite sirloin, which was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly to temperature. My only complaint is that entrées don’t come with a side, which always feels a little annoying at a high-end steakhouse. We ended up sharing a baked potato, and it was huge — seriously one of the biggest baked potatoes we’ve ever seen, and it was delicious. C ordered the special of the night. He enjoyed it and liked the BBQ-style preparation, but wished it had just a bit more flavor. We also tried their specialty drink called the Midnight Treat, which was delicious. Unfortunately, the bar ran out of the drink halfway through our meal, so we weren’t able to order another round, which was kind of a bummer. Our waiter was attentive, and the service overall was warm and professional. The theming of the restaurant is cute, leaning toward a darker, more romantic style, so it’s perfect for anniversaries, date nights, or a special moment — definitely fancier than LongHorn, with pricing to match. One important tip: make a reservation. They get very busy on weekends. We actually tried to go on a different night and couldn’t get in without one, so plan ahead to avoid that disappointment. Overall, Mark’s is a solid choice if you’re looking for a special evening with great steaks, cozy ambiance, and attentive service. We’d return — especially for that calamari and baked potato.

I ordered the grouper of Santa Fe, which was average. The bread and sides were okay but not as expected. The service was Okay but given their price, 3 star is fair.

Overall, sub-Prime experience. Steaks were comparable to Shula's. The sides and atmosphere were significantly less good. Next time: Embers. Food - Good: Steak - well cooked and well seasoned. The peppercorn sauce was excellent. One person didn't order steak but enjoyed the scallops and pasta. The prosciutto wrapped jalapeños were surprisingly good! Not good: French onion soup. Bland, no depth flavor, no deep dark broth, not the bubbly Gruyere on top like it "should" be. This is AFTER being told the soup is recommended as a 10 out of 10, and is a "proper" French onion soup. Maaybe a 6. Stay away. Save your appetite for the steak. Creamed spinach - not good. Under seasoned and bland. Probably the "worst" creamed spinach I have had at a nice steak house. Jalapeño au gratin potatoes. Average. Hoped it would hit. Meh. Atmosphere - Saturday night - place is nearly full not but crowded. Waited nearly 15 minutes and were offered a drafty table near the door. Requested a different table and request was fulfilled with a more interior table. Atmosphere is stark, some wood and paintings in the periphery. High ceilings so not so much a cozy feel. Quiet enough to be able to talk normally at the table. Service - Kitchen was behind and slow. While the staff were nice and friendly, they were making apologies and excuses all night. Felt bad for them. Waited for every course way longer than one should - it was not paced well.

This is not a fancy restaurant, it's an over-priced restaurant. While the lamb was plated very nice, it was tough and didn't taste right. They replaced it with the filet minion. It had good flavor, however it had that slightly gritty texture like it was re-frozen. Just sad when you are paying over $50 just for the meat. The state of the men's room was just appalling for a "nice restaurant." Details matter at this price point.

TL;DR: There are other good steakhouses in Gainesville go there instead. My wife and I went here for the first time on our ten year anniversary, hoping to have a special night. We've been to all the other steakhouses in town and were looking forward to try this one. The reservation process was easy and straightforward and we had no problem getting seated. That's about where the good time ended. The waiter was very inattentive and didn't even ask us it was our first time or if we were celebrating anything special. Meanwhile, for comparison, we went to Ember's down the street a few months before and they asked if we were celebrating anything, we told them a promotion, and they brought us free dessert and brandy. I'm not looking for free things and I don't need a stranger to celebrate my anniversary, but when these expensive places are supposed to focus on customer experience, it's disappointing that our waiter didn't care at all. Looking past that, we ordered cocktails. They took forever to come out, pretty much right before our meal. I wanted to like mine but it was 90% chipped ice. I ordered an old fashioned. That's not the kind of ice you put in there. It almost immediately became mostly water. If you're spending $15+ on a cocktail, you don't want water. The bread was fine. It's sourdough. If you don't like that kind of bread, skip it. Finally the meal. The fish we got was somehow the best part, at the steakhouse. The potatoes were good too but that's where things end. The steak had no char or crust. I got the New York Strip and it was mostly gristle. I also don't think they seasoned it. The Brussels sprouts were supposed to be roasted with bacon and they honestly tasted like they were pre-frozen and boiled. By the time we were done, we were asked if we wanted dessert but we just wanted to get out of there. It took forever for the waiter to bring us our check and we ended up spending the second most we've ever spent at a steakhouse in Gainesville while getting almost the same exact things that we usually do. I sincerely mean this, you could have a MUCH better meal and experience at Texas Roadhouse for half the price. Obviously go to one of the other fancy steakhouses first but I'm just saying, TR would have been way better. If I'm going to spend the money, I'm going to one of the other great places in town. I'm skipping this place every time.

I'm sry to do this but we decided to go to Mark's in Gainesville on Wednesday for our 15 year wedding anniversary dinner. I've been craving a steak and had my eyes on a Delmonico...so we made reservations and got coconut shrimp 🦐 (I think it was $15 - got 4 shrimp in total ) as an appertizer they were huge and I liked them my husband wasn't too thrilled but the sweet sauce was ok. Then he got the chopped salad and I got the Caesar salad ($? Can't remember but I think they were $10-+) . He said his was super dry and mine had no flavor. I ended up not eating it . I got the fingerling Potatos and my husband got the broccoli with butter sauce ($10 each per side) . My potatoes were so hard but dark I just couldn't eat them. I asked and showed the waiter if this was normal and he just brushed it off. Another thing I did not eat 🙄$$$ I got the Delmonico steak ($55) medium well wuth demi sauce the steak was ok the sauce was good but no seasoning on the steak or food ...my husband got the catchers special which was some kind of red fish ($54) which we love normally the waiter did not ask how he wanted it cooked and was baked. We never have or ask for baked red fish . Just not normal but he got 2 small fried nugget pieces of the fish with some kind of smear of a sauce which was um ok I guess. Just very disappointed ☹️ was so looking forward to it. I got one small glass of wine (the cheapest one they had lol I don't normally drink 🍷$15 but it was our anniversary) pictures - it all looked good just taste and flavor was a big miss. Total $200! 😲 For what ? Was NOT worth it . Next time definitely going back to Embers for sure we spent $100 for about the same amount and kind of food and I got a whole bottle of wine there. I'm so tired of paying money and especially alot of money for bad food 🤮 sry not sry just our opinion ☺️ $200?!

First time in Gainsville wasa bummer! Drove fr St Augustine to attend a fall festival w/friends to celebrate her birthday n that she's craving fir steak but unfortunately our experience was a disappointment served us underbaked bread our meals took forever over 45 min wait salad was served after the entree the steak was dry too our bill was $267 including tip didn't complained didn't want to ruin our friend birthday so we didn't say anything this is a lesson learned for us we shd have check the restaurant reviews then! 😕😞🙁😔

One would anticipate a high echelon experience here. In fact, we’ve experienced just that and nothing less in previous visits. Unfortunately, our last experience has left us speechless, and beyond disappointed!! $70+ dollar steaks completely undercooked. We never complain; however, our steaks were so undercooked we had no choice but to send them back. When we got them back, they were completely charred and inedible. I cannot believe the server staff even felt it was acceptable to return to the table with $70 steaks in that condition, no less expect us to eat them. The manager proceeded to tell us they wouldn’t charge us for the steaks, in addition to buying our first glasses of wine. When we got the bill, we were charged $200 for two appetizers and two sides, and EVERY glass of wine we ordered. If you’re looking for a top notch steakhouse experience, go to Embers instead. You won’t be disappointed like you will be with Mark’s.

Very disappointed in this place- coming from a family of routine fine dining & upper echelon places, this place was extremely under par. Waiter was very impersonal. Our wine tasting glasses, appetizer plates/drinks/ etc, were all left on the table until it was near the end of our dinner leaving us no room on the table. It took 25 or so minutes for a refill, leaving my husband having to get up and go order from the bar. Food took around an hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours to come out. Likely this was the case due to a tip being already included in large parties leaving no reason for decent service. The steak was okay, but the soups and salads were awful. Would not return.