San Mateo Prime

Celebrated my birthday dinner there tonight. The food and service was fantastic. I forgot to take photos but you've seen their prime rib so no sense duplicating photos of the same thing. Will definitely be back again soon. Yummmmmm!

Awesome prime rib. Old school steakhouse flavor and service in a sweet downtown location. Think house of prime rib food. Loved the big windows and great service. We have a new favorite, since they were friendly, accommodating, and the portions huge. We felt it was good value comparable or better than other steakhouses. Also not stuffy, we were relaxed and comfortable (a notch below business casual). A star for that!

The owner is friendly and always remembers us. Food is excellent. Service is good.

Had a lovely meal there Friday evening, food was plentiful and great. All the staff were friendly and professional. I look forward to eating their again.

The staff was friendly and helpful, and the prime rib, creamed spinach, and creamed corn were all wonderful. The food was delicious. So glad we decided to stop in and give them a try. This is now our go to, when we want prime rib.

Let me start off by saying I will not be comparing them to a certain place in the city. This place has excellent service, a great prime rib, and a lovely atmosphere. Conveniently located in the heart of San Mateo with plenty of easy parking options. It's perfect for a date night, birthday celebration or any special event.

I had an excellent rack of lamb. Before you say anything, I had too much prime rib this holiday season.

When craving for Prime Rib, we would come here to satisfy our cravings. I normally order the San Mateo cut with linguini and cream of corn as my sides. I usually order mother the salmon with cream of spinach and cream of corn as her sides. Their Prime Rib and Salmon was not dry at all. Not as good as House of Prime but not bad. Would definitely come back. Update: 07/13/2025 Still my favorite location to eat prime rib. 2 reasons. Service, and easy to find parking. Of course, aside from the yummy meat. I ordered: San Mateo prime with linguine as a side and cream of corn. Yummy.

I go to House of Prime Rib at least a few times a year, I found San Mateo Prime to be basically as good!! It’s hard to beat the HOPR ambiance but the food was fantastic and comparable IMO. They even seared my cut perfectly!

1st time here, food was delicious, staff was very friendly!!! Ordered our dishes, with a bottle of wine. The meat was on point. No idea why I've never been here before, but definitely coming back.

Very good place to go for a nice Prime Rib Dinner that won’t break the bank. Drinks were excellent, good wine selection by the glass, and prime rib was perfect. Service was attentive & great.

First time at San Mateo Prime; Very comfortable setting; What you'd expect, nice tables, tablecloths; Nice, well stocked bar; Prime rib, Avenue cut was very tasty; Only distraction was a large party with one very loud individual; Otherwise, great place for a meal; I understand there is also an upstairs dining area; Staff very attentive; I would definitely make a reservation when you go; Lots of foot traffic in downtown area; So I wouldn't take a chance, reserved a table in advance; They can seat large parties too!

They let us share a 16oz beef, even gave us an extra pop pie!! Which was very eggy and crispy and yummy. Good service and decent beef.

If you Love House of Prime Rib in San Francisco....You will enjoy San Mateo Prime....Prime Rib was very good...The salad Yorkshire Pudding were awesome...and I did not have to wait 3 months to get a 7pm reservation....💙

S Chin

When craving for Prime Rib, we would come here to satisfy our cravings. I normally order the San Mateo cut with linguini and cream of corn as my sides. I usually order mother the salmon with cream of spinach and cream of corn as her sides. Their Prime Rib and Salmon was not dry at all. Not as good as House of Prime but not bad. Would definitely come back. Update: 07/13/2025 Still my favorite location to eat prime rib. 2 reasons. Service, and easy to find parking. Of course, aside from the yummy meat. I ordered: San Mateo prime with linguine as a side and cream of corn. Yummy.

Angela Dao

I go to House of Prime Rib at least a few times a year, I found San Mateo Prime to be basically as good!! It’s hard to beat the HOPR ambiance but the food was fantastic and comparable IMO. They even seared my cut perfectly!

Claudia Ramirez

1st time here, food was delicious, staff was very friendly!!! Ordered our dishes, with a bottle of wine. The meat was on point. No idea why I've never been here before, but definitely coming back.

Trung Bach

Very good place to go for a nice Prime Rib Dinner that won’t break the bank. Drinks were excellent, good wine selection by the glass, and prime rib was perfect. Service was attentive & great.

RLO

First time at San Mateo Prime; Very comfortable setting; What you'd expect, nice tables, tablecloths; Nice, well stocked bar; Prime rib, Avenue cut was very tasty; Only distraction was a large party with one very loud individual; Otherwise, great place for a meal; I understand there is also an upstairs dining area; Staff very attentive; I would definitely make a reservation when you go; Lots of foot traffic in downtown area; So I wouldn't take a chance, reserved a table in advance; They can seat large parties too!

Musho Pea

They let us share a 16oz beef, even gave us an extra pop pie!! Which was very eggy and crispy and yummy. Good service and decent beef.

Mark Garcia

If you Love House of Prime Rib in San Francisco....You will enjoy San Mateo Prime....Prime Rib was very good...The salad Yorkshire Pudding were awesome...and I did not have to wait 3 months to get a 7pm reservation....💙

Robert Lee

I had an excellent rack of lamb. Before you say anything, I had too much prime rib this holiday season.

Great food and fantastic service. If you’re in the Peninsula in search of Prime Rib, this is the place!

Great place! Great prime rib! Very tender and juicy. The crème brulée was top notch! Service was friendly. The restaurant had a nice upscale feel and was well decorated.

Brian Gorman

Great food and fantastic service. If you’re in the Peninsula in search of Prime Rib, this is the place!

Michael D

Great place! Great prime rib! Very tender and juicy. The crème brulée was top notch! Service was friendly. The restaurant had a nice upscale feel and was well decorated.

D Rivas

Let me start off by saying I will not be comparing them to a certain place in the city. This place has excellent service, a great prime rib, and a lovely atmosphere. Conveniently located in the heart of San Mateo with plenty of easy parking options. It's perfect for a date night, birthday celebration or any special event.

I'd say the food was good and the service was great. Portions were large. Id come again.

This place's prime rib is quite tender and flavorful. Good alternative to the House of Prime Rib in SF.

We had a large family dinner for Xmas day and only one waiter served us. The food was good but took awhile for the main dish to come out. Not sure why there are 3 persons at the greeting reception.

Had reservations on a Saturday night. Great prime rib. Great service. The house salad and baked potato were also good. Creamed spinach recipe needs some adjustment/improvement. Hopr still does it the best but I would come here back again for prime rib.

Good juicy prime rib on the Peninsula. I like House of Prime Rib better because the flavor is more robust. But the yorkshire pudding here is far better. The service for large groups is excellent and I'm taking one star off because I have had better prime rib. I believe it's subjective though. Try it and I'm sure you'll really enjoy this place.

If you like House Of Prime Rib you'll like San Mateo Prime. Almost the same exact menu and price. They have garlic linguine noodles but, it is not on the menu. You must request the noodles if you want it. The salad at House Of Prime is better in my opinion. If you order the San Mateo cut they will give you additional slices if you finish your meat like House Of Prime, just ask. Parking is easier than House Of Prime and easier to walk in or get a reservation. Only drawback in my opinion is the automatic 18% tip added to the bill but, the sevice was attentive.

Steaks are good, but not exceptional as we expected high. Great place for a dinner. Easy conversation and warm environment. Just hard to find parking in San Mateo downtown area.

Food was delicious and priced just right. I especially liked the service as the staff were friendly and made sure our company enjoyed our dinner. Will definitely go back for seconds!

Their main cuts of steak will be~$40-$50 depending on which you choose. Their steaks were nice and tender and the sides delicious as well.

11-28-2024: We ordered for Thanksgiving, and the food was good. Good dealing with Steve.

Service was excellent, prime rib was excellent, salad was excellent. Sides weren't great, we had fries, both Spinach dishes and garlic mashed, they were just ok. Overall I do recommend.

It's hard to visit this spot without comparing it to House of Prime Rib so let's get that out of the way - HOPR is way better. That said, San Mateo Prime is way more reasonably priced and more low key. The prime rib was cooked perfectly, really tasty, and the popovers were HUGE. I missed some of the pomp around the table-mixed salad and meat carved right from the cart that you get at HOPR, but at $75 each (with tip and a drink or two) it's hard to complain!

Peter Anthony Bulan

Food was delicious and priced just right. I especially liked the service as the staff were friendly and made sure our company enjoyed our dinner. Will definitely go back for seconds!

Michael Chen

Their main cuts of steak will be~$40-$50 depending on which you choose. Their steaks were nice and tender and the sides delicious as well.

John

11-28-2024: We ordered for Thanksgiving, and the food was good. Good dealing with Steve.

Solidly delicious! The prime rib was great. The Yorkshire pudding and crème brûlée were also standout highlights. In my opinion, it’s not quite on the same level as House of Prime Rib, but it comes pretty close — and it’s way easier to snag a reservation.

Tiffany Chang

Solidly delicious! The prime rib was great. The Yorkshire pudding and crème brûlée were also standout highlights. In my opinion, it’s not quite on the same level as House of Prime Rib, but it comes pretty close — and it’s way easier to snag a reservation.

Very expensive meal. The popovers are great. The mashed potatoes are terrible. The New York steak was good quality meat but uninteresting. The English prime rib was good, not great but good. The customer service is lackluster. I watched a group come in an hour early for their reservation and even though the restaurant was empty, the wait staff was quite frankly rude and made them sit in the bar. The bartender / waiter was extraordinarily rude. This experience was not as good as the first experience.

Came here to celebrate the holidays with my cousin. Easy place to find, but parking could be challenging. We both ordered their signature prime, medium rare, with cream corn and garlic mash. The meat was good and portions were good but it was not as rare as we expected. The cream corn was alright, nothing to brag home about. There's definitely something missing. The mash was good but could use more garlic and portion was also insufficient. I did enjoy the sauce, wish their service was more attentive about additional sauce. We decided on this place based on a yelp review that said you only come here if you can't get a reservation at house of prime rib (HPR). I do agree, but perhaps a couple more backups (whichever they may be, I'm curious to know) after HPR before coming here.

This place is alright. I came here with my family for the holidays. I wish the staff was a little more attentive. I think my food was just okay. Garlic mashed potato could of used a little more garlic flavor. My meat was good but I’ve had better. Parking was a breeze with street parking and a garage located near by.

It was alright. Went for my 29th and got the prime rib. Definitely not better than HPR but that’s a tough comparison. I’d also choose broadway prime over them due to service. The ambiance is usually quiet and dim. Reasonably priced for the usual meat and sides.

Celebrate a birthday there for dinner. Everyone was happy with their meals. I would've given an extra star if they didn't charge for the Shirley temples even with our hook-ups. 🤭

I've been here for years. The food is usually decent, but this time, it's a bit underwhelming. Ordered the Filet Mignon, and it came out to be wayyy smaller than before (about the size of a tennis ball). It wasn't very good either. Splat some mashed potatoes and a handful of fries, and there goes a $65 meal. (See picture.) I also heard the rack of lamb this time wasn't great either. Perhaps management should do a taste test to make sure the food is up to par? Cuz this time, it tastes a bit like mediocre buffet food. 😶

Judy Wong

Celebrate a birthday there for dinner. Everyone was happy with their meals. I would've given an extra star if they didn't charge for the Shirley temples even with our hook-ups. 🤭

Thomas Ng

I've been here for years. The food is usually decent, but this time, it's a bit underwhelming. Ordered the Filet Mignon, and it came out to be wayyy smaller than before (about the size of a tennis ball). It wasn't very good either. Splat some mashed potatoes and a handful of fries, and there goes a $65 meal. (See picture.) I also heard the rack of lamb this time wasn't great either. Perhaps management should do a taste test to make sure the food is up to par? Cuz this time, it tastes a bit like mediocre buffet food. 😶

Went there on Thanksgiving day Pros: Prime rib was delicious. Steve the waiter was attentive. Pricing was good. Cons: No desert memu 😢 At 2 am, both the wife and I woke up with moderate diarrhea. Think it was the creamed spinach. Any of you other customers have this problem? Overall: not coming back. Think we will explore other prime rib places in the bay area.

Whoever said this place is on par or better than House of Prime Rib simply does not have patience to wait for a table. They are delulu. San Mateo Prime is incomparable to House of Prime Rib. If you come here, don’t try to compare this with house of prime rib. If you want a good overall prime rib experience, go to house of prime rib. If you just want a nice dinner with prime rib, no wait, and okay sides, this is the spot for you. Let’s start with the good stuff. What was decent here was the prime rib, garlic mash potato, and creamed corn. The crème brûlée dessert was also good. Overall, nothing to brag about, but it was decent. Now what makes me not want to come back would be the salad and popover. The salad was served poorly. It’s tasted like lettuce drowned in heavy thousand island dressing, all made in bulk in the morning. What we got was a sad soggy salad. The popover tasted like undercooked pound cake. Crispy on the outside, mushy and raw in the inside. Creamed spinach was too heavy for me, but I’d say this is an acquired taste and I’m not going to neg on it. But it was not for me. I also got the garlic noodle and it was good, but nothing to go crazy over. Overall, the meal was okay, service was attentive, and the atmosphere was good for a nice date.

Donald Mitchell

Went there on Thanksgiving day Pros: Prime rib was delicious. Steve the waiter was attentive. Pricing was good. Cons: No desert memu 😢 At 2 am, both the wife and I woke up with moderate diarrhea. Think it was the creamed spinach. Any of you other customers have this problem? Overall: not coming back. Think we will explore other prime rib places in the bay area.

Alvin Ma

Whoever said this place is on par or better than House of Prime Rib simply does not have patience to wait for a table. They are delulu. San Mateo Prime is incomparable to House of Prime Rib. If you come here, don’t try to compare this with house of prime rib. If you want a good overall prime rib experience, go to house of prime rib. If you just want a nice dinner with prime rib, no wait, and okay sides, this is the spot for you. Let’s start with the good stuff. What was decent here was the prime rib, garlic mash potato, and creamed corn. The crème brûlée dessert was also good. Overall, nothing to brag about, but it was decent. Now what makes me not want to come back would be the salad and popover. The salad was served poorly. It’s tasted like lettuce drowned in heavy thousand island dressing, all made in bulk in the morning. What we got was a sad soggy salad. The popover tasted like undercooked pound cake. Crispy on the outside, mushy and raw in the inside. Creamed spinach was too heavy for me, but I’d say this is an acquired taste and I’m not going to neg on it. But it was not for me. I also got the garlic noodle and it was good, but nothing to go crazy over. Overall, the meal was okay, service was attentive, and the atmosphere was good for a nice date.

Came here for a triple birthday party. Food was mediocre and the service was about the same. I ordered a medium prime rib and it came out rare. Plus there was no exterior sear. I know not all restaurants will cook it with a exterior sear but it is a personal preference. I ate only a quarter of it and will be cooking it at home. The sides looked good but we're just okay. The creamed spinach wasn't too good, it tasted off. Too much cream and not enough salt or seasoning. I also ordered a lemonade for my kids and it was powdered junk. Again not my preference for this type of restaurant. Service ignored us for the most part once our food came out. Held my hand up for a good 3 minutes waving and no one acknowledged me. I would have complained but no one asked how are meal was so.... I'll stick with cooking it at home or going to House of Prime Rib or Burlingame in that order.

Prime rib was one of the best we have had. The servers were attentive. Stars are based on what happened after dinner. A service charge (SVC CHG) of 19.8% was added to the bill with NO explanation. There was no indication on the menu, no signs/noticed posted. No disclosure of this when we made our reservation. Fine, maybe it goes towards the gratuity? We thought the SVC CHG went to gratuity - a bit less than we give normally for good service, but okay, we don't mind being forced to pay gratuity. Apparently, that service charge does not go to the servers or wait staff as a gratuity! In my opinion, this is deceptive. Who does that service charge go to exactly?... We won't be returning and will support other establishments that can account to why you are charged a service charge and who is getting the money. Extremely disappointed.

E B

Prime rib was one of the best we have had. The servers were attentive. Stars are based on what happened after dinner. A service charge (SVC CHG) of 19.8% was added to the bill with NO explanation. There was no indication on the menu, no signs/noticed posted. No disclosure of this when we made our reservation. Fine, maybe it goes towards the gratuity? We thought the SVC CHG went to gratuity - a bit less than we give normally for good service, but okay, we don't mind being forced to pay gratuity. Apparently, that service charge does not go to the servers or wait staff as a gratuity! In my opinion, this is deceptive. Who does that service charge go to exactly?... We won't be returning and will support other establishments that can account to why you are charged a service charge and who is getting the money. Extremely disappointed.

Horrible. Flat out refused service an hour and 20 minutes before closing. When I first attempted to visit this restaurant their Google page said they closed at 10, so I made the trek over but apparently they are not open on mondays. I decided I would try again on a Saturday night. I checked online and it again said 10, but I called to verify their hours and ensure they still had crab dip on the menu. After calling they said they closed at 9. I recalled later that day just to check again (since I didn’t want to make the drive over if they were closing early) and they said they close at 9:30 but the kitchen closes at 9. I arrived at 8:10… an hour and 20 minutes before closing and upon entry asked if we could sit at the bar for drinks and apps. But the person at the front just looked at us and said “we don’t serve appetizers”. They didn’t offer us the bar or main entrees, just flat out refused service. It did look slow and I would have understood if they said it was slow and they were closing up early. But to call twice and drive all the way over for them to just say “they don’t serve appetizers” is abhorrent. Will never be back.