Hondos Prime Steakhouse in Richmond, Virginia - Prime is Not Always the Best

I was all primed to try out Hondos Prime Only steakhouse here Richmond,Virginia. Hondos is located at the Innsbrook Shops within the Innsbrook corporate park. I'm quite sure they do a great business from out-of-town guests as well as in-town business from local employers and couples wanting to celebrate a special occasion. While this restaurant is pretty good, it's FAR from being worth the prices they charge.

When we moved back to Richmond about 2 years ago I saw the restaurant and started asking friends about it. They compared it to Ruth's Chris and Mortons. READ: EXPENSIVE.

I can't afford to go to places like that unless someone else is buying so luckily when my manager came into town he asked for a place for a few of us to go to dinner. I said, 'Well there's Hondos steakhouse, but while I've been REALLY wanting to try it, it's REALLY expensive." Well, it was on the company expense account so he said, 'Let's go."

Atmosphere, stratosphere, oh...who cares, give me beef!
This is a fancy looking place when you walk in. Waiters crisply dressed, almost to the point of being snobby looking. This is not a place you walk into with jeans, but business-casual attire seemed OK. Unfortunately (for me), smoking is allowed in Virginia restaurants. The smoking only section is closest to the front door near the bar. We didn't have reservations (or realize we needed them) on that Wednesday night and the place was booked solid, except for immediate seating in the smoking section. At 6:30 in the evening there weren't many people in the smoking section and although I can barely tolerate cigarette smoke, it really wasn't that bad.

Where's the beef!
Beef is the specialty here, though there are other choices such as vegetarian pasta, Chicken Breast Milanese, baby back ribs, and a selection of seafood. Some of the appetizers such as Lobster Scampi ($29), and the Sautéed Southern-Style Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes ($15.50) cost more than I usually pay for my entrée. My manager ordered the Pan-Seared Ahi-Tuna appetizer which according the menu is sesame encrusted and served with a ginger citrus Ponzu ($12). My manager didn't seem too impressed with it.

Hondos claims to serve the "finest, more specifically the finest Prime, corn-fed, perfectly aged steaks..." There's a boneless Ribeye steak for $38, which looked way too good to pass up. Upon looking at the choices of the 8-ounce Filet Mignon for $29 or the 12-ounce Filet Mignon for $38, my manager and co-worker chose the smaller filets.

The steaks come with a choice of salads and a choice of baked potato, garlic mashers, thick steak fries, baked sweet potatoes or sautéed vegetables. All steaks are served sizzling in drawn butter. I asked about the sautéed vegetables and the waitress said they were a variety of vegetables like squash, carrots, broccoli in a Hollandaise sauce. I asked if I could substitute the steamed asparagus that was listed on the menu as one of the special sides. "No Problem," she said. I also ordered the house salad with the balsamic vinegarette.

For REAL hungry beef eaters there's the Hondos Signature Porterhouse Steak, a 24-ounce slab of beef for $48. For the surf and turf crowd, you might be interested in the 8 ounce Filet with a 6 ounce Cold Water Lobster Tail for $49.

Service
We were seated promptly once we agreed to sit in the smoking section. Our waitress, was courteous and professional but not overly friendly. We were constantly attended to with drinks and refills, and a loaf of delicious warm bread right out of the oven. The seasoned butter was piped onto a butter dish.

Luckily we didn't have this experience:
Waiter: "Tea or coffee, gentlemen?"
1st customer: "I'll have tea."
2nd customer: "Me, too - and be sure the glass is clean!"
(Waiter exits, returns)
Waiter: "Two teas. Which one asked for the clean glass?"

The salad was fantastic. Mixed greens and the small amount of delicious dressing was just right. The steaks came to the table, as advertised: sizzling. We couldn't actually touch the plates without suffering 2nd degree burns. The waiter and manager came to the table and asked to cut into the center of the steaks to ensure they were done to satisfaction. Since the restaurant is very dimly lit, the manager has a little flashlight to shine on the steaks so we could accurately tell if they were done properly. All three steaks were cooked to perfection.

O.K. now here's the first of my "beefs." The steak had little fat, was extremely tender and had just the right amount of marbling. BUT, what was extremely disturbing was the fact that had it not been for the 'drawn butter' that they put on the steak and the salt and pepper I put on the steak, it would have been completely tasteless. I'm sorry if I offend anyone here, but I feel like I have a good pretty good idea of what a really good steak is. It surprises me that so many people will say how great their steak is and how tender, juicy and perfectly cooked it is. Then they let me try a piece and it's completely tasteless. Many people mistake a tender and juicy steak for a good tasting steak.

Steak Break
A waiter brings the customer the steak he ordered with his thumb over the meat.
"Are you crazy?" yelled the customer, "with your hand on my steak?"
"What" answers the waiter, "You want it to fall on the floor again?"

Second of my beefs is that I ordered steamed asparagus from the menu, yet what was delivered to me was a side dish of completely tasteless asparagus drowning in a thick Hollandaise sauce. It's funny that the "Side Dishes" listing on the paper takeout menu indicates the asparagus is served with the Hollandaise sauce while the menu you are given when you sit down indicates steamed asparagus with NO mention of any accompanying sauce.

My dinner companion's thoughts
Silence often speaks louder than words. When I asked my manager about how his tiny but expensive filet was, he just nodded. I've been out with him for dinner enough times to know that when he likes something he raves about it. My co-worker also didn't respond until I contacted him by instant messenger a few days later without my manager around. He said his filet had no taste.

More Beefs????
Well, since my manager was going to order dessert, I figured, what the heck! I ordered a mixed berry sorbet. The menu indicated it would be served with fresh berries. It was a very large portion and the sorbet was delicious, but it didn't occur to me until the next day that there were no berries served with the dessert.

Coffee!!!!!
Now I have to compliment the chef on the coffee. It was dark and delicious! The coffee is served in a small French press pitcher. The waitress pushes the press' plunger down at the table and pours the coffee. It was fantastic.

The bill for the three of us after tip and without any alcohol was $165. I do have to say that after 2 emails to the marketing manager I got an apology and a $150 certificate to try the restaurant again.

For my second visit I treated my wife and brother-in-law and his wife.

The experience was much better on the second trip, but the steaks were just NOT worth the price. Three of us had the special for the evening: 16-oz prime rib ($28.95). The other had Bronzed North Atlantic Salmon (rubbed with brown sugar and chipotle served with a red raspberry and Merlot reduction. $25.95) All four entrees were done to perfection and more importantly tasty. I thought the prime rib was a tad chewy, but it had a delicious flavor.

My brother-in-law and myself ordered the French Onion Soup Gratinée ($6.75). It was fair. The cheese melted on the side of the crock was burned. Some of the croutons in the soup were hard to chew for some reason. I have tasted MUCH better onion soup.

The salads with balsamic vinegarette were delicious. I could have made a meal just eating that. My brother-in-law ordered the Hearts of Iceberg salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing. Salads are included in the entree price. He said the dressing was delicious, though I didn't see any chunks of bleu cheese which should be evident in a restaurant of this caliber.

The waiter piped out honey-butter on a plate for the loaf of warm, right-out-of-the-oven bread. Excellent. We were too full for dessert but the coffee, again, was brought to the table in a French press pot and it was fantastic; bold and full of flavor.

The server was much nicer than the one we had on my last visit, but despite the better experience, I would find it very find it difficult to justify going there again, even on someone else's expense account.

Hondos
Lunch, Monday through Friday: 11:00-2:30 pm
Dinner: Weekdays: 4:30 - 10:00 pm
Friday and Saturday open until 11:00 pm
Sunday open until 9:00 pm
Sunday Brunch: 10:00 - 1:30 pm

4024-C Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060
Phone: 804-968-4323