Barclay Prime – Center City, Philadelphia

An interesting restaurant, not the typical steakhouse, by any means. There are lots of first edition books lining the walls, making it look more like a library then a restaurant.

The food was pretty good. I’m still partial to Sullivan’s, so every time I get a steak, I compare it to them. This was right up there. I had 1/2 dozen oysters on the half shell starters, which were excellent. I then had the NY Strip steak for main course, again very good. I think the biggest difference between Sullivan’s and Barclay Prime is the sides. BCs were a bit boring for my taste, but my fellow diners seemed to enjoy it.

For desert I got the Toasted Peanut Butter S’Mores, which was very good. The toasted marshmallow was homemade and you could tell. A great finish to a excellent meal.

My only complaint was the seating. We had a table for four and two of the diners were given separate chairs, while I and another diner sat on a bench-style seat. This is not a big deal, but when one person wants to move the chair; both diners need to do it. A bit strange for a first class eating establishment, but a minor note in the grand scheme of things.

A highlight is the ability to “choose your weapon”, as the waiter displays a series of top quality steak knives to cut your meat. There were Global, Wustuf, Henckels, etc which is a neat feature.