The buzz around Ocean Prime in Dallas was palpable when it first opened.  The people of Dallas raved about it, but some critics weren’t didn’t feel the same about the new perfectly-located seafood restaurant.  My opinion:  don’t listen to the critics (except for me, of course), and make you own decision on this resto – I personally enjoyed myself the last couple of visits, as did my friends.

After all of my friends and I finally located the spot (it’s tough to find), we sat back to enjoy the two hour “Prime Hour” which boasts food and drink specials – most are about $4 or so off the regular prices.  Cocktails are $8 and apps start at $5.  The food is “shi shi” but still fills you up; definitely try the goat cheese ravioli and the fondue!  Also, eat as much of the popcorn as you can; at first you wonder why they would bring such weak sauce to the table – and then you try it … kaBOOM … the truffle garlic butter takes over and you can’t stop eating it.

For cocktails, there aren’t many choices on the Prime Hour menu, but they edited them well and there are some nice choices: the cucumber gimlet, the blood orange negroni, and the pineapple Finlandia martini.  Definitely try the aforementioned cucumber gimlet; the men at the table were sold on it after the first sip and couldn’t get enough of them.

The atmosphere is lively and the outside bar gets a little loud.  Inside you can enjoy live music and rub elbows with the businessmen from the Crescent and the *ahem* mature women (read: cougars) of Dallas.

Random additional comments:  they have extra large Sonic ice, the wait staff is très  attractive and sassy (in a good way), the bread basket is a must, ask for water refills, allow time for your drink to be made,  the bathroom doors need work so take a friend to guard it for you, don’t go in scrubby clothes, sit back and enjoy.

Drink strength: 3 
Overall: 4.3

Ocean Prime
dallas.ocean-prime.com | @oceanprimecmr
2101 Cedar Springs Road, Uptown | (214) 965-0440

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 4-6 p.m. | $5-8 select appetizers, $8 selectwines by the glass, $8 select cocktails