In a city like ours, dinner deserves to be extraordinary. Las Vegas is too scenic, its lights too bright and colorful, and its sounds too pleasing for a meal here to be anything but memorable.
The storied Cameron Mitchell Restaurants group has had decades to perfect the extraordinary, and it’s demonstrating that with the Strip’s first Ocean Prime.
Located four stories above the Boulevard at the new 63 retail complex on the corner of Harmon Avenue and the Strip, Ocean Prime towers over its competition in more ways than one. If this feels like a $20 million restaurant, that’s because it is. CMR poured some serious capital into its 14,500-square-foot flagship, the 18th Ocean Prime in the U.S. that comes equipped with a rooftop terrace, three bars, three private dining rooms and more than 400 seats.
Ocean Prime’s Smoking Shellfish Tower
From the elevator entry, you’re lead into a muted, intimate cocktail lounge which feeds into a sprawling dining area that bubbles with louder conversation. Gorgeous glass wine cellars, sink-in booths, sexy palettes of silver and gold—this is the restaurant’s heart, and it’s beating with opulence and style.
The air, the drinks, the food—it all tastes better on the terrace. We’re so high up that we can see the pixels in Aria’s marquee. And when our server arrives to take our order, he unloads his menu knowledge with the authority of a man whose house you’ve just stepped into. He’s well equipped to answer any questions and anticipates them. Yes, the oysters have been flown in tonight from Prince Edward Island and British Columbia. Yes, the steaks are broiled at 1,200 degrees to ensure an evenly browned crust and tender interior. Yes, the potatoes au gratin ($18), infused with a building heat of jalapeño, are absolutely to die for.
Seafood at Ocean Prime is an experience all its own. The smoking shellfish tower is an absolute table flex, while tried-and-true apps like the ahi tuna tartare ($29) and the calamari ($28), perfectly cooked with a dollop of sweet Thai chili and bean sprouts for an acidic crunch, get the palate prepared for greatness. Sushi offerings, an ahi tuna and salmon poke bowl ($26), and lobster linguine with roasted tomato butter ($58) round out the seafood offerings.
All the steakhouse standards and then some are present, from your blackened snapper and Alaskan halibut to your bone-in filets and New York strips, topped with black garlic butter. Ocean Prime’s use of truffle vinaigrette on its Chilean sea bass ($43) also marinates the fish in a flavorful, savory glaze, enhancing everything these wonderful chefs have already perfected. And baked lobster mac and cheese ($48) could be the perfect pairing with your favorite cut of beef, perhaps a show-stopping 16-ounce ribeye ($72).
“Wow” is a word that came up a lot over this dinner. That’s something we’ve come to expect from the Las Vegas Strip steakhouse experience, but with its seafood focus, Ocean Prime is prepared to take that experience to new levels.
OCEAN PRIME 63 Las Vegas, 702-529-4770, ocean-prime.com. Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
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