Maxim Prime- A Prime View, But Little Else

Reading the initial reviews of Maxim Prime, I was expecting a lounge that resembled a brothel, an expensive but fully satisfying steakhouse, and a very guy-oriented experience with Maxim Magazine's name attached to it. I got none of these. The lounge is much more Fur Bus than Whorehouse, the restaurant was nothing special, and is definitely not a "guys" steakhouse. The only saving grace about this place is the rooftop lounge with a fantastic view of the city.

The lounge on the ground floor of the Glenn Hotel is bizarre. Maybe this would be trendy as some speakeasy in the Village, but just outside the elegant bar of the Glenn Hotel, it seems very out of place. It's not very big, and as I mentioned above, the decor is very reminiscent of the inside of the Fur Bus. Two top shelf drinks cost $23, and they were out of Bombay Sapphire. How can a bar be out of Sapphire at 8pm?

The main restaurant is located on the second floor, and is a definite step up decor wise. According to our waiter, its supposed to be a "steakhouse you can take girls to". Odd that Maxim has attached its name to the place if that's the concept. And since when can't I bring my wife to Lobster Bar or New York Prime? The steak offerings were limited but not overly priced. A couple of filets, a strip, a skirt and a flat iron, all priced in the $20-30 range. No bone-in ribeye for one, but there was a 32-oz. bone-in for two, which a friend and I split. Unlike Kevin Rathbun's porterhouse which is a great dish to share, the ribeye doesnt really work as a "for 2" dish. The slices are too inconsistent when precut, with some being outstanding, and others containing too much gristle or fat.

The menu also features "threesomes" where you can pair a cut of meat with seafood and a veggie. Neat idea, but they are not pairing their best steaks IMO, and each selection has some funky way of preparation, such as "bitter orange, tamarind and honey marinated skirt steak". C'mon.

For appetizers, we split the tuna and yellowtail crudos, which were described as a marinated form of ceviches. It's actually more like sashimi with 4 small slices for each plate. I found the yellowtail with rum, lime and jalapeno to be very salty. The tuna with avacado and grapefruit was decent, but not in anyway filling.

So, unfortunately, Maxim Prime will not join Steakhead's list of top Atlanta steakhouses. However, there is one big caveat to this review. The upstairs deck may have the best nightime view of the Atlanta skyline. Drinking a mojito upstairs in the comfy lounge chairs was all good, and is a place I will definitely revisit.