Prime View not only has a prime view of the Manhasset Bay in Port Washington, but it has the prime food to match. No wonder - the owners are the famous Iavarone brothers. They have built a reputation for selling quality food at their gourmet Italian eatery in the Lake Success Shopping Center and their several food stores. When you start cooking with the finest ingredients, it is not surprising to get an exquisite cooked meal.
The newly opened 150-seat restaurant with a wraparound terrace has a long line of restaurants before them. Nevertheless, I am sure this one will survive. The important ingredients of great food, great service and great hospitality are all here!
We were a party of four and asked the waiter to give us each different dishes and smaller portions. We were in for a feast!
We each sampled a few of the dozen diverse appetizers. The most unusual was the meatball slider ($9), a meatball held deliciously between a puffy light muffin coated with gorgonzola cheese - outrageous! I loved the combination of textures and flavors. The mini crab cakes ($14) were Maryland lump crabmeat in a tomato and corn salsa combination that was also different and delicious. My husband loved the Bourbon - Espresso Baby Back Ribs ($12) that were tasty, tender, and not fatty. We also shared the special of the day - spicy Creole gumbo soup - a little too spicy for me. A taste of the crispy fried zucchini is worth the calories; skinny cut and perfect with our drinks.
There are four different salads with the Thai Beef Salad being the most unusual. It’s an interesting combination of sliced tenderloin, mixed greens, bean sprouts, bell peppers, and crispy wontons served in sesame ginger vinaigrette dressing.
For our main course, we had a variety of pasta, seafood, meat and chicken. My favorites were the linguine with large clams in the shell in a garlic sauce. I was impressed with the Rustic Seared Shrimp - an excellent crisp shrimp done with truffle and rosemary scented northern beans oven roasted with tomato and eggplant. Different and delicious too.
For steak lovers there was an excellent skirt steak, gorgonzola-crusted filet mignon on a bed of mashed potatoes and a whole rack of glazed ribs served with cole slaw to clear the palate for the next bite! For seafood lovers there are the basics beautifully presented - salmon, tuna, swordfish and shrimp. All my favorites.
Even though we were stuffed from so much good food, we had to sample the desserts. They were all rich and a perfect finish to a delightful meal that requires a return visit.
Although there are well-priced wines available under $30, there is a good selection by the glass from $8-$10.
The Iavarones have lived up to their reputation of excellent food.
Try it. You’ll love it!
Iavarone’s Prime View
37 Shore Road Port Washington
516-767-0022
Primeviewrestaurant.com
Open for dinner from 5 p.m. 6-days
Sunday from 4 p.m.
Wheelchair accessible
Opening March 21 for lunch
