For almost six years, Prime has been one of the most popular establishments among Western tourists and expatriates in Hua Hin's fine dining scene.
The restaurant boasts a lively atmosphere.
Run by Swedish brothers, chefs Anders and Peter Hagstedt, the restaurant first opened in 2009 as a small eatery and cocktail bar on the ground floor of a nondescript back alley hotel. A few months ago, in need of more space, Prime relocated to a main road just across from the Hilton hotel.
Designed to resemble a sophisticated European bistro, with red brick walls, rough-hewn wood flooring and warm yellow lighting, the open-air restaurant's focus is on charcoal-grilled steak, offering a variety of northern European fare and selections of fine wine and well-crafted cocktails.
The steakhouse's menu is available in Thai, English and Swedish, and features both classic and new dishes that showcase freshness of ingredients and exuberance of taste.
Grilled beef tenderloin with duchess potatoes, served on a wooden plate.
As it's a Scandinavian joint, you can't afford to miss the skagen, a classic Swedish dish named after a Danish port town, features toast topped with chopped prawns and other seafood, mixed with mayonnaise, lemon and dill.
Prime's bestselling half avocado with crab fish skagen (190 baht), a creative rendering that substitutes bread with avocado, was deserving of its high popularity. The mild and creamy quality of the avocado subtly downplayed the salty seafood, which was laced with pleasantly crunchy shrimp roe.
Another two starters worth ordering are beef carpaccio (280 baht) and smoked salmon carpaccio (250 baht).
The first, graced with sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds, rocket salad and a lemon wedge, was praiseworthy for the naturally sweet, thinly-sliced New Zealand beef, enhanced by the complementary aspects of its garnishes.
The latter, featuring the Norway's best-known cured fish with Parmesan cheese, rocket salad, capers and olive oil, was impeccable.
The chef also created a new dish that blends northern European fare with Thai piquancy. His chilled Canadian lobster with mango-avocado salsa and ciabatta toast (750 baht) was lent a sweet taste by the fresh crustacean, while the salsa, seethed in chopped capsicum and bird's eye chillies, provided a slight fiery kick.
Connoisseurs might find Prime's lobster soup (140 baht) a bit too salty when compared to the likes of lobster bisque. But considering the price and quality of the aromatic soup, which is topped with Cognac cream and served with brittle cheese twists, it more than manages to hold its own.
Prime also has more than 20 sizzling options from the grill.
Grilled New Zealand lamb rack.
All of its steaks are served with corn on the cob and a choice of sauce (nine options are available, including red wine, blue cheese, Béarnaise, chanterelle and smoky BBQ).
We were gratified with the 200g Australian Wagyu rib-eye (995 baht) and the New Zealand lamb rack (850 baht).
The restaurant's signature cuts, however, are listed under the "wooden platter" category.
From it, highly recommended is the grilled beef tenderloin with duchess potatoes, Béarnaise sauce and bacon-wrapped haricoverts (680 baht).
The hefty 200g tenderloin was surrounded by a monumental mass of the French-style puréed potatoes, grilled vegetables and a generous serving of Béarnaise sauce.
The substantial-sized accompaniment lent an addictive complement to the medium-cooked steak, which was extraordinarily tender and perfectly retained its flavour.
As for fish, the oven-baked salmon with capers, black olives, roasted tomatoes and potato purée (590 baht) and the butter-fried fresh fish with baby artichokes, tomato concasse, fresh herbs and rocket salad (650 baht) promise to delight your taste buds.
Pasta addicts won't be left unsatisfied either, as Prime offers seven pasta dishes on a regular basis.
We waived the likes of spaghetti Bolognese and farfalle with salmon in favour of penne with Wagyu beef sausage, tomato concasse, fresh herbs and Parmesan (290 baht), and were delighted.
The restaurant has a decent selection of desserts, including apple pie (which resembled apple crumble) with overly sweet homemade vanilla sauce (220 baht) and delectable crème brûlée with mixed berries (170 baht).
Prime prices its dishes with relative modesty, and without a service charge — a fact uncommon in Hua Hin's fine dining scene. The constant overflow of diners apparently helps the restaurant keep its food affordable.
Over our two-hour Friday night visit, the 150-seater remained full. All tables were occupied by 8pm. Brisk service by a well-trained local staff kept the lively crowd satisfied.
Chilled Canadian lobster with mango-avocado salsa.
