You want a list of prime rib in Olympia, it turns out, is to ask for something the city provides obliquely, like a shrug with a side of au jus. I’ve spent weeks eating my way from the lake-view quiet of 1889 to the self-serious comfort of O’Blarney’s, and I’ve learned that the best beef here rarely announces itself.

State & Central hides a downtown standout behind a somnolent coffee-shop facade, while Tri City Meats will sell you the raw material and trust you not to ruin it. I ate brisket at Bigfoot BBQ and rosemary garlic fries at COVE, and I did not complain once.

This is not a definitive ranking, just a map of where I’d return. Start with the pretzel, then get to work.

1889 Prime Steakhouse

Highlights
Lake-view seating choices
Extensive steak enhancement options
Exceptional wine and beer list
Attentive maitre d’ service
Worth a second visit

I went to 1889 Prime Steakhouse expecting a steakhouse, which is to say I went expecting a certain amount of theatricality. What I found instead was a room that lets the lake do the talking, and the lake has plenty to say. The maitre d' moved through the space like a man who has already solved every problem you might bring him, which is a comforting thing. My prime rib arrived with a crust that gave way to a rosy interior, and the wine list offered a bottle that did not embarrass me. I will go back. I will order the same thing. That is the highest compliment I can offer.

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Johnson's Smokehouse & Sausage

Highlights
Generous samples, helpful staff
Huge take-home pizzas
Favorite jerky and meat spot
Excellent deli Reuben value

Johnson's Smokehouse is not a restaurant in the traditional sense, but it is a place where I have had better meat than at half the restaurants in this city. The staff handed me samples with the generosity of someone who knows the product sells itself, and they were correct. I did not come for the prime rib, because they do not serve it, but I came for the jerky and left with a Reuben that was a better value than anything I have eaten in a sit-down establishment. The take-home pizzas are absurdly large. I respect that. This is a meat market, and it does not pretend otherwise.

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COVE

Highlights
Addictive rosemary garlic fries
Friendly service and atmosphere
Solid salmon piccata preparation
Good sports viewing venue
Worth returning to regularly

COVE is the kind of place I return to not for the prime rib, which they do not list, but for the rosemary garlic fries that I have come to regard as a personal addiction. The salmon piccata was solid, a word I use sparingly. The service was friendly in that unforced way that makes you think the staff actually tolerates your presence. I watched a game on one of the televisions and ate my fries and felt the particular comfort of a room that knows what it is. I will be back, probably this week. That is not a threat.

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Ricardo's Kitchen + Bar

Highlights
Dry-aged tomahawk perfection
Faux old fashioned for non-drinkers
Flavorful ling cod standout
Personable, top-notch service
High-end style in Lacey

Ricardo's Kitchen + Bar sits in Lacey but behaves like a downtown establishment with higher rents. The dry-aged tomahawk was a piece of meat that required no additional theater, though the kitchen provided it anyway. The ling cod was the surprise, flaky and flavorful in a way that made me question why I had ordered the steak first. The service was personable without being intrusive, and the faux old fashioned for my non-drinking companion was a thoughtful touch. This is high-end style in a strip mall, and I mean that as a compliment. I left full and somewhat suspicious I would not find better in Seattle.

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Shipwreck Cafe

Highlights
Fresh hot breakfast portions
Friendly, attentive server
Easy parking, comfortable space
Great prices, quality food
Worth returning for menu

Shipwreck Cafe does breakfast, and it does it with the kind of portion sizes that make you wonder if the owner is trying to end world hunger single-handedly. The prime rib is not the draw here, so I will not pretend it is. The hot breakfast plates arrived fresh and fast, and the server was attentive in a way that felt almost retro. Parking was easy, which in Olympia is a luxury I do not take for granted. The prices are fair, the quality is good, and I will return to see what else the menu holds. That is a sentence I write without irony.

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Anthony's Homeport Olympia

Highlights
Water views with quiet dining
Kind, efficient, helpful server
Strawberry shortcake on a biscuit
Good main dishes worth returning for

Anthony's Homeport Olympia offers water views, and I have learned that water views often come with a surcharge in both price and pretension. Not here. The dining room was quiet, the server was kind and efficient, and the strawberry shortcake arrived on a biscuit, which is the correct way to do it. My main dish was good enough that I found myself planning the return visit before I had finished the first. The prime rib is not the headline, but the menu did not disappoint. I ate, I watched the water, and I paid the bill without resentment. That is a successful evening.

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jean-pierre's three16

Highlights
Service that feels familial
Portions generous, flavors perfect
Escargot praised as best
Steak and salmon shine
Outdoor seating delightful

jean-pierre's three16 feels like a restaurant run by someone who has decided you are a guest, not a customer. The service is familial in the best sense, which is to say they refilled my water without being asked and did not hover. The portions are generous, and the escargot is the best I have had in this state, which is a sentence I did not expect to write. The steak and the salmon both performed admirably, and the outdoor seating was delightful on that rare Olympia evening when the sky did not open up. I will come back for the service alone, but the food gives me a reason to linger.

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Bigfoot BBQ

Highlights
Legit barbecue, especially brisket
Moist brisket with right amount of smoke
Best mac and cheese ever
Abundant variety of homemade sides
Super friendly, hardworking staff

Bigfoot BBQ does not serve prime rib, and I mention that only because I was asked to review prime rib in this city. What they do serve is brisket, and it is legitimately good. The moisture level was exactly right, and the smoke was present without being aggressive, which is a balance most barbecue places miss. The mac and cheese is the best I have ever had, and I have had a lot of mac and cheese. The sides are homemade in a way that makes you suspect a grandmother is in the back. The staff worked hard and smiled while doing it. I left happy and slightly greasy. Both are acceptable outcomes.

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State & Central

Highlights
Unexpectedly delicious prime rib
Quiet, laid-back atmosphere
Friendly, fast service
Huge, shareable pretzel
Light, perfect chicken salad

State & Central surprised me, and I do not enjoy being surprised. I came for a quiet drink and left having eaten the best prime rib I have found in downtown Olympia. The atmosphere was laid-back to the point of somnolence, which I mean as a compliment. The service was friendly and fast, though the kitchen did not rush the meat. The pretzel was huge and shareable, and the chicken salad was light in a way that seemed almost virtuous. I do not know what I expected from a place that looks like it could be a coffee shop, but it was not this. I will be back, and I will order the prime rib again.

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O'Blarney's Irish Pub

Highlights
Prime rib worth seeking
Guinness draft, five points
Friendly staff, quick service
Corned beef cooked nicely
Good drinks, classic bar

O'Blarney's Irish Pub is the kind of bar where you go for the Guinness and stay because the prime rib turns out to be worth seeking. The draft pour was correct, which is five points on its own. The corned beef was cooked nicely, and the prime rib was a solid cut that did not require any apologies. The staff was friendly and quick, which is a combination I value. The room is a classic bar, dark and unpretentious. I ate my meal, drank my stout, and felt the kind of contentment that does not photograph well. I will return, probably on a night when I need neither inspiration nor elevation.

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Basilico | Ristorante Italiano

Highlights
Pollo marsala cooked to perfection
Authentic Italian food, mind blown
Best ragu along Puget Sound
Live guitar, gentle Italian music
Ideal for a date night

Basilico is an Italian restaurant in a town that has more chains than authenticity, so I approached it with the skepticism of a man who has been burned before. The pollo marsala was cooked to perfection, which is a phrase I use rarely and do not regret. The ragu was the best I have had along Puget Sound, and I have looked. There was live guitar playing gentle music, and the whole room felt like it had been designed for a date night, which it has. I do not go on date nights anymore, but if I did, I would go here. The food made me wish I had someone to share it with, which is the highest compliment I can give.

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Tri City Meats

Highlights
Eight years, zero problems
Reasonable Thanksgiving roast prices
Great marbling, family approved
Fresh cuts worth seeking

Tri City Meats is a butcher shop, and I have been going there for eight years without a single problem, which is more than I can say for most relationships. They do not cook prime rib, but they sell it, and the marbling on their cuts has never disappointed my family. The Thanksgiving roast prices were reasonable, which is a sentence I never thought I would write about any food establishment. The cuts are fresh, and the staff knows their product. I have bought meat here for a decade, and I will buy it here for another decade. That is not a review. That is a statement of fact.

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