Prime & Providence unleashes its menu of high-end steaks and seafood in West Des Moines

A new haven for swanky steaks and seafood made its anticipated debut on Monday after about 10 days of previews. Dominic Iannerelli and Cory Gourley opened Prime & Providence, a decadent take on the modern steakhouse, in West Des Moines with a menu of Kobe beef, lobster tails, oysters and coal-fired beef.

Iannerelli, the longtime chef at downtown Des Moines seafood restaurant Splash, went out on his own to open this ode to bold flavors cooked over the hearth or chilled on the oyster bar. He teamed up with Gourley, an attorney and businessman.

“This is a chef-driven steakhouse. This is not a chain steakhouse. It’s the polar opposite of that. The flavors are very bold,” Iannerelli previously told the Des Moines Register.

The steakhouse is part of the new 595 Tower in West Des Moines, already home to CBRE Group’s new offices on the second floor and luxury condominiums built on the upper levels. Construction permits from last year estimate a budget of $1.9 million for improvements alone.

The 6,900-square-foot restaurant seats up to 190. Dayton, Ohio-based the Idea Collective designed the look and feel of this modern space.

Here’s a look at what you need to know about the new Prime & Providence.

More: Meet the new restaurant opening in West Des Moines that promises a modernized steakhouse

What does Prime & Providence look like?

Diners walk into the restaurant on the west side of the building, greeted by a host stand backed by private lockers that customers can rent to store their collections of wines or whiskeys. All of them sold out before the opening, but Gourley plans to add more to the restaurant.

From outside, as the sun is setting, the restaurant seems to glow with a soft yellow light.

“One of the focuses of the restaurant was bringing Dom's experience together with all the elements,” Gourley said. Ice and fire permeate the space, with an ice bar for the oyster bar built next to the custom-built, 15-foot Josper oven and hearth from Grills by Demant. The ice bar doubles as a chef’s table with stools awaiting diners.

The restaurant includes different micro dining experiences, including the wine room, which can be draped off for privacy. One side features a wine wall while the other is the actual wine cellar with a leather banquette in front of it. Ten to 12 people can dine in this space.

“We think that if you come in here and you’ve eaten in the wine room with a group of friends versus eating in the king booths in the middle of everything that’s going on versus sitting up at the oyster bar having Dom prepare something for you or just even at the bar when you come off the golf course, they can really be different experiences,” Gourley said. “You could eat here maybe a couple times a week and it’s a different experience. That was one of the goals.”

The dining room is more of a white tablecloth experience with booths enveloped in cream leather, dark woods, and modern chandeliers that look like abstract branches overhead. Two rows of tables and booths split the dining room, with one booth in the center taking up double the space for a large group.

“They’re the same wood tables that are in Dom’s kitchen,” Gourley said.

A row of elevated king booths further from the open kitchen feature milk chocolate leather seating and modern, overarching lamps illuminating each seating area. The height of these booths gives them an unobstructed view of the action in the kitchen.

Wooden clouds over the dining room help absorb the sound.

The restaurant has 13 lighting modes throughout the space to give each area a different feel as the night progresses.

On the left, or north, side of the dining room is the open kitchen. A counter between the kitchen and dining room gives Iannerelli a place to finish dishes as he works the pass.

To the east of that sits the oyster bar.

Do check out the bathrooms with curved ceilings and doors that reach the floor.

To the right of the host stand, diners can walk into the bar and lounge area. A line of navy stools line the bar. Modern pendant lights with smoked glass hang over the bar.

The bar area will have its own menu, along with a happy hour that starts at 3 p.m. daily.

Another set of booths in a cream leather sits next to the bar area.

The Providence Room is open for seating when someone hasn’t rented out this private dining room with heavy glass barn doors that roll shut and a projector for presentations.

A patio wraps the east and south sides of the restaurant, but Gourley and Iannerelli said they will wait to set that up.

What to order at Prime & Providence

Those looking for the typical steakhouse fare may need to try a different restaurant. Iannerelli modernized many dishes typically served at a steakhouse and gave each a bump of creativity with options such as whole grilled cauliflower that’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside or tuna tartare served on a piece of bone marrow.

Lobstercargot: This dish is like escargot without the snails. Iannerelli swapped in lobster instead, coated in garlic butter and topped with raclette and Parmesan. He describes this as a snack he came up with a year ago when he didn’t have snails in the house. He uses raclette “because I like raclette.”

Rainbow carrots: These multicolor carrots each have a different flavor, cooked on the hearth, then draped in a hot honey butter.

Triple-cooked bacon: Iannerelli is good friends with Brooks Reynolds, the co-founder of the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival, and the two go to Japan every year to spread the word on bacon and eat. So naturally a bacon dish is on the menu, and this one practically melts in your mouth.

“Bacon is the reason why I got to go to Japan. Bacon is the reason why I have a concession company (at the Iowa State Fair with Brad Magg called Bacon Box). My friend Phil Jones makes what I think is the best artisan bacon out there,” Iannerelli said.

The bacon comes from the smokehouse, and then Iannerelli cooks it, then braises it, then grills it. A roasted red pepper marmalade comes with it.

Black Label burger: Calling this burger a burger almost feels like a crime with its chopped filet, yes, big chunks of filet mignon. Think of it as more of a steak sandwich. A mushroom relish and raclette complete this divine interpretation of a burger you won’t forget.

Providence chop: Don’t dismiss this as any old salad. This chopped salad uses grilled cabbage, a little crispy capicola, some crispy white beans, tomatoes, some mozzarella and a creamy Italian dressing. Iannerelli calls it a “dirty chopped salad.”

Caesar: This dramatic interpretation of the classic Caesar salad uses gem lettuce and a ring of crispy Parmesan meant to be deconstructed at the table. Expect people to watch as this dish comes to the table.

Lasagnatolo: This dish features individual servings of lasagna in a Bolognese sauce. Rolling the lasagna enables the kitchen to cook each as it’s ordered instead of prepping an entire sheet for each service. “Everybody wants the corner piece of lasagna,” Iannerelli said.

What’s on the cocktail hour menu at Prime & Providence?

Stop by the bar at Prime & Providence from 3 to 5 p.m. for $1 off oysters and dishes such as a bar burger, salmon wonton tacos, meatballs, a Doritos mac and cheese, or oysters Rockefeller made in a tin.

Cocktail hour includes cocktail and wine specials.

More: Dominic Iannerelli's Prime & Providence puts final touches on West Des Moines steakhouse

Did you know?

Prime & Providence offers a reserve menu with its Japanese Kobe and other high-end meats. Iannerelli sources his American wagyu from southwestern Iowa and ages his meat in the Twin Cities. The restaurant has a wholesale license to purchase Kobe beef from Japan.

Japanese beef tastings could include wagyu from Hokkaido? and Kagoshima, along with Kobe. Diners can order it by the ounce and do a tasting with the different beefs.

Many regular cuts of beef — filet mignon, New York strips, rib eyes, Delmonicos — are on the regular menu.

Steaks can come with a lobster tail or king crab on the side, and options to have it served with bearnaise, au poivre, Oscar-style, or Maytag fromage.

The menu includes seafood dishes such as sea scallops, tuna, and king salmon. Diners can opt for shellfish towers as well with shrimp, tuna poke, a lobster tail, and king crab. All can be served chilled or roasted. East Coast and West Coast oysters come roasted, with an assortment of sauces, or as oyster shooters.

Where to find Prime & Providence

Location: 595 60th St., Suite 100, West Des Moines

Contact: 515-644-6805 or primeandprovidence.com

Reservations: primeandprovidence.com/west-des-moines-prime-and-providence-reservations#

Hours: Open from 5 to 10 p.m. daily, happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. daily.

Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Prime and Providence from Dominic Iannerelli opens in West Des Moines