The San Francisco Restaurant That Serves Up Massive Portions Of Meat

If you're a fan of prime rib, you better add one restaurant in San Francisco, California, to your travel bucket list. The House of Prime Rib, open since 1949, is a local institution that specializes in the tender beef rib cut, and it caters to appetites ranging from petite all the way up to gargantuan. That's because the House of Prime Rib focuses almost completely on prime rib (except for one lone fresh fish option), from small sizes such as The City Cut, to a larger one called the House of Prime Rib Cut, an English Cut (which is a thinner-style slice), all the way up to what's known as the King Henry VIII Cut; for the largest of appetites. Henry VIII was known for his passion for food, after all.

But those who have an even bigger appetite will be pleased as punch to find out there are other options on the menu to sate your fill of red meat. They're not listed, you just have to know what to ask for. Oh, how we love a good secret menu here at The Takeout. 

Want more meat? Just say so. The secret menu at The House of Prime Rib isn't really all that secret if you're in the know, and there's even an option to order extra-large pieces of prime rib; including a double, triple, or even quadruple King Henry VIII cut. The prime rib is cooked in a salt crust for two and a half hours, and once it's removed from the oven its exterior is trimmed. Then the whole roast is put onto a serving cart to be carved to patrons tableside. 

And if you're lucky, you can even ask for an end cap of the prime rib. This portion is cooked well to the point where it's crispy, and since it's had direct exposure to the salt crust during its time in the oven, it's ultra-well seasoned. But there's only two end pieces to each roast, so when they're gone, they're gone. The House of Prime Rib also has a secret creamed corn dish; you can try asking for it if it's available during service that night. Default dinner sides include a special tableside dressed salad, baked or mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and creamed spinach. But there's a cornbread option you can ask for as well that's not listed on the menu, and it's not always available every night.

House of Prime Rib is a destination joint for tourists and locals alike, which means that getting a reservation there is guaranteed to be a challenge. Reddit users have asked for advice on how to snag one, and some have reported that they have had to get a reservation six months out. Others caution that tables for two are the hardest to obtain, but one user said that they were able to get one day-of, and another mentions that bar seating doesn't require a reservation. 

That being said, you can get a seat by walking up and asking to sit at the bar. It's not guaranteed, but if you try there's a good chance you'll succeed. You can certainly order a full dinner at the bar, but you don't get the tableside salad nor do you gain access to the theatrics of the meat cart that way. Some House of Prime Rib patrons get a little sneaky by nailing down reservations for multiple dates, and once they decide on which is best, cancel the reservations they no longer need.

That's a lot of effort to get to a big hunk of prime rib, but if you're a red meat and classic restaurant enthusiast, House of Prime Rib sounds like a prime spot; pun extremely intended.