• Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. Photo: Shannon O'Hara / copyright 2014 Shannon O'Hara
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground floor of Cafe Annie near the restaurant's front door. less
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground ... more
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
Image 3 of 23
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground floor of Cafe Annie near the restaurant's front door. less
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground ... more
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
Image 4 of 23
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
Image 7 of 23
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
Image 8 of 23
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
Image 9 of 23
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides.
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground floor of Cafe Annie near the restaurant's front door. less
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground ... more
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground floor of Cafe Annie near the restaurant's front door. less
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground ... more
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
Image 22 of 23
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground floor of Cafe Annie near the restaurant's front door. less
Chef Robert Del Grande has launched The Prime Room, a boutique restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Cafe Annie specializing in oysters and prime rib with classic sides. The 36-seat dining cove is on the ground ... more
Photo: Shannon O'Hara
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If you ascribe to the "good things come in small packages" axiom, then you might get a big kick out of The Prime Room.

The intimate, 36-seat dining cove nestled in an under-utilized space on the ground floor of Café Annie, is open for business with a tribute menu based on chef Robert Del Grande's favorite special occasion dishes.

ANNIE GET YOUR FUN: Big changes planned for iconic Houston restaurant

The Prime Room is where you'll find a handful of starters (East Coast oysters on the half shell, house smoked salmon, Gulf shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad and onion soup) that neatly segues to a wood-roasted prime rib dinner (two separate cuts) with appropriate sides including asparagus with lemon and herbs, sautéed spinach, whipped potatoes aligot, roasted mushrooms, broccolini with olive oil and garlic, and carrots with ginger honey and vinegar. Not a carnivore? There's precisely one alternative to the beef: roasted salmon. And for dessert the old school pleasures of chocolate cake, pecan pie and cheesecake.

"Dining out used to be exquisite, yet simple," Del Grande said. "It was all about the flavor and less about the presentation. With The Prime Room I wanted to bring that feeling back. We want this to be a place where the menu is simplistic and timeless. Prime rib has always been timeless. It always was good. And still is good. And it always will be good."

The new restaurant-within-a-restaurant concept features slow wood-roasted prime rib in 10-ounce and 14-ounce portions accompanied by popovers and butter pan juice sauce.

Designed by Schiller Del Grande partner Candice Schiller, the room sits in a nook on the ground floor of the newly reconfigured Café Annie. A new front entrance has been built to give the space its own unique look and feel with plush crimson and gold banquette seating and floor-to-ceiling drapes.

Prices? The hors d'oeuvres are $18; salad and soup $10; prime rib cuts at $30 and $45; side dishes $10-$14; and desserts $12.

Upstairs, Café Annie has been rechristened as Café Annie: Wood Grilled Steaks and Oyster Bar to underscore a new approach to classic dishes with a revamped menu and a new dining room layout that includes Annie Hall, a new private event space.

The Prime Room at Café Annie, 1800, Post Oak, 713-840-1111, cafeanniehouston.com; open Monday through Saturday for dinner service.