3 /5 Jim Elsenbeck: I feel bad leaving a 3 star review but read to the end and let me explain why. We were greeted at our arrival and welcomed and promptly seated at a nice quiet booth. We had a very early reservation so the restaurant was very empty at that time. Our serving team of Leon, Lynn and Alix (spelling?) were friendly, polite, helpful and extremely coordinated with their service. Leon presented and explained some of the steak options, and was very helpful with suggestions.
As more people arrived I appreciated the way the tables were filled (From my perspective it seems there are 5 "rows" of tables, so the outside rows 1 and 5 were filled first, then the center row 3, and finally as capacity was reached the 2nd and 4th row were filled. This provided a very open and intimate experience, we werent all crowded together as the evening went on).
Sounds wonderful so far, and it was. But here is where I unfortunately have to remove some luster. Depending on what entrée you order along with appetizer and sides youre easily looking at a minimum of $75/person for just the dinner. Add in beverages or some of the higher priced items and youre having a very fine dining experience. That really sets expectations.
Our yeast rolls were served and we were warned the cast iron skillet was extremely hot so we waited a few minutes and worked on our raw oyster appetizer first. When we went to the rolls they were cold and so was the skillet. This was probably less than 5 minutes after receiving them, so there is no way they were warning hot plate delivery. Minor point one.
We both had filet mignon and they were cooked perfectly. I must say for a wet aged 28-35 day steak it did not meet our expectations. My experiences with prime aged steak is that it is so tender it can be cut with a bread knife or even a fork alone. This filet required the steak knife to cut it and it was not melt in your mouth tender. Prime filet, not tender. Steak is the reason for this restaurant. Major point two.
Our sides included mushrooms, brussels sprouts and Lyonnaise potatoes. The shrooms were very tasty, the brussels are unbelievably good, and the tatos were crispy and cooked well.
During the meal we did have some minor serving lapses that let wine glasses run low/out a couple of times but we poured ourselves to carry on. Minor point three.
The rest of the service was crazy good, as soon as one server would ask about something (like removing an appetizer and serving materials) almost before they could finish the question the other server was there and starting to pick up the items. It was actually amazing to watch this coordination.
We were gifted a delicious cheesecake to help our celebration, that was an unexpected touch and appreciated.
So am I being harsh with only 3 stars? When the raison dĂŞtre is steak, very expensive steak at that, it should be perfect. Ours was good but just not up to expectations weve experienced with other prime aged steakhouses. This was our first visit and its likely well return and give it another try as everything else was very memorable.
