Had dinner here tonight, a week or so after the grand opening. Place was hopping, we were seated at the last deuce in the house. They've really made the most of the space, it doesn't feel cramped but has room for more people than you'd expect.
Cocktails first, a serviceable Manhattan rocks and a very good basil grapefruit vodka martini.
I ordered the steak & sushi, which consisted of a perfect medium-rare (to preference) steak, sliced and served on top of some 'wok fired vegetables' -- snow peas, bok choy, carrot, mainly, with a lightly-applied sesame-ginger ponzu sauce that I dragged some of the steak slices through -- alongside a maki roll (choice of dynamite or spicy tuna, I chose dynamite). The steak was boldly, but not overly, seasoned and mated well to the veg underneath and the sauce, and the shrimp tempura in the dynamite roll was quite good.
My co-eater had the Cali Burger, which was a nice looking burger with more of a smashed type patty than the half-inchers common to this kind of place, looked lovely and got a very (VERY) positive review. Fries were on the light side, think a golden Belgian frite with the skin on. She sprung for the 'Alaska Highway gravy,' which at $2.75 seemed a bit much but turned out to be worth every penny, with a depth I wasn't expecting (fish sauce, in Alaska? whatever it was, something brought a hint of welcome funk). It wasn't thick or gloppy, which is smart because too much of it on a french fry would be...too much.
Service was excellent, especially considering all the staff is new. Our server was friendly without being overly familiar, but also a little conspiratorial; we had questions about a couple of the dishes (spice level, for instance) and were told that everything on the menu was designed to be accessible, minimise complaints or send-backs. While they weren't wrong, don't take it as a negative. This place is going to do very well, I imagine. I'll go back.
flandroid
Cocktails first, a serviceable Manhattan rocks and a very good basil grapefruit vodka martini.
I ordered the steak & sushi, which consisted of a perfect medium-rare (to preference) steak, sliced and served on top of some 'wok fired vegetables' -- snow peas, bok choy, carrot, mainly, with a lightly-applied sesame-ginger ponzu sauce that I dragged some of the steak slices through -- alongside a maki roll (choice of dynamite or spicy tuna, I chose dynamite). The steak was boldly, but not overly, seasoned and mated well to the veg underneath and the sauce, and the shrimp tempura in the dynamite roll was quite good.
My co-eater had the Cali Burger, which was a nice looking burger with more of a smashed type patty than the half-inchers common to this kind of place, looked lovely and got a very (VERY) positive review. Fries were on the light side, think a golden Belgian frite with the skin on. She sprung for the 'Alaska Highway gravy,' which at $2.75 seemed a bit much but turned out to be worth every penny, with a depth I wasn't expecting (fish sauce, in Alaska? whatever it was, something brought a hint of welcome funk). It wasn't thick or gloppy, which is smart because too much of it on a french fry would be...too much.
Service was excellent, especially considering all the staff is new. Our server was friendly without being overly familiar, but also a little conspiratorial; we had questions about a couple of the dishes (spice level, for instance) and were told that everything on the menu was designed to be accessible, minimise complaints or send-backs. While they weren't wrong, don't take it as a negative. This place is going to do very well, I imagine. I'll go back.