It had been awhile since we had eaten here (Jan 4, 2020 to be exact). Always so many restaurants to try here so we don’t repeat very often. But we’d been so disappointed with any other steakhouse (Mastros, Harris, STK), but we did have a great experience here last time. So when on our reservation, I did ask to have the center counter seat right in front of the grill like the last time we were here and also asked for the petrified giraffe bone knives. They did accommodate us on the seating so we had the best view of their grill and the chefs at work.

Last time we overdid it with so many dishes along with the 3-wagyu tasting, so we tried to be a bit more reserved. For starters, we had the oysters with a dashi foam and white asparagus. Both were interesting and different.

For our mains, Andrea had the filet mignon and I went with two of the 3 wagyu’s, the A5 bushu-gyu and an A5 Wagyu. They had interesting pairings with the wagyus – a Russian River Syrah for the first one and 12-year Yamazika whisky with the Kobe because the Kobe was fed with the mash from the distillery which made for a very interesting pairing. Andrea had the 1996 Chateau Monbousquet St. Emilion which was very nice (and would have been the pairing with the other Wagyu). I’m not a fan of filet mignon (no fat and fat is flavor!), but I have to say that was probably the best filet I’ve tasted. We didn’t get to use the petrified giraffe bone knives though (they said they were being re-shaped or something).

For sides we went with the koshihikari rice and the pickled vegetables. Nice to have a starch with the meal, but the pickled vegetables were only ok.

For dessert, we went with the extremes on the menu, a yuzu custard and the brownie made with wagyu fat, wagyu caramel, and miso ice cream. They actually said the custard didn’t set so they subbed it with the sweet pea mousse and strawberry which was actually other choice (and they comp’d the dessert). The brownie a caramel sauce made with the wagyu fat definitely had a touch of that beefiness which was a little strange on the first bite, but didn’t notice it after that. Andrea had a 1968 Madeira which sort of split between trying to pair with each dessert (or you could also say that it was too heavy for the peashoot dessert and too light for the brownie, but either way, it was very tasty with a good amount of acid still and a long finish.

All in all, it was a great meal. We ordered just the right amount (i.e. we didn’t overdo it) of food, but wished we could try so many more of the other dishes. Also, since it was really only a 3-course meal (almost 2.5 hours for the meal) it was quite a nice casual relaxed experience compared to the numerous dishes at so many of the fine dining restaurants at which we often dine.