SF Eats: A Glamorous Wagyu Tasting at Alexander's Steakhouse
During a global pandemic, getting vaccinated has definitely been a turning point in my social life but also my mental health. Alan and I were incredibly careful the whole time before vaccinations were available and practically never did any outdoor dining. We made exceptions for his dad’s birthday and for a lunch with friends in 2021, but that was it.
Now that we’re fully vaccinated, it’s still nerve-wracking to run into crowds, but we’ve been more adventurous eating at restaurants and even getting out of the city. It’s really done wonders for me mentally!
So you can imagine how excited I was to get an invite to try Alexander’s Steakhouse’s new wagyu tasting menu. The last time I was there (also with Alan), we had tried their prime rib and I remembered it being a delightful experience. It really is an underrated place in the city when it comes to the quality of service and food — I would absolutely take out of town friends and family there for a fancy meal or for future special occasions!
This cow goes to the restaurant as a sign that the wagyu status is legit!
But back to this menu. Our server told us few places in the Bay served this kind of corn-fed wagyu (Single Thread being one), but Alexander’s Steakhouse is one of the only steakhouses in the COUNTRY to offer it. They even have a cute little cow statue on display in the restaurant to signify special importance.
The tasting menu is meant to take place over the course of 2.5 hours in which you’re served a truly amazing array of dishes where wagyu is present whether it’s the essence, fat, or meat being used. It all wraps up nicely in a beautiful dessert where wagyu fat is incorporated in the cake — yes, you read that correctly…a wagyu cake!
My favorite dishes were wagyu shot, the Surf and Turf (which came topped with uni and is the photo at the top of this post), the Tartare (a delicious combination of wagyu, cured egg yolk, pickled ramps, and caviar), Chawanmushi, and the Chocolate Hazelnut dessert. The raw wagyu in the respective dishes were delightfully melt-in-your-mouth tender. Seriously, it was like I only had to chew once, and then it was done. Plus, the tartare came with a wagyu chip that was similar to a chicharron. It was actually mind-blowing.
There is one dish on the tasting menu where you are served wagyu as a “steak,” but, because it is so incredibly rich, the amount I was given even seemed too much! It comes with confit potato and pickled wasabi (this latter side did wonders in cutting the fat of the steak). The ribeye cap also comes with three pairing salts: black cypress, smoked salt, and then a regular, neutral salt.
Seriously, it was so delicious but too rich…but still amazing!
My favorite was the black cypress because it added a subtle smokiness to the rich fatty meat and didn’t overpower it like the actual smoked salt. Despite the pickled wasabi, I did feel overwhelmed after just 2 bites due to the richness of the wagyu — cry me a river, right?
Of course, these few dishes were my favorites but truly every dish on the menu was pretty amazing and I’m really impressed by the creativity behind the scenes in the kitchen. The only dishes I didn’t love were the Bao (it tasted a bit salty) and the Casoncelli (a pasta dish that also tasted a bit too salty for me). Even then, they would be a 6/10 on the rating scale for me — I didn’t love them but I also didn’t think they were that bad!
After all of this food, the meal ended with the wagyu cake which I mentioned earlier — it’s a work of art. The chocolate cake is paired with orange blossom jellies, a decadent scoop of vanilla ice cream, and it seemed like there were hazelnut toffee bits for additional texture. Even then, that wasn’t the end! Their signature cotton candy was delivered to the table, this time watermelon-flavored. We definitely left the restaurant with full bellies.
The whole wagyu tasting menu is priced at $245 per person — it’s pricey, of course. I would recommend it if you are comfortable spending the money on a fancy night out to celebrate something big. The service and the food combined make for a really special experience!
