Niku Steakhouse

Ate here for the first time last week. Had a very difficult time hearing my server, had to repeat myself several times. Food was okay but nothing special. Alexander's has better steak, sides, and service. Not impressed. Felt better at Texas Roadhouse, especially for the price. Got seated to my reservation over 30 minutes late.... So disappointed that I was actually prompted to write a review. Avoid this place.

Went to celebrate a milestone birthday with my partner. Ordered an American Wagyu Tomahawk for $265 before tax and tip, with the bill being over $400 for two people. It was good enough that I asked to have the bone, as the meat still attached was untouched, and everything else on the plate packed. They gave me the wrong leftovers. The sides were wrong so they could not have been mine. Absolutely disgusting that they would mix this up even after having a numbering system for leftovers. I have had better experiences at chains such as Flemmings for half the price. Would not recommend. Does not deserve their Michelin star.

TLDR: 3.5 stars but the value for the price isn’t really there for me Service was definitely on par for a nice restaurant, friendly and knowledgeable without being too overbearing. Foodwise, the short rib was my favorite portion with a nice char on the outside like a char on bbq. The boneless ribeye came out a little unevenly cooked, half was medium rare as requested and the other half was closer to rare so we had to have them refire that side. As for the other dishes, the gem salad was so small for the price and while I enjoyed the potatoes, the rest of the sides were a bit underwhelming. At $120 a steak, I don’t know that the cost is justified but they were good tasting for the most part.

Niku is a Michelin-starred steakhouse and cocktail bar in the Design District that offers an intersection of Japanese and American cuisines. Executive chef Dustin Falcon (ex The French Laundry, Lazy Bear) focuses on products from local famers combined with the best in class American and A5 Japanese wagyu, the highest grade of beef due to its high levels of marbling. If your credit card can handle it, opt for the $265 USD A5 Wagyu tasting, the best steak experience of my life. These exclusive cuts of beef were cooked to perfection on Falcon’s custom binchotan charcoal and wood-fired grill. The cocktails are also on point at Niku, with a short list of Japanese-inspired twists on classics together with well-balanced classic drinks. For dessert, follow Alexis’ lead and order the Chocolate Miso, a spectacular brownie made with wagyu fat! Coupled with wagyu fat caramel and miso ice cream, your taste buds will be overloaded with joy.

I took my boyfriend to Niku for his birthday. We ordered a $265 wagyu tomahawk steak. It was very delicious but we couldn’t finish all 48 oz of it. We asked our waiter to box up all of it up, bone included. There was so much meat left on it. When we got home this was all that was packed. Probably $50+ meat missing plus wagyu tallow that we planned on eating. I was at a complete loss. I feel like we wasted all of our money and had half our food stolen. Sadly a terrible birthday for him. I’d avoid this place.