Where do I begin with Niku Steakhouse? I had high expectations for this restaurant and thought we were going to experience one of the best steakhouses in San Francisco, holding one Michelin star. I was ready to be impressed. The atmosphere and the space itself are undeniably nice, but unfortunately, the food did not live up to the hype.
Steak cookery is difficult to master. From preparation and seasoning to resting, salt choice, meat sourcing, cooking time, and temperature—every detail must be carefully considered to deliver an exceptional steak to the guest.
Niku does have a good wine list. We wanted to go off‑road with wines by the glass, as we wouldn’t fully appreciate a bottle that evening. However, the sommelier seemed lost and brought us a few bottles of Bordeaux he was keen to open, despite us clearly saying no Bordeaux. He wasn’t listening. We asked him to be more creative, but he came with nothing, so we ended up drinking nothing but a cocktail (a Valentine’s Day special with white chocolate—right up my street).
I started with a salad and the crispy pig’s ears. The ears were tender and crisp, with sweetness coming through from the fish sauce caramel. As is often the case, the portion was far too large, and I didn’t finish them. The salad was just okay—it was a salad. What do you expect? Fireworks?
For the steak, our waiter presented us with a board displaying several cuts of Japanese Wagyu, but we chose the American 14‑day dry‑aged ribeye instead. “Is the cooking to your liking?” the waiter asked as the steak was placed in front of us. The way he asked felt almost like a trick question, and I didn’t feel compelled to answer—it was already too late.
We had asked for the steak to be between medium and medium‑rare, but it arrived closer to rare than what a ribeye should be. The fat hadn’t had enough time to render properly, and my guest barely ate any of it because it was so chewy. We kept using our forks to deposit pieces back onto the plate. It never even reached our stomachs.
I had an excellent table that allowed me to watch the chefs in action. One thing that struck me was the sheer amount of salt being used. I saw it heavily coating a steak, as if it were rice flour ready for frying. The salt appeared fine and small‑grained—no flakes in sight. Please tell me it wasn’t table salt….
I became incredibly thirsty and kept needing to drink water, leading me to conclude that the seasoning was far too heavy‑handed. When seasoning food, you should never taste a mouthful of salt; it should bring out the flavour, not dominate. I understand that some salt is lost when a steak first hits the grill, but there is a fine line—and this crossed it.
There is potential here, but for me, this is a trendy hangout rather than a destination for well‑executed steak. And no, this is not one‑star cooking.
