Tuesday, April 6, 2010

37 Steakhouse & Bar

From my review in the Tokyo Weekender: http://weekenderjapan.com/?p=18180

Roppongi Hills added a new restaurant to its already impressive roster with the opening of 37 Steakhouse & Bar. Located on the second floor of Keyakizaka Terrace, across the street from the Grand Hyatt, 37 has the sophisticated ambience of a New York steakhouse with cozy, private booths and muted, dark-toned wood furnishings.

37’s extensive menu includes Australian wagyu and black angus aged for 21 days, as well as lamb, pork and seafood offerings. Side dishes include steakhouse standards such as garlic mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, grilled asparagus, and macaroni and cheese.

The creamed spinach is a perfect balance of creamy and savory, and complemented the juicy bone-in black angus ribs. 37’s Caesar salad, tossed with a rich, creamy parmesan dressing and topped with buttery homemade croutons and a generous shaving of parmesan cheese, is a contender for Tokyo’s best—it’s hard to imagine a more perfect version. The snow crab cakes are prepared with generous chunks of crab, panfried to a perfect golden brown, and should not be missed.

Where 37 needs some help is in the dessert department. The "incredible chocolate cake" was anything but, leaving us fairly sure we could score a better version at the nearest conbini. The "NYC baked cheesecake" was also disappointing. Lacking the sweet and dense creaminess of real New York cheesecake, 37’s version was so firm and dense that it more closely resembled a hunk of cheese (think mild cheddar) than a slice of cheesecake. Then again, steakhouses are rarely judged for their dessert offerings.

Bone-in black angus rib with creamed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes

NY Cheesecake - like a hard lump of cheese

Nothing incredible, or even very chocolate, about this "Incredible Chocolate Cake" - please get a new pastry chef!

Food rating: ***
Bang for buck rating: 3

The essentials:
www.37steakhouse.com
Location: on Keyakizaka Street, 6-15-1 Roppongi
Average price of dinner for two: 10,000 yen (~$110)

1 comment:

  1. The chocolate doesn't look as "incredible" to me, either.

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