Bourbon Steak is one of Michael Mina’s Bay Area restaurants located adjacent to the lobby of the Westin St. Francis Hotel across from Union Square in downtown San Francisco. The hotel and restaurant alike come with that vintage charm with two-story columns and 1920’s chandeliers. The menu reflects American fare with a hint of asian inspiration. With your choice of either American Wagyu or certified Japanese Wagyu either are cooked to perfection with your choice of American sides served a la carte.

Every meal at Bourbon Steak comes with a trio of their duck fat fries accompanied with three sauces each paired with their counterpart. This is their version of “bread service” and I love it!!! I’ll take fries any day over bread!

After the duck fat fries we wanted to start with something clean for dinner since we both knew we were going all out heavy for dinner. We ordered a half-dozen oysters and the lime cured hamachi crudo. Both really delicate starters with clean flavors. The pearls on the hamachi, are actually fried tapioca balls for crunch along with a dashi gel sauce.

Scott is a sucker for dry aged steaks and can’t stay away from them if he tried. I can’t stay away from Michael Mina’s Classic Lobster Pot Pie, which was the main reason I made the reservation here because I was craving it from the last time we ate here last September before the season ended. The pot pie comes out in a copper pot with the pastry baked on top of the pot. A server comes over and with a cart and your pot pie and deconstructs it for you table side.

 This dish is beautifully rich and creamy with the delicate butter poached lobster and perfectly cooked accompanying vegetables. The puff pastry serves as a foundation to your plate while the lobster is resting on top. Scott got the Dry Aged 22 oz Flannery Porthouse and made it disappear like it was a well planned magic trick.

He also ordered two sides from the a la carte menu: broccoli & cheddar and the potato purée. The broccoli and cheddar are one of my favorite side dishes there and are a must!

We didn’t have room for dessert but I definitely recommend either Michael Mina’s Root Beer Float or their classic beignets with a Macallan caramel sauce.

If you skip dessert you still go home with their homemade candies that are served with the bill. One of my favorite combos are chocolate and red wine so that tiny bit of flourless cake in the middle never made it home, so I finished my wine and Scott grabbed his before I had a chance to steal it!

If you’re looking for a non-traditional steakhouse, you need to give this a try! The combination of American & cameos of Japanese influence gives you a perfect departure from your traditional steakhouse fare.

Mabuhay!