Upping the Steaks

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

THE LATEST ENTRY IN THE STEAK RACE PLAYS IT LOW-KEY

Left: The Warm, Low-Key Interior Gives Off A Neighborhood Vibe.
Bottom: Top: Our Choice Of Three Colorado Wagyu Steaks Served On A Wooden Block. The 14 Oz. Ribeye, A 14 Oz. New York Strip And The 8 Oz. Picanha Wagyu.
Right: JP Abbas, Meat N’ Bone’s Director Of Food And Beverage Operations.

Imagine a comfortable, unpretentious neighborhood restaurant where they happen to serve a stunning assortment of steaks, from a humble 10 oz. New York strip for $35 to an authentic 10 oz. Kobe A5 ribeye from Japan for $320. That is the modus operandi of The Wagyu Bar, the latest steakhouse in Coral Gables. Located in the space where Caffe Vialetto served a loyal clientele homestyle Italian food for decades, Wagyu Bar aims to become the new local standard on the edge of the Merrick Park District.

The Wagyu Bar, owned by butcher Meat N’ Bone, was originally on Coral Way, and relocated to the corner of LeJeune Road and Bird Road in April. From the outset, the goal was to offer exceptional steaks in a low-key, relaxed space with a very neighborhood vibe. “We wanted to keep things simple, to have a place where you could relax,” says JP Abbas, Meat N’ Bone’s director of food and beverage operations – a distinct shift from the high-powered überornate approach taken by most steakhouses in the Gables. Here, the décor is simple, almost neo-industrial, with a brick wall, mirrors to make the relatively small space feel larger, and slate gray shades on the other walls. The focus is the food, served on wooden tables reminiscent of carving tables.

While The Wagyu Bar has menu items suitable for the less carnivorous – a nice grilled branzino with lemon-caper sauce, a BBQ-glazed salmon, and an orange zesttweaked free-range chicken breast – the point here is the beef. Even half the appetizers are meat, like the Wagyu Picanha Crostini ($30) and the Japanese A5 Wagyu ‘nigiri’ ($45) both from the Raw & Rare section of the menu. They are each given a final blowtorch treatment at the table, to take the edge off the raw. The Picanha is served on slices of artisanal bread with avocado, while the thin-sliced A5 Wagyu – the real deal straight from Japan, where the cows are massaged, fed beer, and serenaded – is served on sushi rice with sesame mayo.

Left: Beef Butter Bone Marrow With Crusty Bread For Sharing
Upper Right: Smoky Grilled Caesar
Lower Right: Torched Japanese A5 Wagyu Nigiri

The buttery A5 Wagyu Nigiri whetted our appetite for more, but we restrained ourselves by ordering the Colorado rather than the Japanese Wagyu, a 14 oz. ribeye, and a 14 oz. New York strip (each $135); we also ordered the 8 oz. Picanha Wagyu ($45) to compare. We shared the steaks, which were served sliced on a cutting board. All the meats, deftly seasoned and charred by Chef Chucho Rojas, were rich with flavor, the ribeye soft, the strip juicy, and the picanha sharply tasty. I would come back for the 48 oz. picanha ($225) to share with a table of friends.

As for sides, we also ordered the Caesar salad ($16), which arrived as grilled wedges. A little disconcerting at first, like a crudité dish, but the more we ate the more we liked this raw approach. Also exceptionally good was the seasonal grilled vegetables ($10), an assortment of roasted veggies that included baby bok choy and yellow peppers, sautéed with sweet onions after being roasted. They were fresh and perfectly al dente, with a sweet overlay. We left none in the tureen in which they were served. We also loved the beef butter bone marrow ($24), still in the bone, as caveman as it gets, smeared on crusty bread (the bread here is excellent, by the way).

Left: Seasonal Roasted Vegetables.
Right: Chocolate Mousse

Whether The Wagyu Bar can thrive in its present location remains to be seen. Being located on LeJeune Road is great exposure to be sure, but from inside you see the stream of cars passing by. Our table was split on this, some enjoying the road show of light and movement, some finding it mildly annoying. That may be because we sat next to the window; regardless, there is no noise from the street. Just don’t try to enter the restaurant from the LeJeune side. You have to go down Laguna Street, one block east of LeJeune. Here you’ll see the canopy over the entrance, with $15 valet parking. We parked a block away on Altara Avenue, for the sake of a pleasant stroll through the emerging Merrick Park neighborhood, with its array of midrise apartment and condo buildings, which should supply the neighborhood clientele that kept Vialetto thriving for decades.

4019 S. LeJeune Rd.
(786) 579-2498
TheWagyuBar.com