Bourbon Steak

Bourbon Steak Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant and atmosphere: Located in Dana Point’s Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club, the OC iteration of Michael Mina’s popular steakhouse provides an aesthetic unexplored in the previous venue. The refreshingly open dining area connects patrons with an elegant yet relaxed vibe that effortlessly flows from the central bar and the ocean.

Likes: Bright, open dining space.
Dislikes: Muted color scheme.

About the food: Deft touches blending chic and unique are available throughout the dining experience. To wit: Guests can have logos or messages printed on the ice cubes of rocks cocktails, and dinners can kick off with french fry service instead of the traditional bread basket. People will flock here because of the Mina connection, but what makes the restaurant’s steakhouse motif special is executive chef Bryan Brown’s ability to augment Mina classics with his own expressions of flavorful composition, an element that makes the menu feel fresh and exciting. We recommend exploring the best of both worlds. Start off with the indulgent and artfully crafted caviar parfait or the ahi tuna tartare with Asian pear, pine nut and Scotch bonnet. The sizzling cast-iron broiled shellfish platter continues the culinary decadence for your dining entourage. Steaks like the remarkable hay-smoked rib-eye dominate the mains, but there is room reserved for signatures such as the Maine lobster pot pie and broiled tai snapper with ginger-scallion and fermented black bean, which serves two. Be sure to go for the banana tarte Tatin at meal’s end.

About the wine: As one would expect from a Mina establishment, the wine list is long and thoughtfully arranged, and the knowledgeable waitstaff is not afraid to ditch the rulebook with recommended pairings.