With a name that can easily double as a risqué night activity choice, the Strip House sure does come in strong with some high quality beef. With a city that makes eating steak almost as accessible as getting a mani, or a slice of pizza, you’ve got to prove your worth to stay in the game – and Strip House does an excellent job of cooking clean and simple, tasty steak. Not to mention the décor feels a lot like an old 1980’s gentleman’s club, equipped with black and white framed photos on the wall, deep red fabric booths, bow-tied waiters, and dim, elegant lighting.

For starters, the bread basket here simply kills it. Which is almost unfortunate (I said almost), considering they also serve fantastic side potatoes, and the whole carb overload thing doesn’t really complement a huge 20 0z steak. Regardless, the warm mix of salty pretzels and chewy onion buns is certainly not to be missed. (Let’s be real: if you’re going to skip something make sure it’s the brussel sprouts).

Even though I would normally skip appetizers at a place with such a generous and filling main dish, our table of 3 tonight decided to splurge tonight and split the tuna tartare. A simple, and fresh dish. The fish was complemented nicely with chopped, chunky avocado, radish sprouts, wasabi roe, and then laced in thin cucumber ribbons. The result was a lightly spiced bite that hit the spot and helped prime the stomach for the real deal.

Personally, I’m a Rib Eye gal myself and had no trouble quickly deciding on the 14 oz dry aged Rib Eye, cooked medium rare. (What’s possibly my favourite quirk about specialized restaurants is that you never have to worry whether they will under or over cook your order; the chefs are masters, with hours of grill experience who ensure ever order is cooked to perfection). The menu also offers bone-in versions of both the New York Strip and Rib Eye, along with a few choices of specials – usually including a variation of porterhouse for two. An extensive, and expensive wine list is also offered.

The steak arrives cleanly on the plate, along with cooked whole garlic on the side, for spreading. (Which you often don’t even need because the steak is so perfectly tasty without it!) Side dishes can be ordered and shared with the table. Tonight that consisted of whipped potato puree, asparagus with farm yolk, and roasted brussel sprouts with bacon. The mashed potatoes were a very silk texture (as the name implies), but extremely tasty. Beware however; coming from a potato lover, it’s not the most generous portion for sharing. The asparagus were served not with a runny egg yolk, but rather shavings of a hard yolk grated on top, resembling cheese. They were cooked wonderfully and quite tasty! (I mean…as tasty as asparagus can really be).

Lastly the brussel sprouts were cooked to a blackened colour and served with a little too much bacon. I know what you’re thinking – there’s no such thing as too much bacon. But with a 14 oz steak, I think bacon overload just might exist. Not to mention there was this weird taste that accompanied the vegetable; I can’t put my finger on it but it’s something I wouldn’t order again. Either way, the steak was simply fantastic: tender, juicy meat with a slightly crispy, salty-spiced coating. In other words, it’s just what you’re looking for when you’re heading to a steakhouse.

5/5 stars.