Matu — Restaurant in Beverly Hills

I really really wanted to like this place but left disappointed with the service and hungry.

Looking at pictures on yelp the food looked amazing and I was excited to have the Halal Waygu. Why I left disappointed: I arrived 10 minutes before my party and asked if I can order a few appetisers. The waitress says No, you can’t order until your group arrives. She says she can’t. Ok, no big deal.

I then ask if they are serving the philly steak sandwich which looks great and is posted all over their IG, she says again NO, I can have it only at the bar or order at the bar to go. I don’t drink, so there goes that. She says she can’t. Ok, the bar is 10 ft away and we just want to try it.

We order the tasting menu and we ask if it is enough food, keep in mind we are ready to eat! She says it is, didn’t trust her judgment, so we ordered an extra steak, lobster tails, veggies and shrimp cocktails.

The other waiters kept bringing other table plates to our table then coming back and taking them to the right one. This place is not that big, so hard to get confused.

Between courses is inconsistent time, it is like come on already, we want to eat.

I enjoyed the shrimp cocktail sauce, so I asked 3 different waiters for some and was ignored. Any question or request was a big NO. Our waitress says let me see and doesn’t come back until we are done. She says she isn’t allowed.

So now I am really disappointed, too many rules, especially for the price. What happened to putting the customer first. I ask her for the manager, she says he is not available and walks off. That is what really pushed for this review, on top of the bad service, you don’t want to call over a manager!?!

I call over the hostess, nice guy, I ask him for a manager and he says he is one of them. I tell him about the above situation and he responds that this restaurant is not made to bust out philly steak sandwiches, ok why you feature it all over your social media. Then he says he doesn’t know why they wouldn’t bring the sauce. He takes the bill and and is happy to charge us the $800 for 4 people.

There is an 18% charge which says it is not the tip. Maybe you should allow tips for better service. All I got was no we can’t all night for some simple requests. Half the dinner experience is the food and the other is for the service. The service killed the mood, especially 4 of us celebrating our birthdays.

The portions are small and definitely do not look like 12-13oz portions. They don’t ask for steak temperatures, you get it raw. The portions are small, the staff is lost and does not care to make the customer happy. This place can be...

Matu – on my short list of “Hell Yes” places in LA —despite a few caveats.

Ok, so you cannot make a rezzie for the bar. And, you cant get the steak sando at a table (for which a reservation is recommended). And, you cant ask for any deviations on the menu —it’s one of those highly rules based places. Oh, wait, had dinner there with a buddy, waited 45 mins for a seat at the bar, while tables were open —but cant get a steak sandwich at a table …huh??? Then, my fiancé wanted me to bring one home for her, but thats a no-go too. Bartender told me - you could order one and not eat it, a little work around, but then proceeded to tell me you cannot oder more than one per person…are they for real????

Thats a lot of griping upfront—so, why all 5-stars and one of my few LA “go-to’s?” Here’s why—

Matu, part of the same restaurant group as KazuNori, Sugarfish, and Ouvo brings that same meticulous, minimalist ethos to beef. The menu—centered around sustainably raised, 100% grass-fed Wagyu from First Light Farms in New Zealand—is as precise as it is indulgent. The steak sandwich—on the way to potential cult favorite that never appears on the main menu. Think buttery, thick-sliced wagyu, grilled to a perfect medium rare, layered into a soft milk bun with just enough au jus and a fiery hot pepper (I remove it before eating, leaving just enough heat) reminds you this IS steakhouse fare, not diner nostalgia. It’s rich, balanced, and addictive.

The Japanese take on Caesar Salad is among my favorite Caesar’s in the city, but I dont order, instead getting the 47 Salad every time—which IS my favorite salad in the city; asian flavored, fresh and balanced. I always have the Shrimp cocktail, which is fresh, you can tell—not frozen ever and pair it with a thimble of rich bone broth as a starter.

The bar itself is sleek and intimate—brass accents, dim lighting, and a kind of quiet cool that lets you know “you’re in the right place.” Cocktails lean spirit-forward and precise (the Matu Old Fashioned is a standout), and service at the bar is friendly, albeit a little hurried during peak hours.

Yes, the wait for a bar stool can test your devotion. Yes, the dining room will taunt you with its calm, candlelit elegance while you hover. But for those who know, the bar at Matu is its own destination—home of the city’s most elite steak sandwich and a vibe that rewards the devoted.

Pro tip: go well before you are hungry-give the host table your cell number and talk a walk around South Beverly, enjoy yourself until the text summons that you are finally...

The Best Steakhouse in Southern California.

An amazing restaurant and staff. So kind and warm. The food was amazing. Rustic 32oz rib eye cooked to perfection and gave us a sample of the chips fried in grassfed beef tallow. Yum. The drinks were on point. Was it a little expensive? Kinda yeah. Was the grassfed steak worth it? Absolutely.

Why did I choose this restaurant? I was looking for the best grass fed steaks possible. The list of restaurants that offered this was very limited. It seems other establishments offer grassfed as a side note because they are trying to fit a trend. This restaurant on the other hand seems to do it right from the ground up. Mindful of using beef tallow to the grass, fed meats, organic vegetables really was a game changer for me. If you know anyone who used to be a vegan or is considering switching from being a vegan then this is the restaurant you want them to taste the highest quality beef available as far as I know in Southern California, possibly the West Coast. We need to expect this level of quality and mindfulness when it comes to our food from all food establishments. Imagine this standard of quality being available at all price points. Would it make it less special? No. The service staff ambience all made this dining experience amazing and special.

From the way, they cook the meat to the car the chef sliced my steak, which was a 32 ounce rustic grass fed Wagyu plate of deliciousness. To the care that our waitress gave I enjoyed the whole dining experience.

Next is to try their philly cheesesteak during lunch. Best meat you can get in los angeles county or perhaps all of socal.

I will say that they do have this strange service fee though. When I went, it was about 17% separate from tip and tax. I think they only charge this when you pay with a credit card when you set a reservation ask them about this fee. When your bill comes out to about $300 it's almost an extra $60 even with this the meal was worth it.

I try to get as near as good and high-quality grass fed pasture, raised beef and cook it at home, which I would say is leagues above 99% of the steakhouses here in California. If I can't get at home, this is the one place where I wanna...