THE LKSD — Restaurant in Downey

AVOID. For real, just avoid it.

Came in for a birthday tonight 3/7/25 so the man of honor could get the tomahawk steak. They shoved all six of us into a booth meant for five max, and dark enough to necessitate a small lamp on the table to even read the menu. I got the fillet, and everyone else in our party got burgers or sandwiches. The steaks were good, everyone else said the burgers were fine but overpriced. That's the vibe here btw--good enough food, expensive gimmicky drinks, but overall extremely overpriced for the product. Our bill was over $500 for this meal.

The table was too tiny for the number of plates coming out, so we had to get creative to make room--especially for the steaks, as they came out on hot cast iron skillets. The skillets had handles, but unlike literally every other restaurant I've been to that does this, the handles were not covered by anything. It was just a hot protruding piece of metal. The table was very tiny for the amount of plates on it, so I put the skillet down in what I thought would be the least damaging way possible.

As I shifted to grab something, my bare arm made brief contact with the skillet handle, but that was enough for it to cause a mild but painful burn.

First of all, I was not offered a way to treat the burn. And I'm talking a wet paper towel to treat it would have been enough for me, but I was offered nothing even though one of their employees witnessed it happening. I pressed the cold glass from my drink to it, which is very much not how anyone should handle a burn but I was given no options. When I addressed the issue with our server, I was chastised ("we WARNED YOU it was a hot plate") and I was not given a sufficient answer as to why the handles on their skillets did not have covers. "This has never happened before," he said as explanation, as if that explains why a bar thought hot uncovered cast iron handles was a safe idea. I told him to his face that I doubted I'm the first person this has ever happened to because the tables are too small for the number of plates being put on them. He didn't really address it further, just kind of dismissing it more and trying to downplay my stinging arm. The server basically disappeared after that, except to bring us all complementary bottled waters and to bring me another cocktail on the house.

At no point was I approached by a manager to address what happened. If they came by the table, they did not identify themselves. A responsible facility is going to make a note of anyone being injured for records, but I guess they can claim that I'm lying if I went after them for their negligence. Other than a free $18 cocktail and what were likely $8 bottled waters, they did not acknowledge that I had been injured. What I wanted more than anything was an apology, but instead I was blamed and plied with more liquor (and let's be real: if it WAS the customer's fault for the burn, why would they serve that person more alcohol?) The only reason I didn't push it was because it was my partner's birthday and I didn't want to bring the vibe down for my friends.

The TLDR of it all is that they overcrowd tiny, dark tables and then put hot cast iron on it without covers, but it's YOUR fault if you get burned trying to navigate that.

If you're in the Downey area and you want a tomahawk, go to 19Seventy in Whittier. It's a better dining experience, better quality food, a better health score, all for a similar price point and the servers won't blame you to your face for getting injured.

For management since I doubt your servers understand how to handle this kind of liability: Photo attached to this review taken at 11:15PM on 3/7/25, of the lower part of my forearm, near the outside of my elbow joint. Burn occurred around 8:30-8:45PM same day. Untreated prior to photo. Review also posted...

Better Options Out There! We went to this restaurant/bar to celebrate 3 birthdays. We have a total of 16 people attending. It was a strange night of dining. And frankly speaking, I came away feeling down that we spent over a $1,000 at this restaurant.

First, two of us ordered the Tomahawk Steak that had to be pre-ordered prior to our arrival. With that said, my wife and I were looking forward to our Tomahawk as we were one of the 2 that had ordered this $135 steak. Well, the beverage service was poor at best. The server failed to refill water glasses nor did he ask people if they wanted another drink prior to dinner service. As a large group, we understand that it may take some time for the food to come out but how they did it was unorthodox and unpleasant. They brought out the sides first. So the asparagus, mac n cheese, several mash potatoes. And to avoid the sides from getting cold, we all ate the sides first like it was an appetizer. 10 minutes later, the main dishes started to come out. The 2 Tomahawaks came out last which was somewhat expected because they were 40 oz of meat. But when they came out, we had noticed that 1 of the 2 were substantially smaller than the other. And when we cut into the smaller Tomahawk, it was almost well done when we requested medium rare. At that point, we informed the server and he went and retrieved his manager. As you can imagine, I was already irritated so when the manager came over, I pointed out that the steak was almost well-done versus what we had ordered. The manager decided to get an attitude with me and say something along the lines of "wow bro, i got this." First, I'm not your bro and you should know better than to act in such a way to a customer who's expected to pay over $135 for this steak and a group that's paying over $1,000. He went back and checked with the kitchen and the kitchen crew mentioned that the steak was overcooked because it was smaller than the other one. Hmmmmm. How did they know that unless they knew it was smaller when they decided to cook it and serve it like it was the 40 oz they promised?

The manager offered to redo another Tomahawk but it would take over 25 minutes to cook or they can do the 18oz ribeye which would only take about 18 minutes to cook. Since most of our family had already finished their meal, we took the ribeye since it would be quicker.

The ribeye came out a while later and the flavor was poor. We think they forgot to season it.

The lasting impression of this restaurant is that they failed to offer compensation for the fact that they offered us a steak that was not 40oz, a steak that was cooked to well-done, a steak they had to recook while everyone else was finished with dinner and the poor overall level of service and attitude of the manager.

I highly recommend others go to The Ranch in Anaheim or Selanne Steak Tavern in Laguna Beach. Their steaks and service are impeccable. And their Tomahawk won't have a "gamey" taste to it like this place. Not sure why it was gamey...

I finally had the opportunity to try the famous Fire Burger and Tomahawk Steak from LKSD kitchen.

For starters, I had the poutine with beef cheek, house fries, Wisconsin white curd, beef drippings, picked onion, and chive. This appetizer was down right magical. The cheese curd mixed with the gravy and beef cheek was otherworldly. So freaking good!

The Fire Burger consists of beef, garlic aioli, cheese sauce, and black truffle rum bordelaise on a brioche bun. When it's brought to the table, the bordelaise sauce is ignited and poured over the bun creating a spectacular show of flames. While it's incredibly entertaining, the sauce overpowes the sultry mix of cheese sauce and meat, which are a heavenly combination. I actually removed the bun since it was drenched it the rum sauce and then was able to enjoy the burger.

The 28 days dry aged 40oz Tomahawk Prime Ribeye Bone-In with 24k Drip Salt was immaculate. It was cooked to order, medium rare with a pink center. The meat needed no other accompaniment and stood on its own. Definitely one of the tastier ribeyes I've had.

The service is what keeps me from giving this place a five star review. I was so excited for my food I accidentally spilled my drink across the bar top. One of the servers saw it happen and walked away and said he be right back, which would have been great if he ever came back. So, after a moment of waiting I began using my napkins and wiping up the mess myself. No one showed up, no assistance. I put the soaked napkins on the plate I was finished with in front of me and proceeded to get down on my hands and knees to wipe up the liquid that spilled on the floor so no one would trip and hurt themselves. Several employees walked past me and no one offered to help. I realize they are busy and trying to run a business, but come on. Wet floors are a liability. When I was finished I put the filthy, wet napkins from cleaning up the floor on the plate from earlier that had still not be removed. Dirty, wet napkins sat on the bar top in front of me until the check was paid. Sadly, the poor attention to detail took a lot away from the overall experience for me.

For more food reviews and pictures follow me on Instagram...