Alexander's Steakhouse Pasadena — Restaurant in Pasadena

WHAT IT IS A fine dining Asian fusion steakhouse.

WHAT YOU SHOULD ORDER Dry aged or wagyu steak.

AMBIANCE 5 stars This place is BEAUTIFUL, as a fine dining establishment should be. Absolutely romantic, modern, and well thought out.

When you first enter, you'll be looking at the maître d'. There are some nice benches to your right where you can sit and wait until she's ready to seat you--the bar is across from this. The room is dark and very intimate. The seating areas are split up into smaller "rooms" which hold about six tables each. They were quiet, and intimate. All of the waiters and servers wear suits and ties, and the tables are neatly set. In between courses, the servers freshen up your silverware and plates.

FOOD AND DRINKS 5 Stars Absolutely beyond phenomenal. The prices are high, but the quality is worth it. This is a fantastic place to go for an anniversary or birthday.

We started with a complimentary sparkling wine as it was our anniversary. It was delicious! While they have an extensive wine list, we opted for water after this. The waiter also brought us a tiny little surprise--a bit of tomato sorbet to whet our appetites!

For our opening course we opted for hamachi shooters. They're mentioned in practically every review for Alexanders and for good reason. They're refreshing, a bit acidic, and a wonderful start to the evening. The hamachi was incredibly fresh.

For our next course, we opted for the grilled pork belly with pears. This was by far the most adventurous thing we ended up getting, and was absolutely incredible. The pear cream and saffron pears just complimented the seared pork belly so perfectly--it just all melted in your mouth. My hubby is not a fan of fruit with his meat, and he was left speechless by this course. Ah-maze-ing.

Our next course was the complimentary bread basket. The breads they serve are interesting--squid ink, this delicious garlic thing, and japanese sweet bread. They come with three butters as well: a marrow butter, a sweet butter, and a salted butter. All of the breads were fantastic, but that garlic bread--my god. It was the most delicious garlic bread I've ever had in my life.

Next course was the steak course. My husband got the bone in dry aged new york steak, and WOW. I had a bite, and I will not even kid here--it was the most delicious steak I've ever tasted. I have never experienced texture like this in a steak--silky smooth, and absolutely amazing. I had opted for the filet mignon, but after tasting that dry aged steak, it paled in comparison. Still a delishious filet, but the new york strip was THAT good.

For the desert course, we opted for "Chocolate", the chef's take on a chocolate lava cake (deconstructed, of course). It was a spongy and delicious served with white chocolate coulant, a bitter chocolate cremeux, and cocoa nib ice cream.

It's important to note here that I am not a big fan of overly sweet things. I eat around cake icing. I prefer subtle, gentle tastes, and this desert was choc full of them. The varying textures, the almost custard-like marrow--it was absolutely phenomenal, and I'm honestly tempted to go back to Alexander's just for the desert alone!

But even after this, we weren't done. The chef sent us a complimentary piece of champagne cake for our anniversary (which we ate despite feeling like we were going to explode), and then out came more treats: Green Apple (freshly spun) cotton candy, delicious macaroons, and bon bons! It was all just incredible.

NICE SURPRISES All the free things, and the personalized anniversary card signed by the head chef himself. This was the best anniversary we have had and was well worth the price of admission.

OVERALL If you're looking for a place to have a REAL night out (and are sick of chain food), come here. It is expensive, but you'll enjoy a meal (and experience) that is well worth the cost. The dinner is LONG, too--we were there for three full hours and were never rushed. The food comes out at a great pace, and just makes the whole evening feel so intimate...

Made reservations for 6:15pm and was seated promptly.

We decided on 2 hamachi shots, smoked organic duck, the blackened ribeye, 3 oz order of the A5 miyazaki wagyu and bone marrow (my own personalized tasting menu LOL). They offered to bring items one after another which was great so items don't get cold.

They first bought us complimentary sparkling wine. I don't drink so they gave me a grape cider. That was nice of them. The hamachi shots came out next. There were refreshing and tasty. They told us to mix it up and then eat it in one bite. It took my 2 bites. I like the flavor and they had these crispy things in it to added to the mouth texture. Then came the bread service, they brought out artisanal bread made in house with their own specialty butter. The bread was normal, nothing special. The main attraction was definitely the butter. They offered 3 types: a wagyu flavor butter, a smokey flavor one and a european butter. My favorite was the wagyu, it was sweet and in second place as the european with a more savory flavor. We devoured the bread and they offered to bring us another.

Next came the smoked organic duck. Oh such a great choice. It was very tender and it was served with 2 types of sauces. One was citrusy another was similiar to BBQ sauce. Separately I preferred the citrusy sauce but then I mixed them together it tasted good too. Came with a small side of yau choy which I thought was too salty.

Then they decided to bring the A5 Wagyu, the blackend rib eye and the bone marrow all in one go. Nooooo! We went for the A5 Wagyu first since it's the most expensive and the highlight of the night. Unfortunately everything else got sorta cold. The Wagyu was melt in your mouth goodness cooked to medium rare!! They gave us a salt tray that had 6 different salts, so we slowly enjoyed every cut with eat different type of salt. Sooo good and certainly an experience worth trying.

Next we attacked the blackened rib eye and the bone marrow. The blackened rib eye was interesting. It was covered in pepper but it didn't taste spicy though. It was also topped with green onions that were soaks in some citrus liquid. I thought it was yuzu but my boyfriend thinks it's pomelo. It tasted good, cooked to perfection (medium rare) but our throats weren't having it. We were recommended to place a spoon of bone marrow with each bite of steak which tasted good. I wonder if it was that combination to caused the irritation. Anyhow, not the restaurant's fault. We enjoyed the bone marrow.

By this time, we were all stuffed and had no room for dessert.They were generous to serve us their signature cherry flavors cotton candy and even gave us complimentary hazelnut bonbons and honeybutter tart with blueberry.

Service was very good. We were served by two different people forgot their names but they were very attentive and knew the menu items and etc. Our water cuts were filled non stop. Service did go slower near the end since they got a lot of new guests arrive but understandable.

Parking we parked on the street (free on Sundays). Otherwise they did offer to validate for the parking structure.

Overall it was a great dinner. I will most likely be back to try their...

Alexander’s is by far my favorite steakhouse in the United States. Their selection of flavorful, well prepared steaks and high grade A5 wagyu make it a true culinary experience. Michelin star chef Florent Courriol will turn you into a steak aficionado if you weren’t one already!

The wagyu toast was like a surf and turf lobster roll. Perfectly toasted and buttered roll that I would guess was baked that day, the bread being one of the most overlooked parts of a lobster roll. Topped with fatty, flavorful wagyu and the freshest uni (sea urchin sex organ) I’ve had in my life. This was an unexpected favorite.

The hamachi shots are impossible to describe. Fresh raw yellowtail with a perfect combination of jalapeno, avocado, ginger, lime juice and truffled ponzu sauce. The flavors are spectacular, making for the perfect start every visit to Alexander’s. Definitely on the must-order list.

The A5 olive wagyu (rarest steak in the world was tender and full of flavor from the olives fed to the cow. Only 2000 Koruge Washu cows exist in the world, all in the Kagawa Prefecture of Japan. Trying this beef has been on my bucket list for a while and it really is the best steak I have ever tasted.

The A5 Miyazakigyu (wagyu filet mignon) was my second favorite. Not as fatty as the New York cut but insanely tender. I need to research this beef more and come back for a full write up.

The A5 Hokkaido wagyu (snow beef) came in third place for me, but did not disappoint in the least bit. Not as tender as the others but fatty and delicious. Hokkaido wagyu gets its nickname, snow beef, from the elevation at which the cows are raised. In the cold mountains of the island of Hokkaido, Kuroge Black cows are fed sweet corn and don very thick coats which encourage even distribution of fat, leading to near perfect marbling.

The Flannery 30 day aged ribeye with bearnaise was a hearty addition to the table. The flavor from the aging process was incredible. Fat was rendered spectacularly and not lacking in the least bit. This was definitely a dish to share or prepare to take leftovers home.

The bone marrow add on is a necessity. Paired with the steaks it adds a deep fatty beefy flavor with a perfect soft texture.

The pannacotta was delicious, with sweet crumbles and a small serving of rich banana ice cream. Another must have if you manage to save space.

At the end, they always bring you fresh made cotton candy on the house. I’m not a fan of cotton candy but it’s a nice touch and everyone I’ve been with loves it. They also brought us multiple round of champagne on the house. Overall, Alexander’s is an experience every foodie needs to indulge in at some point. From the moment you sit down to the moment you leave you’ll be immersed in a steakhouse experience...