Steak 48 Del Mar — Restaurant in San Diego

HOLD ON - please read so you can understand why a popular, beautiful place is only getting 2 stars (when the food and service is rated 5 stars).

When you walk in - you are greeted immediately and kindly - which is great. We only had to wait for a few minutes for a table, and that was a plus. The place is MUCH bigger than I thought it would be which I initially thought would be good - but read on to why I think it's actually a negative.

Out waiter was GREAT - so was our busboy. They both could not have been more attentive - so again - a plus. (so at this point you are wondering why I'm giving it such a low rating...read on)

Here's one of the 2 biggest issues - THE NOISE IS JUST SO FREAKING LOUD that I felt like I was in a bar or at a rave. I mean - not only is the (unnecessary) music so dang loud - but it's just crackers that a place like this would have such loud music. It's SOOOOO not needed! Also, the acoustics are non-existent because you honestly could NOT hear what anyone at your table was saying to you unless you were sitting right next to them. What makes it worse, is that the tables around you are shouting because they can't hear one another over the loud music and competing voices. WHY have music like this and just plan so poorly with your acoustics?!!

Also - let's talk prices for a minute. If you are going to charge INSANELY EXPENSIVE prices for food, you need to have the atmosphere match the prices (as that's always been my experience). So if I'm going to leave there paying $$$$ for my meal, I want to be able to at least talk to the people I'm there with as this is part of the experience. Please know that I am an experienced fine dining patron, so I do know that you shouldn't have caviar prices and have the atmosphere/surroundings of Bud Light. It takes away so much when you are paying $$$$ for a meal and it's just impossible to enjoy it.

We also had to deal with a drunk patron who yelled at us at the beginning of the meal AND have 2 babies next to us that clearly were not happy with the noise and dirty diapers they must have had on. I KNOW that a restaurant cannot be help responsible for some of these things (unhappy babies, babies who need a diaper change, drunk patrons) - but it all added up to just making the whole experience just NOT GOOD.

Yes - the food was good. Yes - the food presentation was good. Yes - the customer service was good. BUT - pair that along with a beyond noisy place - very high prices without matching the atmosphere AND having to practically yell at your tablemates to be heard and it adds up to my rating.

STEAK48 - you have potential to be a really, really good place. If you even read this - please - no music in the evenings as it's not necessary. Have the acoustics tweaked so it's not like a WWE experience just to talk. Try to not have people with babies sit next to a couple clearly trying to have a romantic date night (if at all possible - I know this one is a tough ask).

Sadly, we won't be going back and have shared our experience with many so far (and quite a few on...

There were 6 of us meeting here for dinner, and we had reservations for 5:30 PM. We were seated timely, but that was about the only thing that was timely. I'll list the good and the bad from my point of view. Good: Service is outstanding, the waitstaff are very friendly and super accomodating. They have a ton of waitstaff seemed like they were standing all over the place. When you get up to go use the restroom, they spin your napkin up into a roll - different! You can see the food prep area and watch the chef's preparing the food (only think is it's a fairly narrow hallway to see them and not visible from the tables. They have two bar areas that are set up very nicely. The decor is pretty nice and its obvious they spent some money setting the place up. Menu has a lot of options to satistfy everyone. Wine selection is not bad but overpriced for what they offer, we brought our own bottles (more about that later) Not so good: Parking first off they blocked off half of the available parking on this side of the mall and set it up as valet parking, granted it is only $10 but it's a bit of a let down right from the start. We were there on a busy night and there were only about 15 cars in the more than 100 parking spaces avaiable very annoying. while the ambiance inside is nice, it is very loud hard to carry on a conversation with the people across the table from you. The food was not on par with the price they are charging. We brought our own bottles of wine and they charge an $85 corking fee. I had looked at their wine selction before we went and they charge $150 for a $30 bottle of wine. I brought in a $165 bottle of wine from my collection, that is not available on their wine list so we still used the bottles we brought. If they don't want people bringing in their own wine just say so. So like I said earlier we had a reservation at 5:30 we ordered our food around 5:50 and at 7:30 PM we noticed other tables around us had gotten their food and were leaving some already had ne patrons sat down and already had their food and we were 2 hours into our dinner and still didn't have appetizers yet. we finally got the managers attention and she came over and took care of it and our dinner came out about 20 minutes later. Thanks Bree The food was ok I order the 18 ounce bone in ribeye $84 and to be honest is was cooked perfectly medium, but the taste was just mediocre. The 18 ouce chili oil rubbed ribeye steak at Carver's is 10x better than this steak at half the price, and you get two side, here the sides are extra. I did get the black truffle green peppercorn saiuce and thats the only way I could eat this steak. My spouse ordered the Chilean Sea Bass and it was cooked perfectly but over salted. Overall general impression - seems like they are trying to become a Michelin star restaurant, but they have a long way to go it's just not that good. With a reservation set at 5:30 we didn't get out of there until 9:15, but Bree the manager took care of us and she was super helpful to salvage the situation so...

As soon as you walk up to the entrance, the door is opened for you with this phrase delivered perfectly with a smile, “Welcome to Steak 48”.

I can sum up my Steak 48 experience with one word… incredible. This was hands down the best dining experience I have ever had in San Diego, and it’s not even close!

The Mastro brothers, Jeffrey and Michael, James Beard nominated chefs, are the brains behind this amazing restaurant. They are the original owners of the Mastro’s Steakhouses (which was sold to Landry’s over a decade ago). This is the Mastro brother’s return to steakhouses, Steak 48, and are we lucky they chose San Diego. Located in the space that use to house Burlap / Searsuckers in Del Mar Heights, Steak 48 looks nothing like those previous restaurants and it shows. Multiple dining areas, a great bar, endless types of wine on the wall, a butcher shop, a raw bar, and a wall of cleavers that is very IG worthy. The ambiance and decor are something that we’ve never had here in San Diego. This is all next level.

The service is easily the best I’ve experienced in San Diego. Everyone was very attentive, welcoming, and friendly. Brian was our server, and he knocked it out of the park. Gave great recommendations, awesome sense of humor and good vibes. Russel, the bar manager, was also very attentive making sure everything was to our liking.

The food, buckle up, because you are in for a treat! We started with the bread, which I almost completely devoured. Next up was the Superfood salad, which had a great champagne fir dressing and some very flavorful berries. I’m telling you the bar kept getting higher with everything that came out. The Bone-In Ribeye, medium rare, phenomenal. Add the truffle butter, it is out of this world! For sides we got the Truffled & Salted crispy fries, which are highly addictive. Sautéed sweet corn, amazing, and the sautéed wild mushrooms, WOW is all I have to say! For dessert we got wild, the Triple Chocolate Bomber, just get it. You’ll be happy you did!

Just to keep this easy: -House Bread -Superfood Salad -Bone-In Ribeye with Truffle Butter -Truffled & Salted Crispy Fries -Sautéed Wild Mushrooms -Sautéed Sweet Corn -Triple Chocolate Bomber

We both absolutely loved everything here! I was bummed when we left, if I wasn’t so full I would have kept ordering, so come hungry! The bar gets hopping. I would shoot for an 8-9 reservation if you want to be in the thick of it. Great energy! The complimentary cookies at the end were a nice touch. As full as I was I ate them… both. I can’t wait to go back!

Steak 48, Welcome to...