Epic Roasthouse

Last Friday night was Jose's company dinner. This year it was held at Epic Roasthouse, one of Pat Kuleto's two fancy new restaurants right on the embarcadero with perfect views of the bay bridge. Epic Roasthouse serves New Orleans-inspired steakhouse fare prepared by celebrity chef Jan Birnbaum. We were very pleased that Epic Roasthouse had been selected for this year's party as we had wanted to try the restaurant, but had heard it was over priced.

This will not be a perfect review as we were dining as a large group and did not have access to the full menu nor wine list. First Epic Roasthouse is well, if not over designed. The restaurant is supposed to have the feel of a pump station, with specially crafted pipes and a huge wheel that dominates the center of the main dining room. Overall it is nice, but I would not call it classy. It feels like something you would see in an expensive chain restaurant.

Our group was seated out on the patio under a clear tent that allowed us to take in the view. There were heaters everywhere so it was pleasant. We had three options for dinner and the choice of two red and two white wines. The wines were all quite good, specifically the L’Ecole, Columbia Valley, No. 41 2005. This was a fantastic Cabernet Sauvignon. We had the steak and salmon for dinner. The fillet mignon was very well prepared. The quality of the meat was very high. The salmon was grilled, served on a bed of pan fried gnocchi. Both meals were great. The deserts where pumpkin creme brulee and a chocolate tort with chocolate ice cream. Overall both were very good.

Both of us were pleased that we had gone and enjoyed the experience. However, neither of us are dying to return any time soon if we are footing the bill. It would however make and excellent business dinner spot especially if you have out of town guests.  For us locals, we will probably stick with our neighborhood Chez Papa if we want a celebratory meal.