The River Oaks District is the swankiest place in Houston right now. Completed in October 2015, this mixed used location is full of high-end luxury stores, restaurants and beautiful people and Steak 48 just adds to the top of the line experience. Owners Jeffery and Michael Mastro of Steak 44 in Arizona visited Houston and knew it would be the location for their next venture.

“Houston has it all. The ballet, the Menil and great spots like the River Oaks District – we knew we had to open here,” said Oliver Badigio, Senior Vice President of the brand.

Upon entering the restaurant, you are greeted by a wall of butcher knives which has become the signature of the restaurant. “Everyone loved the knives so much at our Arizona location, we knew we had to repeat the concept here,” said Badigio. Everything in the restaurant is custom made from the lighting, art and even the waiter’s uniforms.

I dined at Steak 48 on a Thursday night and the restaurant and bar area were both full. We were led to our table and immediately started in with drinks from the signature drink menu. The Elixer 48 is the restaurant’s signature drink, but the menu boasts an extensive list of wine to whiskey and everything in between. Our waiter recommended something from the Raw Bar, so I started out with the King Crab and avocado stack. It was a large serving with the freshest crab – all the seafood at Steak 48 is flown in daily and sustainably sourced. I also tried the Shishito Peppers – which were perfectly seasoned with smoked sea salt, parmesan cheese and olive oil.

Executive Chef Jeff Taylor has extensive experience cooking in Texas and Houston with the Del Frisco Restaurant Group. He has worked at Sullivan’s Steak House, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle and Del Frisco’s Grille. After learning that the Mastro brothers had chosen Houston as their next restaurant location, he contacted them directly and was hired on as Executive Chef. Taylor trained for five months in Arizona before coming back to Houston to launch Steak 48.

All of the steaks are from responsibly farmed U.S. corn-fed cattle, butchered in-house by a master butcher, dry aged and seasoned with a signature rub. They are cooked to the ideal temperature and served on a 500 degree plate. I went with our waiter’s recommendation and ordered a bone in filet and his recommendation did not disappoint – the meat was tender and full of flavor. I also sampled the Ahi Filet which is sashimi grade and seasoned with soy, wasabi and pepper rub. It was peppery, but balanced out nicely with the soy sauce.

Let’s not forget about the side dishes. I was tempted to just try one of each, but I refrained and ordered Chef Taylor’s Au Gratin Potatoes and Asparagus Fries. It is easy to see why the potatoes are the restaurant’s signature side dish – perfect cheesy crust on the outside and warm tender potatoes on the inside. Trust me, these aren’t Thanksgiving dinner potatoes. The asparagus fries are tempura battered, simply seasoned and served with a tangy tomato hollandaise sauce – the perfect addition to any meal.

Everything at Steak 48 is on point and the moist towel before dessert and cookies at the end of the meal is just another example of the attention paid to every detail. Make your reservations now friends – although Steak 48 is new to the Houston dining scene it is already the place to be.