BOA Steakhouse (West Hollywood, CA)

BOA Steakhouse
9200 Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Dining date: 7/11/16

Boa Steakhouse is part of the Innovative Dining Group, the Socal-based group that includes concepts like Sushi Roku and Katana. There’s three locations of Boa including this one in West Hollywood, Santa Monica and, of all places, Abu Dhabi. I’ve been to this location of Boa once before for a birthday party and had a good meal. Since it was a large party during that visit, everyone had to order off a set menu. This time, we had free reign to order whatever we wanted off the full menu.

Most of the restaurant’s seating is out on its beautiful and expansive patio. It’s a really nice setting on warm evening.

Bottles of wine are half-off on Sundays.

Pan Seared Scallops grilled peach panzanella, burrata, pecans

The scallops had a disappointing sear to them – they didn’t have the dark golden crust I was expecting. They were still sweet and flavorful, though the creamy burrata pairing didn’t quite work for me.

Table-Side Prime Steak Tartare

Beef tartare was finished tableside. It was plenty beefy and rich from the quail egg, with a strong mustard flavor cut by the acid.

With appetizers done with, steaks were next.

40 Day Dry Aged New York Strip

21 Day Dry Aged Bone-in Rib Eye

Center Cut Filet Mignon

Steaks were pretty good, as expected. The New York was tender with a little bit of a charred smoky flavor. There was a deep beefy flavor reminiscent of dry aged meats. The ribeye was juicier and more flavorful, also with a subtle char.

Brussels Sprouts bacon

Mac n Cheese

Grilled Avocado Rice jalapeno jam

Mashed Potatoes

The sides were a mixed bag. The avocado rice was a mess; the rice was wet and mushy, topped with what seemed to just be diced avocado and a salsa. Brussels sprouts were okay – I wanted more caramelization on the vegetables but the bacon was a strong pairing. The mac and cheese and mashed potatoes were both strong though, particularly the mac and cheese with its chewy pasta and crispy breadcrumb topping.

The steaks at Boa were good, but the appetizers and sides were a little mediocre. I expect the steaks to be done well at any steakhouse at this level, but the other dishes didn’t meet expectations. Oh well.