The definition of rare: unusually excellent, admirable or, in the kitchen, cooking meat for only a short time. Either way, Rare Steakhouse fits the bill.
It was immediately apparent that customer service is as important at Rare as the food in providing an uber-fine dining experience. From the valet to the table captain, the servers, manager and host, everyone at Rare bestows celebrity status on their guests. It’s truly the mission at Rare to go above and beyond in a friendly, approachable manner.
Rare’s atmosphere has an elegant and sophisticated look with chandeliers sparkling overhead, deep burgundy tufted booths and dark mahogany wood as a back drop to the white linen tables. The warm tones and wood carry through to the long bar in the piano lounge area and grand wine lockers that can be stocked personally for you with a private selection. They have both classic and craft cocktails, and Rare makes a martini that would make James Bond grin. The wine list and room are as impressive as the service. With so many choices it reads like a tome, but with the help of certified wine sommeliers who’ll make you feel at ease. They not only will pair a perfect wine, but find one that suits your palate and personality.
Worthy of mention are the popovers we swooned over at the start of the meal. They were so good we did a repeat on them to sop up the rest of the table-side banana foster for dessert (a little tip from one of the members of the team that stopped by our table). We continued with fresh deer creek oysters—briny little gems nestled in their juices with roasted onion mignonette, and the lobster bisque ($15) that was rich and had a luxurious mouth feel with a dollop of cool lobster salad atop crunchy toast. Another classic table-side experience was the Caesar salad served with a story about how it came to be, yet the salad itself fell a little short with too much acid and not enough anchovy.
The menu at Rare is vast with selections in each category from starters to other meat and seafood options, but the stars at Rare are the steaks. Rare only uses USDA Prime, specific hand cuts and dry aged in their aging locker right on site. The table captain brings examples tableside on a silver platter to show off these impressive cuts, like the 24 oz. Tomahawk Chop, 12 oz. bone-in filet, 18 oz. Kansas City Strip and 22 oz. rib eye displayed like crowned jewels. We opted for the bone-in rib eye ($62) and added foie gras butter ($9) to put over the top. Other enhancements included sautéed mushrooms or onions, bacon, blue cheese or even a lobster tail. The enhancements, although delicious, are almost superfluous with the big, beefy steaks with their nutty, mouth-watering flavor.
The steaks are seared in a 1,800-degree, infrared broiler to get a nice crust on the outside and served with au jus. We did have one hiccup in the cooking temperature not being a true medium rare, but the table captain immediately whisked it away with apologies and fired another that was served at the perfect temperature. Again, the customer’s experience was top priority! The sides ($8-$22) are plentiful for sharing and range from broccoli to lobster mac and cheese, duck fat frites with Parmesan and aioli that were crisp shoe strings that stood up to the aioli. The Brussels sprouts with Nueski’s bacon and cipollini onions were both memorable.
Rare Steakhouse
833 E Michigan St.
414-273-7273
$$$$
CC, FB, RS, GF
milwaukee.raresteakandseafood.com
Handicapped access: Yes
