“I take a vitamin every day,” former-San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh once quipped. “It’s called a steak.”
For a long time, Coach would’ve had a hard time getting his daily dose in Novato—the town had been without a self-described steakhouse beyond memory. But with the opening of Black Steer Steakhouse & Saloon at 250 Entrada Drive, surrounding North Bay neighborhoods once again have choice cuts of ribeye, NY strip and filet mignon on standby.
Black Steer opened earlier this year in the site of the former Rickey’s Restaurant, the longtime American-cuisine eatery that served up seafood, pastas, burgers, a bit of a retro vibe, along with some pretty decent steaks in its own right. Black Steer continues the location’s noirish atmosphere, and perhaps even ups it a notch, with low-lit interiors and black tones accenting the overall decor. It’s dark and clean. What Black Steer isn’t doing is associating its meat-focused cuisine with any sort of western theme—think Cattlemens or the long-gone Saddles in Sonoma. Black Steer’s focus is more on its menu and overall restaurant experience—those expecting spurs and belt buckles should look elsewhere.
As for the menu, it definitely skews toward steaks, but this place has more on its grills than meets the eye. We started with a pair of recommendations from our server—the Bang Bang Shrimp ($17) and Loaded Potato Skins ($14)—a couple of house favorites. We can see why: the shrimp are fried in a sweet chili glaze and served with a garlic jalapeno ranch dipping sauce; it’s a spicy starter, almost like something off an Asian menu, teeming with sweet-savory flavor. The skins, meanwhile, were among the best we’ve tried; a sizable portion topped with a medley of sour cream, cheddar, bacon and chives—calling it potato nachos doesn’t do it credit, but it’s along those lines.
Other starters that drew our eye included crab and mozzarella hush puppies ($16), Caprese stuffed portobello mushrooms ($17) and mac and cheese bites with gouda and bacon ($16). The “serious salads” menu ($12 to $14) offers classic Caesar, baby spinach, garden greens and the Steer Big House featuring loads of goodies with iceberg chunks and a French dressing.
Black Steer is the second of its kind following the 2022 opening of the original location in Bend, Oregon. The restaurant bills itself as a “hybrid contemporary steakhouse,” so along with ditching the cowpoke baggage also involves chef-chosen hand-cut steaks, afternoon oysters at the bar, and a private wine-label program from Rutherford Ranch in St. Helena. This is 2020s Marin, after all.
Still, the name of the game here is steak and Black Steer offers plenty of choice in its choice cuts. Twelve-hour-roasted prime rib comes in 8, 14 or 20 ounces ($32, $42 and $49), plus filet mignon (6 or 10 ounce), NY strip and ribeye. The signature Hawaiian steak ($36) features ribeye marinated in sweet soy, ginger and grilled pineapple salsa.
Meanwhile, for those saving their night out to the end of the weekend, the restaurant offers a “Sunday Supper” of Southern fried buttermilk fried chicken, salad, mashed potatoes, garlicky green beans, buttermilk biscuit and country gravy ($32).
The first of our entrees was the Black Steer butter steak ($29), one of the restaurants signature steaks, with a beef tenderloin under a chili butter sauce. Ours was perfectly cooked to order and the creamy butter sauce was a perfect foil to the savory, tender beef. The steak is served with a generous portion of mashed potatoes. Our second entrée was the maple bourbon glazed BBQ baby back ribs (half rack $21; full $39), a pit-fired rack of pork in a sweet whisky sauce. There’s a lot of meat here. In fact, there’s a lot of everything with this order, which is accompanied by crispy fries, Dolly Parton cole slaw (the Jolene singer’s recipe is famous for adding pickles) and a bowl of smokey baked beans. Bring your appetite (especially if you go with the full rack).
Black Steer fills a needed niche in Marin—a dedicated steakhouse hasn’t been seen since Izzy’s Steakhouse ended its “rein” in Corte Madera in 2010. More importantly, the restaurant serves an even higher purpose—it’s a quality addition to the Novato foodie scene. The steaks are top notch, but we were also impressed by the starters, a delicious butter cake a-la mode for dessert and even the soft, crusty table bread. The service was attentive and knowledgeable—our server Shawn provided helpful menu guidance—and the vibe was lively in a dinner-jacket sort of way.
North Bay residents hankering for a tasty steak without the cowboy kitch should take notice. Let the stampede begin.
Black Steer Steakhouse & Saloon
250 Entrada Drive, Novato
415-870-2990
Blacksteersteakhouse.com
Open Tuesday to Thursday, 4 to p.m. (saloon, 2 to 8 p.m.); Friday and Saturday, 4 to 9 p.m. (saloon, 2 to 9 p.m.); Sunday, 4 to 8 p.m. (saloon, 2 to 8 p.m.)
A 20% service fee is added to all parties of 8 or more.
