What once was an opaquely white, bright and sparse shell of a dining room is now a comfortably chic locale where meat reigns and John Tesar takes the helm.

“I’ve been here every night…”, one patron at the bar explains loudly to a friend. “I can’t believe they did it!” says another of the complete revamp to the Hotel Palomar restaurant space.

Take a look around after entering Knife at Hotel Palomar and you’re immediately hit with a shift in sensory overload. The wood panels that warm the room, the off white shag-esque carpeting that grazes the floor…it screams sexy. A backlit bar where Michael Martensens cocktail program comes to life is full of guests who know why they’ve come here. It’s a complete 180 degree about face from what this space was before. We begin with a glance at the cocktail, beer and wine list that comes fully loaded on a brand new iPad. Fancy. There seem to be about 10 of them circulating about the restaurant and with each glow of the Apple tablet, another boozy order makes its way to the table. Our order is placed, the Melon Ball (A Mezcal and melon drink) is delightfully smoky yet well balanced with the sweet melon. Martensen has taking classic quick orders like the Long Island Iced Tea, Sex on the Beach and Planters Punch and elevated them to suit the scene and more mature clientele. I’m immediately taken by the L.I.T which has just the right amount of tang to take me back to a youthful place and time.

Right, meat. It’s what we came here for after all isn’t it? First courses consists of a Bacon Tasting of 5 varieties (and bacon jam) that range from sugar coated to house made and just about every flavor in between, a real winner. Next came a Yellowtail sashimi style with Texas ruby grapefruit, avocado, Murray River salt, sriracha and Ligurian olive oil. Delightfully light yellowtail was a nice balance to the meatier side of the menu and the sriracha added just the right amount of heat.

Upon first glances, the menu can be a bit overwhelming. Do I stay with a tried and true tender cut filet? Go adventurous and try the Akaushi rib eye (Heartbrand) 32 oz. for 2? Well, if I learned one thing during my Knife experience, it’s to expect the unexpected and order something you’d like to see done right. The “new school” cuts caught my attention. Each of these pieces come from 44 Farms in Cameron, TX, are Prime and all cooked over red oak fire. The flat iron was my pick and just to be safe, we ordered a couple of sides that caught our attention as well. The presentation on the steak was perfection. Sided with 2 grilled onions, each cut was (no exaggeration) like butta. I chose a classic bernaise sauce to pair with the cut and the creamy combination with juicy steak blended well. Not to be missed side dish wise, the avocado fries were a home run and felt like Tesar’s ode to the State Fair. Also try the ‘Johnny’s Mac & Cheese’ which was rich and heavenly to even out the meat side of things. Tesar will be unveiling the 240 day dry aged 103 Niman Ranch rib eye (which comes to Dallas via Mario Batali’s Carnevino in Vegas) in September.

Sweets seemed to be the only move to be made and so we pressed on. “Cheesecake” came in the form of a graham cracker macaroon filled with cheesecake mousse and ice cream. Chewy, decadent and purely delicious are my only words for it. We also tried the “Caramel Pretzel”, a liquid caramel cake with dulcey panna cotta and pretzel ice cream that satisfied the salty sweet side of my taste buds to a ‘t’. David Collier is a true pastry rockstar and has my vote for best sweet genius in Dallas.

Dining at Knife is like no other steakhouse experience. Separate your expectations from the meat masters on Henderson or the ritzy restaurants on McKinney. Tesar’s humble goal is to bring the diner into his well planned and executed world of carnivorous delicacies and with each detail unfold something indulgent yet welcome. With a patio program (and late night kitchen hours) on the way and a whole side of the menu to tackle still, I’ve a feeling theres bound to be buzz around Knife for some time to come. There’s just no other way to cut it.

Thank you to John Tesar and the Knife Steakhouse team for having me in!

Knife Steakhouse Dallas

5680 North Central Expressway

Dallas, TX 75206

(214) 443-9339