Entering Bask Steakhouse is a little bit jarring. It’s located in a strip mall with a busy parking lot on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell, but the interior is quite sexy.
A glass wine room frames the host stand just by the entrance, while a warmly lit and frequently packed bar loops around to the left. In the dark-walled dining room, eye-catching chandeliers appear to drip molten glass over the tables. Jars of pickled vegetables, made in-house, glow at the front of the bustling open kitchen.
Right from the start, it’s clear that Bask has a lot to offer. Surprisingly small for a steakhouse, it fills up quickly and a reservation is recommended, yet it remains comfortable, intimate and romantic. Both the bar and the dining room buzz with energy.
Credit: Courtesy of Bask Steakhouse
Credit: Courtesy of Bask Steakhouse
However, that buzz can be dampened a bit when the bar is moving slowly. On both our visits, drinks took quite a while to come out, and, although our water glasses were filled regularly, beverage service seemed to become an afterthought as the meal progressed.
Once received, the cocktails typically were very good, as one would expect when each drink costs $17. One side of the cocktail list focuses on batched, barrel-aged classics that are well-made, such as a Manhattan, vieux carré and Sazerac. The other side features more creative combinations, such as the two sides of the same coin — a vodka drink featuring tart, earthy hibiscus. Also, Porky’s revenge, a WhistlePig bourbon-based drink, has a nice complexity, once you get past its intense alcoholic burn.
Appropriately, the highlight of dinner at Bask is steak. The beef is excellent, especially the dry-aged and wagyu cuts. Bask serves a 6-ounce filet mignon for $43, but the average steak costs closer to $100. One surprisingly economical option is the $198 steak tasting for two, which features a 3-ounce wagyu strip, 6-ounce filet and 8-ounce dry-aged spinalis. Just save the wagyu for last, because the other steaks, while excellent, can’t hold a candle to its flavor.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
While the steaks at Bask were wonderful, the seafood was inconsistent. Chilled appetizers, such as the shrimp cocktail and raw oysters, were fantastic. Served with really good cocktail sauce, the shrimp were plump and juicy, while the oysters tasted clean and fresh, and were presented beautifully, with a miniature bottle of Tabasco and a lovely mignonette.
More creative appetizers, such as the hamachi (with apple-yuzu puree and black garlic oil), or the tuna tataki, were disappointing. Despite some trendy flourishes, the fish did not impress in either appetizer, and the tuna was seared a little too hard. Another interesting app, bone marrow, was served with bread toasted as hard as a crouton.
On the other hand, a seafood special of lobster-stuffed trout was inventive and beautifully executed, and served with smoky, grilled romaine and fingerling potatoes in a poblano sauce. Priced at $45, in line with the other nonsteak entrees, it really did feel special.
When it comes to dessert, Bask walks a tightrope, with dishes that clearly are made ahead and finished to order, but which don’t feel like afterthoughts. A beautifully moist, rich almond sponge is the foundation for the campfire cake, meant to evoke s’mores. A cinnamon roll bread pudding is indulgent, and deeply flavored with cinnamon, a spice that gains in complexity when deployed in such quantities.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
Although the desserts are good, it’s a little hard to accept premade cake slabs at a restaurant where the cost of a meal easily climbs past $100 per person. Steak is so expensive that it can make steakhouses difficult to evaluate, but anyone spending hundreds of dollars for a fine-dining experience is entitled to high expectations.
Bask does the important things very well; its steak, service and ambience are excellent. For many diners, that’s more than enough. But, for those looking beyond the steak, the menu has a few too many downbeats and not enough wow factor. Besides the hamachi and tuna appetizers, some salads were overdressed, while others were underseasoned. Also, a pastry chef could help lift the desserts up a level and improve the bread service, and beverages need to get to the table faster.
Still, the quibbles against Bask are minor, and relatively easy to improve. The restaurant already appears to be popular and thriving, so it’s likely to get even better. With high prices, come high expectations, and Bask seems well-positioned to grow into those expectations, ideally blossoming into a more well-rounded fine-dining destination.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
BASK STEAKHOUSE
2 out of 4 stars (very good)
Food: upscale American steak and seafood
Service: professional, but sometimes slow
Recommended dishes: shrimp cocktail, cold water oysters, bone marrow, lamb rack, dry-aged steaks, wagyu steaks, campfire cake, cinnamon roll bread pudding
Vegetarian dishes: French onion soup, tomato burrata salad, seasonal vegetable plate, asparagus, sauteed mushrooms, garlic herb mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, Hasselback potato, broccoli rabe
Alcohol: full bar
Price range: $$$$-$$$$$
Hours: 5-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 5-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays
Parking: free lot
MARTA station: none
Reservations: recommended
Outdoor dining: no
Takeout: no
Address, phone: 1570 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell. 770-693-1024
Website: basksteak.com
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