Steakhouses may have fallen in and out of food fashion during the last few decades, but like Sinatra and a dry martini, a good steak never goes out of style.

And despite its unimaginative one-word name, Steak (on the ground floor of the Sheraton Centre) has the kind of old-boys-club charm in which Donald Draper and his cronies on Mad Men would feel very comfortable sitting back and enjoying a scotch on the rocks, while puffing on an expensive cigar. In other words, this meat joint’s gotta lot of class, baby.

From your dad’s porterhouses and T-bones to trendier cuts like the strip loin and the flat iron, Steak is a fancy-pants meat fest with just the right amount of Ritz, steered by husband and wife team Charles and Muriel Shuchat. But it wasn’t easy for them to rustle this location away from the previous occupant, the Le Biftheque chain out of Montreal. Thankfully they did, and with Steak, they now bring us carnivores all that smokiness reminiscent of ’50s-style New York: dark woods, sumptuously sleek leather booths and banquettes and a wait staff (clad in white and black) proffering friendly and informative professionalism, yet formal ministration — something lacking with many trendy Toronto order-takers.

It doesn’t get any more traditional than jumbo shrimp cocktail ($14.95), with five magnificently treif plumpers, comprising close to a pound. Rimmed around a martini glass filled halfway with horseradish seafood sauce, it is exactly what you’d expect sans any nouveau culinary twists, with chef Scott Saunderson (imported from Manley’s in the UK) adhering to a strict “it’s a classic” rule. Scallops Rockefeller ($12.95), one of the rare dishes on the menu that breaks with tradition, maintains the integrity of its name, with wickedly decadent baked hollandaise smothered atop two moist mounds of deep-sea divinity. And the baby back rib starter ($13.95) kicks it back to old-school, slathered in a peppery sweet sauce and a fantastic fall-off-the-bone tenderness — allowing one the dignity of using a fork instead of fingers.

And when it comes to the most important item on the carte (the steak, of course), nothing but the best will do, which in this case means 21-day aged, 100 per cent grain-fed Sterling Silver Alberta beef. Though there are those snooty locavores who may beg to differ (what’s wrong with Cumbrae Farms, for example), one cannot dispute this kind of deliciousness.

The 8 oz. filet mignon ($32.95) is beyond brilliant, served medium rare, as ordered, and almost unnaturally flavourful, given the leanness of the cut. But if it’s death by meat you desire, the deluxe bone-in rib ($31.95) is a killer with its first-rate smokiness, juiciness and all around tenderness — even the parts surrounding the succulent eye melt in the mouth.

Typical sides like Ontario asparagus ($4.95) also impress, cooked just right. And there ain’t nothing wrong with a mountain of golden crisp steak frites and onion strings that comprise the half and half plate ($6.95). But what’s with the sauces ($3.95 each)? With meat of this calibre, sauces are truly unnecessary, but if you must: the peppercorn is more of a gravy that’s disturbingly sweet; and a Bernaise is overcooked with the curdled consistency of a spreadable soufflé.

Carole’s Cheesecake supplies the bulk of Steak’s sweets, so we opt for the items made in-house. Perhaps not the best idea. A slice of apple pie ($6.95) fails to register more than a yawn, and a crème brûlé ($6.95), though delicious, is runny enough to double as a smoothie.
Regrets, but a minor too few to mention. Overall, if we were to break Hogtown chop houses into the cuts of beef they best describe, we’d have no choice but to say Steak is prime. 

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