The Yaletown steakhouse and cocktail lounge joins two newcomers — the steaks are great but sides need more attention
Mia Stainsby
Sun
The Prawn Cocktail from Pinky’s Steak House
My husband made a surprising comment at The Shore Club, the upscale steakhouse on Granville Street earlier this year. “If I won the lottery,” he said, “I’d bring all my guy friends here.”
He’s a sophisticated diner, capable of explaining, or at least guessing at, the meanings of duxelles, demi-glace or dacquoise. With money to burn, he’d bee-line to a steak house? I guess there’s no denying steak houses are a guy thing because I wouldn’t dream of taking my gal friends for steak with his winnings.
Pinkys is the latest steakhouse to open, joining two other newcomers, The Shore Club and Players; Pinkys has the lowest price point of the three. A girly name like Pinkys is perhaps best suited to sell cupcakes or bras but it’s like a welcome mat to the tree fort. The press material says the name was inspired by a 1960s steakhouse in Scottsdale, Ariz. called Pink Pony.
Inside, seating includes four pink chairs amid the dark-hued tufted leather banquettes and dark chairs; bauble-like light fixtures and gigantic red faux flowers add sparkle and country music intersperses with Madeleine Peyroux and Billy Joel. Across the back wall, “rock star” is writ in lights.
Owner Scott Morison was one of the original partners of Cactus Club before he sold his shares and started up several Brown’s restaurants, devising a business model where managers could buy in. Pinkys will go the same route.
Getting right to the heart of the menu, the Sterling Silver steaks are very good. But like every steakhouse I know, that’s where the “very good” stops. The non-steak dishes and side dishes were middling to mediocre. A chef or sous chef stands at the pass from the kitchen, doing a quality control check, but it seems it should begin at a much earlier stage.
The first meal started off badly, with my husband biting into bread that grew a long piece of hair. So much for the bread.
Coconut-crusted prawns were overcooked and I had a hard time tasting coconut; bacon-wrapped
halibut with lemongrass dip arrived smelling fishy, and the thick piece was raw in the centre; the lemongrass dip was far too tart and tasted of vinegar; the dish was served with tomato linguine, a starch option that comes with all of the steaks. And that is plain lazy.
Grilled pork chop with apricot chutney and scalloped potatoes featured a nice chop, thick and juicy, but the plate was a composition in brown and beige, the scalloped potatoes limp and unappetizing. A crab cake appy had a mushy texture; but a warm spinach salad was fine and nicely flavoured with apple cider vinaigrette and an appy-sized baby back rib with barbecue sauce was tasty.
The finely marbled steaks were the stars in an otherwise bleak landscape. We tried the 12-ounce organic rib-eye ($36) and a 10-ounce New York ($29) and they’re juicy and very tasty. But the kitchen screwed up their best asset — I asked for medium-rare and got rare.
“Straight-up” steaks come with a choice of tomato linguini, fettuccini alfredo or mashed, scalloped, baked potatoes or fries. The “Ultimate Dinner Specials” come with a Caesar salad, choice of tomato linguini or fettuccini Alfredo and chocolate ice cream.
Sauces for the steak are sold separately, as are side vegetables. (Szechuan beans were good; seasonal vegetables were pedestrian.)
On the dessert front, I liked the deconstructed black forest cake and a tall, airy cheesecake looked luscious but needed some tang to distinguish it from whipped cream.
Wines include some high-end selections as well as a reserve list. By the glass, you can order six- or nine-ounce pours, which is a great option. Servers on both occasions were very good; one whose nametag said “Greg” was particularly good-natured and right on task.
And if the meat is all that matters, Pinkys won’t disappoint.
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PINKYS STEAKHOUSE AND COCKTAIL LOUNGE
Overall: 2 1/2
Food: 2 1/2
Ambience: 3 1/2
Service: 3 1/2
Price: $$$
1265 Hamilton St.
604-637-3135
www.pinkysteakhouse.com
Open daily for dinner.
Lunch, Friday only.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.
