Left Bank Steak

400 South Winchester Boulevard

San Jose, CA 95100

(408) 984-3500

LB Steak or Left Bank Steak is located on the very end of the Santana Row Shopping Strip. I have passed by it a couple of times and was curious to try it out. Finally my wife and I had a night without the kids, so we jumped at the chance to try out a new restaurant. There was little wait and we were seated promptly.

There was a bread server that ask you to choose between a variety of breads. I like this option and it provides a nice touch of class to the restaurant. I choose the olive bread and overall I like that it was hot and had nice deep bitter olive flavor.

After looking over the menu, we decided to go with our server's recommendation. We tried the scallop for appetizer, my wife elected to try the quail with wrapped bacon, and I had the braised short rib.

The scallop was first to come out and it looked fantastic. However we were a bit disappointed that there lack that crisp seared that all good scallop needs. It was slightly undercooked which meant that the full flavor of the scallop was lacking. We did like the truffle and garlic butter that accompanied the dish.

My wife's quail came out next. The other bacon was nicely crisp, but for some reason the bacon flavor didn't quite transfer over to the quail meat as you expect. It was a bit bland. This is one time that adding bacon didn't help.

My braised short rib was better. It had a nice red wine reduction and the meat was nice a tender. The softness of the meat and nice portion really hit the spot with me. I also loved the fact that they served it in the pot that the rib was braised in. I really had hoped to have order steak in a steak house, but I just wasn't feeling like steak tonight. Perhaps next time.

The service was decent for a packed night. We had our drinks refilled quite a bit, but we were left alone for stretches at a time. Overall for the fact that every seat was taken, I would say service was adequate.

Food: 3 stars

Service: 3 1/2 stars

Overall: 3 1/2 stars