David Howard asks himself a question when visiting a restaurant space. “What is this building telling us it wants to be?” With high ceilings, gaping windows and room for close to 200 diners, the one-time East Bay Cleaners at 480 East Bay St. asked to be a steakhouse, Howard, the president of Neighborhood Dining Group, said.
That vision will come to life when Marbled & Fin opens June 12, two years after Howard and his hospitality group leased the corner spot of a mixed-use strip near the intersection of East Bay and Calhoun streets. Marbled & Fin will serve steaks cooked at 1,800 degrees. There, Marbled & Fin will specialize in steaks cooked in a New York-style char-broiler that sears the meat at 1,800 degrees.
The 175-seat setting, though, escapes the dim lighting, dark woods and white tablecloths found at typical chophouses. Marbled & Fin’s luminous room is broken up into two parts. Separating an elegant bar area from the dining room is a row of Bird of Paradise plants Howard said will grow another 5 feet.
Cushiony chairs spot the gaping dining area, sharply dressed in a neutral color scheme. A glass wine cellar serves as an impressive backdrop. “We’re not just trying to open another restaurant,” Howard said.
“We want this to be a big deal because it is to us.” One glance at the menu shows that Marbled & Fin is not a cookie-cutter contemporary steakhouse. The raw bar features oysters, stone crab claws, kaluga and golden ossetra caviar, hamachi crudo and steak.
