Most Minnesota restaurants have some sort of centerpiece or focal point: maybe it’s the bar, or a glorious fish tank, perhaps a bold mural or art piece. At the new Boketto in St. Louis Park’s Shops at West End, it’s a DJ booth. Vibes a-plenty, at a truly beautiful, visually striking, and unique mashup of a steakhouse in the suburbs. It’s a Shea design and you can tell—luxe, bright aqua blue tile, and fabrics everywhere.
WHO’S BEHIND BOKETTO?
Kam Talebi is the restauranteur behind CRAVE, UNION, and The Butcher’s Tale, and I confess to being skeptical about Boketto, saying the marketing around it “sounds like a pile of nonsense” in one of my recent email newsletters. The website describes the experience as “transcendent” (transcendent!) “where “upscale & intimate combine with trendy, vibrant” and “Boketto is more than a restaurant; it’s the daydream, the destination.”
Whoa.
MEDITER-ASIAN STEAKHOUSE
Talebi told me he was inspired by the Mediter-Asian steakhouses he sees all over south Florida. What is mediter-asian? It’s all the Mediterranean/Asian flavors—think sushi, ahi, pasta, fish. At Boketto, it’s served with a side of scene. So, how’s the food? Beats me—this was a private event with tastes of all sorts of things on the menu. But if they can execute during a busy dinner service like they did during a full-house event, it’s going to be a place to watch.
BOKETTO’S MENU
Here is some of what we tried:
Edamame swimming in almost a broth of fish sauce, lime, and chili flake was surprising, funky, and delightful. Beef Carpaccio with truffle, mint avocado crema, and fried capers had a great silky texture, and the capers were a nice touch.
The Boketto Salad featured beautiful warm tofu and lots of tomatoes and cucumbers—in a sesame dressing, punctuated with piles of bonito, nori, and jalapeño.
Lots of tableside touches (this is a growing trend right now—they’ve added some tableside flourishes at Mara in Four Seasons Minneapolis including a tableside Salt Baked Branzino). I suspect you’ll see a lot of the Signature Boketto Roll—which is toro fatty tuna wrapped in nori and sushi rice, topped with foie gras and wagyu, torched tableside.
They’re doing some tableside cocktails, too, from a martini cart. We tried a very tasty Lychee Martini, while the cocktailer explained what he was doing: 3/4 ounce of a vodka/gin mix; 3/4 ounce of vodka; now I’ve got this gun, I’m making this big bubble, you can pop it if you want. For $30—but you’re doing it for the ‘gram or TikTok, right?
We were quite impressed by the Chilean Sea Bass—perfectly cooked (silky, just a touch past rare) with a ginger coconut sauce ($44). This is the homerun dish of Boketto. I also really enjoyed the grilled Colorado Lamb Chops ($59). Nice bright chimichurri with pickled pomegranates—lamb can sometimes be tough, but this was incredibly tender and flavorful.
Boketto has been billed as a steakhouse, although it reminds more more of a Porzana-style steakhouse. Grab a starter, some crudo, get an entree, and then some steak to share. The steak menu is separated into Angus Beef Prime, Japanese A5 Wagyu, and Australian Jade Wagyu. Prices are in line with other top-end steakhouses today: 16-ounce ribeye ($65) or an 8-ounce filet ($55). I love that you can get an ounce of luscious, decadent, Japanese A5 Wagyu—it’s priced by the ounce. Ribeye was $18/ounce, and if you’ve never tried it, you should.
I found the vibe to be fun—the DJ gives more of a lounge feel than a club, although after 10 p.m. on Friday/Saturday, Boketto clears out the dinner tables and creates a dance floor. The people at the opening were beautiful, and if you look at Boketto’s Instagram feed, it’s definitely serving glam and chic. Are the beautiful people looking for a spot next to CRAVE and the movie theaters? We see this all over Phoenix, Miami, Los Angeles—now feels like the time when so many people are choosing to spend less time in the urban core to experiment with this feel in the ‘burbs. Feels like it should be in the North Loop, but instead it’s on the 394 loop. Welcome to dining in 2024.
Boketto, 1607 West End Blvd., St. Louis Park, 952-204-3171, bokettorestaurant.com
