There’s no stronger restaurant cliché than the mahogany, leather-boothed steakhouse with servers in butler tuxes. It’s carnivore pageantry. And it will have no place at Stake Chophouse + Bar, a modern riff on the butter-and-blood scene. Stake is the sixth concept in Coronado from Blue Bridge Hospitality (which also owns Leroy’s). The team is phenomenal, with executive chef Tim Kolanko (ex-A.R. Valentien), wine director Greg Majors (formerly of Tom Colicchio’s Craft Restaurant) and pastry chef Francis Laureano (Bottega Louie). For food, expect oysters and raw seafood, steak tartare, whole roasted Hawaiian halibut, lamb chops, Kobe and American Wagyu, dry-aged steaks, and a 1,500-strong wine list. 1309 Orange Avenue, Coronado
Photography by Sam Wells