HOUReview
photo credit: Jenn Duncan
Andiron
Included In
With kitchen walls of solid copper, flashy green marble bathrooms, and custom-designed-everything, every inch of Andiron almost smells like money (and a little bit like the wood-fired grill). While the upscale Montrose spot from the folks behind The Pit Room and Candente certainly qualifies as a ritzy steakhouse, the menu also takes a few liberties with the classics. Bucking tradition is all well and good, but when a wedge salad becomes unrecognizable—neither a wedge nor truly a salad—someone might be innovating a little too hard. There’s potential for greatness at Andiron, but some of the menu and service still need ironing out.
The plush booths are a romantic dream. Massive dried flower bouquets are quite literally everywhere. The staff deftly maneuvers these obstacles, all while ladling truffle sauce or sauteed pork belly from tiny copper pots or expertly cutting food tableside if you ask. You barely have to move other than raise a glass or a fork to your mouth—a hedonist’s fantasy. But while most of the staff is super attentive, some are slightly disinterested, and others appear to barely understand they’re at work.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
The menu is a familiar selection of appetizers and salads, but Andiron adds a few twists. Sometimes it works, like a velvety steak tartare with smoked oyster butter and beef tendon chicharrones. Other changes, however, are questionable, like a bizarrely petite wedge salad, which in no way resembles its predecessors given how much meat and how little lettuce it has. Sides like the onion tart and pommes anna are beautiful, but also resemble dainty tea snacks—an overcorrection of the time-tested steakhouse model of shareable, boat-sized sides. Splitting any of these between more than two people would make for a good slapstick comedy bit. Cuts of steak are, however, exceptionally well-cooked—the wood-fired grill adds a charred crust and lends a light smoky flavor to the meat for a satisfying bite.
At the end of dinner, with a forkful of chocolate cake in one hand and an espresso martini in the other, you might feel you’ve enjoyed a meal that’s close to excellent. That may be the cocktail talking, or the 21 ounces of Black Angus ribeye you housed while cozied up on a crushed velvet banquet. And as the restaurant figures out what kind of steakhouse it wants to be, it’s still worth visiting, mostly for the opulent space and the impressive steaks. So go for a special occasion—like an anniversary or any time your boss hands you the company card—or if you just want to stare at someone grilling steaks through a special little kitchen window on the way to the bathroom.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
photo credit: Richard Casteel
photo credit: Richard Casteel
photo credit: Andiron
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Food Rundown
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Steak Tartare
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Wedge Salad
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Beef Rib Au Poivre
photo credit: Andiron
Steak
photo credit: Richard Casteel