Located in San Francisco’s Design District, Niku Steakhouse is one of the few Michelin-starred steakhouses in the country. Our restaurant is distinguished by its in-house dry-aging program and exclusive cuts of prized Japanese A5 wagyu, along with an emphasis on wood-fired cooking.
Part of the Omakase Restaurant Group, Niku has a dining room oriented around a roaring custom binchotan charcoal and wood-fired grill, where guests watch as Executive Chef Dustin Falcon (Rosemary & Pine, Lazy Bear, The French Laundry) and his team prepare steaks to perfection.
At Niku, there is a true marriage of American and Japanese sensibilities. Chef Falcon’s cooking is driven by the terroir of Northern California — which finds its way onto the menu through foraged ingredients and products from local farmers — met with the highest quality domestic and A5 Japanese wagyu. His nuanced approach to local ingredients is evident in his creative and seasonally-changing small plates and side dishes, which go beyond typical steakhouse offerings to include items like chawanmushi, maitake mushroom confit in wagyu fat, and artichokes with ramps, fermented white asparagus, xo and mint.
The Butcher Shop by Niku, located directly next door, enables the restaurant to utilize the expertise of head butcher, Guy Crims, who regularly travels to Japan to source varieties of wagyu— such as Kagawa olive wagyu, from cattle raised on toasted olive pulp — rarely seen in the United States.
A recipient of Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, the wine program plays a central role at Niku with a range of Old and New World offerings, with an emphasis on France and California. Chosen not just for their ability to pair well with the restaurant’s steak offerings but also with an eye toward highly skilled producers, notable viticultural areas, and sustainable farming practices, the list features both classic wines from benchmark producers as well as hard-to-find cult selections. The ever-evolving wine list currently boasts over 450 selections.
Our bar program is remarkable for its breadth and depth of whisk(e)y offerings from around the world. While the list is global in scope, special emphasis is placed on rare and notable selections from Japan and Scotland.
Designed by Aya Yanagisawa, the 60-seat restaurant, complete with a private dining room, features clean lines, floor-to-ceiling windows, and glass casing, while dark wood walls and plush leather chairs lend a classic, luxurious feel to the modern space.
Executive Chef - Dustin Falcon
Florida native, Dustin Falcon’s first culinary inklings began at a young age. Inspired by his mother and grandmother’s shared love of food, hospitality, and cooking, the budding chef took to experimenting in the kitchen. Soon, Dustin found himself moving beyond the comfort of his own home to be at the center of the action, working as a busser at Wolfgang Puck in Fort Lauderdale.
Invigorated by the restaurant industry and looking to move into the kitchen, Dustin enrolled in culinary school at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. After graduation, he returned to Wolfgang Puck, this time as a line cook. After a series of positions in kitchens around the city, the emerging chef yearned for a larger culinary scene. A meal at New York’s Per Se opened his eyes to the creativity of fine dining and hospitality, and he became captivated with the idea of working for Thomas Keller.
In 2013, this became a reality when Dustin began as a stagiere at Ad Hoc in Yountville. In under a year, he assumed a full-time position at The French Laundry as a chef de partie. Between making pasta from scratch and curing fish, he gained insight into Keller’s approach to ingredients, treating them with care the moment they arrived in the kitchen. After a year at the Laundry, Dustin departed to work at The Corner, a wine-driven modern American bistro in downtown Napa. Here, he served as a consultant in the pre-opening phase and assumed the role of Executive Chef until the restaurant closed in 2017 as a result of that season’s legendary fires.
Next, Dustin returned to fine dining, taking a sous chef position at San Francisco’s Michelin two star, Lazy Bear. By working closely with Executive Chef David Barzelay and Chef de Cuisine Chris Johnson, he observed a culinary program that truly honored the surrounding terroir of the Bay Area, as expressed through product sourced from local farmers and foragers.
Today, Dustin brings this passion for Northern California's flavors to his role at Niku, where he melds Japanese influences with local ingredients to create a modern steakhouse menu with an emphasis on foraged products and A5 wagyu.