The STAKE Experience - Review
A great view, a delicious meal, and amazing ambiance - check out Stake Chophouse & Bar for a complete foodie experience for two!
Written by Ashley Dunn
The Seafood Platter
The Stake Experience
The Deal - $155/Person + optional $95/Person for Wine Pairing
Stake is a modern steakhouse with a contemporary setting in downtown Coronado - a spot we hit up often for date night or casual apps. They offer a full menu, with a fabulous array of cocktails and wine. Along with the full menu, Stake also offers a special Stake Experience - $155 /Person with an optional wine pairings for $95. It was an amazing night, totally worth the splurge!
The menu was a surprise, handpicked by chef Sergio Jimenez, Chef De Cuisine. Jason, the general manager, also personally delivered each wine pairing to our table. His wine knowledge was wonderful and he did a great job at keeping each course a secret, as he poured our glasses.
The Atmosphere
Coronado is a beautiful spot for a quick getaway on a Wednesday night. I personally would love to live here, but I’m in the boat where a night on the town is all I can afford! Lucky enough, we can experience the city from Stake’s beautiful patio, complete with the ocean breeze and gorgeous view.
Take a peak at one of our previous reviews for Stake, here , where I go a little bit more in depth on the restaurant’s atmosphere!
The Cuisine
Five delicious courses, with wine pairings, ranging from seafood to dessert!
Tomato+Toro
What seems so simple, is truly a delicious and light start to a meal. I have come to LOVE fresh summer tomatoes lately, it’s truly a wonderful summer appetizer that almost everyone enjoys.
Chef did a wonderful job by pairing the salty with the sweet, adding apricots to the dish for a bit of surprise in your bite. The fresh blue fin tuna belly was a delicious fatty bite that made this dish so opulent. I always love trying new things, and this was my first ever bite of Toro Tuna!
The presentation was also very classy with a pour over vinaigrette, table side, to complete the dish.
Seafood Platter
Lobster, shrimp, oysters, tuna poke, and tuna otoro… OH MY!
Such a diverse seafood platter, with several options to choose from. I am personally a huge oyster fan and luckily enough they served us both east coast and west coast oysters! Mr. Foodies is a big west coast fan, while I tend to be an east coast oyster fan - so we both won tonight!
The Tuna Otoro was melt in your mouth magnificent. Think of Wagyu Steak, melting in your mouth without having to chew, that’s the Tuna otoro experience.
The lobster was phenomenal, where the shrimp were almost similar in size. Oh, and I can’t forget the Poke. I personally just discovered poke and can be a bit particular on the “fishiness”, but Stake definitely didn’t disappoint with the taro chip and avocado pairing to help balance!
The Wine
Perfect pairings, for a perfect meal.
Filet Mignon
Jason, the General Manager, did an amazing job with the wine pairings for each dish.
We started off with bubbles, my personal favorite, which was a Krug Champagne. I’m just starting to learn more about bubbles and from what I understood, explained by Jason himself, this is a perfect introduction to the “true” champagne from France. When I think of bubbles I tend to divert to prosecco or even perrier jouet, but this is just a level above and is very crisp with flavors of meyer lemon, apple, and brioche. This was paired perfectly with the seafood platter, helping bring out the fresh flavors of the fish!
We also enjoyed several other wines. The Grüner Veltliner paired well with the Tomatoes dish, where it brought out the minerality of the green tomatoes and freshness of the dish as a whole. Additionally, we enjoyed the Chablis Chardonnay with the king crab, which brought the butteriness of the crab.
For Dinner, Jason spoiled us a bit by introducing a Chateauneuf du pape and the Dunn Nappa Valley Cabernet. Both delicious wines and both personal favorites of Mr. Foodies himself.
Finally, we ended with two dessert wines, the Taylor 20 Year Port and the Moscato di Asti. Both paired perfectly with the dessert options, the port with the Chocolate cake and the Moscato with the Baked San Diego. Each brought out the unique flavors of the desserts, making it a wonderful end to a magnificent dinner.
The Steaks
Whatever you’re looking for, you will find. We had two from the menu:
Wagyu Eye of Rib, Snake River Farms, ID
A very tender piece of meat, where the bite was still present. I personally look for that bite when ordering a steak. When choosing a wagyu, sometimes the melt in your mouth is so decadent, that you can only eat so much. This cut was a perfect balance!
The Japanese A5 Wagyu
Where as the Idaho Wagyu has a bite, the Japanese Wagyu was a melt in your mouth, buttery, and delicious experience. Again, I realize why the Japanese Wagyu is usually a “by the ounce” purchase. It’s truly like placing a small piece of butter on your tongue and allowing it to melt away! It’s magnificent!
We also had a surprise tasting of the 14 day dry age bone in ribeye, which was a fantastic piece of meat with a wonderful bite (and perfectly cooked)!
Dessert Time
Do you have enough room? I always do.
I’ve always told myself, no one is ever too full for dessert.
We were served two delicious desserts:
The Stake Chocolate Cake - with cocoa nibs, chocolate sauce, and whipped creme fraiche. With every bite, I highly recommend adding a bit of the whipped creme fraiche. It reminded me of cannoli filling and paired perfectly with the moist chocolate cake! This was a personal favorite from our Date Night for Two experience, which you can take a peak at here .
The Baked San Diego - Mango & Strawberry Sorbets, Breton shortbread, Swiss Meringue, then a table side flambè! This was definitely the showstopper! With a smooth meringue on the outside, this dessert opened up to be fruity and oh so sweet! It was so good and a must try!
Summary
Overall Review: 9.5/10
With great views, perfect location, and delicious food - we highly recommend Stake for a fun little date night!
Food Review: 10/10
Everything was delicious, no complaints!
Wine Review: 9.5/10
All very delicious! Stake has received several awards for their amazing wine selection. Whether you stick to the pairings or explore the glass/bottle list, you can’t go wrong!
Atmosphere 9/10
Stake is located in the heart of Coronado, with the patio having wonderful 360 views of downtown. Very modern and clean, with great service, Stake is a great spot for dinner.
Visit Stake Chophouse
Call for Reservations: 619-522-0077