Mastro's - Thousand Oaks

Had dinner at Mastro's for the first time. I was prepared for a Ruth's Chris type atmosphere, but I was wrong. The decor and ambiance was much different, a lot more fine dining, then steakhouse. Unfortunately, it's so dark, you can't appreciate everything.

We were seated in the Napa Room, which is located next to the M Bar. The room was empty except for one group, we arrived pretty early, around 6pm. There is a nice wine list and cocktail menu. I ordered a glass of Castellina Chianti and we started with oysters in the half shell and "steak sashimi". The half dozen oysters included Blue Points and Chefs Creek. The Blue Points were definitely to my taste, especially with the Atomic Horseradish. The "steak sashimi" was a seared beef tenderloin thinly sliced over wasabi mash potatoes. While it wasn't quite sashimi(I was hoping for completely raw), it was delicious. The wasabi mash was forgettable.

For our entree's, I had the 33oz Bone-in Prime Rib(med rare) and Pawan had the 22oz Bone-in Ribeye(med rare). Both steaks were cooked perfectly and nicely seasoned. My prime rib, had a bit too much fat for my liking. We also ordered the Gorgonzola Mac and Cheese and Sweet Potato Fries. The side dishes were awesome. The portions were large and neither of us could finish everything. But our server talked us into dessert anyway.

His description of the Warm Butter Cake made it sound like the most decadent and delicious dessert ever created. It was good, but by no means was it as good as he'd described. It was served with ice cream, whipped cream and sliced fruits.

As traditional with many high end steakhouses, everything is offered a la cart. Which means the price can be pretty high and at Mastro's they are. But the service, food and ambiance make it worth while for special occasions.