The Butcher Shop by Niku Steakhouse
Butcher shop · Showplace Square ·
Certified Kobe beef retailer & meat shop serving burgers
Certified Kobe beef retailer & meat shop serving burgers
"The Butcher Shop By Niku Steakhouse is a takeout counter in SoMa by, of course, the Niku Steakhouse people, so they know their way around a cut of beef. Walk in and you’re greeted with staff yelling about french fry-related drama while sizzling and smashing patties on the grill. But the chaos is worth it when the to-go container arrives. The drippy, saucy behemoth is stacked with pickles, two patties, onions, and all the fixings. Expect to go through a textbook-high stack of napkins as you make your way through this burger." - julia chen 1, patrick wong
"The butcher shop offers a 'flight' of three different prefectures of A5 wagyu, caviar with a spoon, and pink salt for a romantic meal." - Becky Duffett
"Niku didn’t have to pivot when the city was ordered to shelter in place. The modern Japanese steakhouse has always had a butcher shop next door, selling outrageously marbled Kobe and wagyu steaks." - Becky Duffett
"Opened in Mid City in late April last year by Leighann Smith and Daniel Jackson, this hybrid butcher shop and restaurant earned its founders the 2018 Eater NOLA Chef of the Year award and is built around whole-animal butchery, education, and sustainability. I describe the operation as intentionally transparent — the owners can tell customers where an animal came from, when it was killed, and how long it’s been at the shop — and proud of its integrity: they won’t sell poorly marbled pork chops and will instead repurpose cuts (for example, rolling a poor-looking chop into porchetta). The shop is known for popular items like boudin egg rolls (which they decided to keep as the regular offering after customers got upset when they ran out) and rotating boudin dishes; they go through 50 to 70 egg rolls a day, which requires significant prep and makes keeping the salami room full a constant challenge. Located between two popular grocery stores in Mid City, Piece of Meat attracts shoppers because the owners are willing to talk, give options, and custom-cut meat within reason, and they emphasize a team-oriented pay structure where everyone from servers to dishwashers shares tips and is paid well, creating room for advancement." - Stephanie Carter
"San Francisco’s high-end Japanese butcher shop now offers to-go burgers and sausages as a weekday power-lunch, with rotating specials served Tuesdays to Fridays from 11:30 a.m. until sold out. Opened in January to supply the next-door Niku and other Omakase Restaurant Group properties, the shop is run by Japanese beef fanatic and lifelong Bay Area butcher Guy Crims and is the city’s only certified Kobe beef retailer; last year Crims secured the largest retail order of Japanese A5 Kobe and Wagyu beef in the Western Hemisphere. In addition to retail beef, the shop stocks Heritage Berkshire Kurobuta pork, knives from American knife master Mike Solaegui, and wagyu beef fat sold by the tub. The butcher’s burger is a menu staple — 50% domestic Imperial Wagyu and 50% Japanese A5 Wagyu served with Kewpie mayonnaise and pickles — and rotating items include a 100% A5 bratwurst and skewers of domestic Imperial Wagyu, Japanese A5 Wagyu, and dry-aged USDA Prime New York and ribeye steaks; lunch prices range from $15.99 to $19.99." - Caleb Pershan
