s the steakhouse dead? Has it melted like that poor Hershey’s Kiss left out in the hot, unrelenting sun? Not a chance. With some of the hottest openings being updated steakhouses - Kobe Club, Primehouse New York, Prime and Tangerine Supper Club – steak is indeed a global trend that has picked up Vancouver in its wake. Scott Morison (of the Browns Restaurant Group) has picked up on the scent, and has taken over the abandoned LK Dining space to create Yaletown’s latest spot – Pinkys Steakhouse and Cocktail Lounge.

In order to do this effectively, Yaletown style, he pulled in designer Jillian Harris to rapidly transform the room. Plush leather banquettes, bar seats that cradle even larger back ends, custom tiling and details such as the “ROCKSTAR” neon sign above the kitchen come together to give the room a “welcome to my parlour” kind of feel.

Executive Chef Frank Lu has put together a fairly template steakhouse menu. Think Dungeness crab cakes ($15.00), coconut crusted prawns ($12.00) or the house-smoked salmon ($12.00). And don’t forget your veggie sides. Add a spinach salad with sautéed mushrooms or perhaps the tomato and yellow beet salad to your carnivorous main. This is the year for decadence, not malnutrition.

While the hot contender for global-steakhouse chic is the wildly popular American Kobe and Wagyu filets, Pinkys menu sticks to the more accessible cuts: wet-aged rib-eye and an organic, dry-aged prime strip. Dry-aged tends to be for the purist types, but I actually prefer wet-aged. And this version - wet-aged 21 days — is superb, with more texture than you usually get with a traditional steak, and a more subtle flavour that bespeaks a proper beefy quality. Other cuts - Sirloin, New York, filet, rib-eye, medallions – are offered from 7-22 ounces, with traditional sides a la carte. Order up broccoli and cheese, scallop potatoes, beer battered onion rings and yam fries to share.

On the drink side of things, if Pinkys is sub-titling itself a “cocktail bar”, I do think the program needs a little work to stand up to the level we have come to expect in this city. They’ve got a few classics listed, but it would be great to see more innovation. The wine program also has less listings than that of the other more pretentious steakhouses in town, but I can deal with this as the choices are wisely made. -C.A.