Of all the new restaurants opening in 2026, none fail to capture my attention more than D.W Steakhouse which has been on my radar for the last several months. For those who remember Little Taipei back about 15-20 years ago, David's Sizzling was an incredible institution that I still fondly reminisce in current day. I was quite distraught when they closed, and equally elated when I was notified of their impending return. We made a group booking during opening week.
Although their new store still focuses on cast iron sizzling plates, their menu is notably more upmarket and their meals increased commensurably in price. Early reviews were a bit mixed but I was passionate nonetheless.
Given their popularity, a booking is highly recommended and it was a full house when we went on a work night. The menu was far more extensive than it ever used to be, offering a Taiwanese street food crossed with Western Fusion menu. Sizzling plate meals were priced starting from high $20s and went up to $50s. For an extra $25 you could make your sizzling plate into a meal, with the addition of any entree, a soup, a drink and dessert. The price point is considerably expensive for the Sunnybank average.
All of our group ordered the sets with our meals. Although there were a few interesting drinks on the menu, set meals only came with canned drinks, so we all opted for a Coke Zero.
Entrees were very exciting. This was Dr L's trio medley, to which I stole half. It came with beef tartare, prawn and tomato salsa and a Cajun chicken, served atop a crispy wanton shell. Each of them were fresh, lighlty chilled and were quite the flavour hit. As usual, I particularly enjoyed the beef tartare, but the prawn salsa was also really tangy too.
I went for the salmon tartare. This came heavily doused in mayonnaise, mixed with dill, chive and topped with ikura. It was served with wanton shells like the trio medley and some fresh lettuce. This was good but I would have liked it a bit more if it wasn't as saucy and if it had a bit more salmon content. The sauce itself really impacted my ability to enjoy the freshness and flavours of the salmon.
Corn soup came out next. I am told that as part of their set menu, you're allowed to choose from the two soups on the menu, being corn and tomato ox tail. Unfortunately they had sold out of their tomato and ox tail soup, so we all had the corn. Quality wise, it didn't stand out, but it was very homey, sweet and creamy and reminiscent of my childhood as well as various trips across Taiwan. For that alone, I rate this soup very highly.
Our mains started coming shortly after. Dr L's and mine arrived fairly promptly but one of our party did have theirs come significantly later than the rest of the group. Anyway Dr L had the wagyu eye fillet, his usual preferred cut of meat. He opted for it to be cooked to medium rare, and that was the way it was served. As a premium cut, it was a bit smaller than the others, but the slice was undoubtedly thicker than the others. He had it with pepper sauce. I sampled some and it was tender and the sauce was mellow but rich. The quality was evidently not as good as professional steak houses, but still significantly better than pub quality. Dr L really enjoyed it and did remark that it tastes very similar to home.
I opted for the wagyu rib eye cooked rare with a peppercorn sauce. It was markedly thinner than the eye fillet but a lot bigger in size. Even though it was thinner, it still managed to have a fairly pink interior which was quite satisfying. I really enjoyed the char on my steak. The residual heat from the steak, coupled with the pan ensured that the herbed butter had a chance to melt. I loved the light spicy kick of the pepper sauce. The spaghetti was store bought, topped with a light mince sauce, reminiscent of the night markets at Taipei. Overall, it was a fantastic meal, building on and being better than my childhood memories.
Our meal was rounded off with dessert. That day we all had a panna cotta with mixed berries. I really enjoyed this dessert. It was smooth and rich without being overly decadent. It had just the right amount of sugar that I liked, meaning that it was not too sweet at all. The portion size was generous and this was well received all round.
I had hinted at it earlier but even though Dr L and I got our meals served in a timely manner, one of our party had their entire meal omitted by staff at ordering. Despite multiple follow up attempts, we were still unable to get the food to come out, and it resulted in his food only starting to come out just before our desserts came. Staff were very apologetic for the mishap and ultimately we got to adopt one of their cute plushie cows for the error.
All in all, despite the minor mistakes in service, I still really enjoyed my meal at D.W. Steakhouse. It was a blast from the past and built on an already solid reputation to become even getter than before. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it and I can't wait to come back with Dr L on another date night.
Price: $50 - $80pp
Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Environment: 8/10
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