The $1,000 surf-and-turf platter at this King West steakhouse is Toronto’s wildest new splurge
Animl’s most extravagant menu item is meant to feed four hungry, wealthy people
At Animl—the Studio-54-meets-safari steakhouse fever dream from Charles Khabouth and co.—restraint isn’t on the menu. Case in point: the new Platinum Surf and Turf platter, a $999 showpiece featuring a tomahawk steak the size of a canoe paddle and a lobster tail big enough to demand co-star billing.
This four-digit feast (after tax and tip, of course) is pure excess: a 60-ounce Australian Tajima tomahawk—a long-bone rib-eye from the Wagyu bloodline, prized for its intense marbling and melt-in-your-mouth texture—paired with a forearm-size East Coast lobster tail bathed in lemony piccata sauce. It comes with a choice of three sides and two sauces: truffle pommes frites buried in parmesan, mac and cheese topped with pangrattato, or colossal onion rings. Sauce options include veal jus, chimichurri and bourbon au poivre.
Executive chef Marc Chang says the platter can feed four very hungry diners—or maybe six if everyone’s just nibbling between espresso martinis.
Related: Inside Jacobs and Co.’s new 14,000-square-foot steakhouse
In a city obsessed with happy hour deals and unaffordable real estate, a $1,000 entrée feels almost provocative. But, according to Khabouth, these extravagant platters are flying out of the kitchen. “Even in a challenging economy, people love the feeling of treating themselves,” he says. “This item has been selling extremely well because it delivers real value alongside that sense of indulgence. Plus, our guests were asking for something truly over the top, and we wanted to create an experience worth the splurge.”
Call it delusion, call it escapism, call it Wagyu denialism—whatever it is, it’s working. Because while most of Toronto is tightening its belt, the King West set is unbuckling theirs, reaching for the veal jus and ordering another round of martinis.
Caroline Aksich, a National Magazine Award recipient, is an ex-Montrealer who writes about Toronto’s ever-evolving food scene, real estate and culture for Toronto Life, Fodor’s, Designlines, Canadian Business, Glory Media and Post City. Her work ranges from features on octopus-hunting in the Adriatic to celebrity profiles.
