Arthur J's

White-oak embers do the heavy lifting at The Arthur J. Its custom J&R live wood-fire grill, made in Mesquite, Texas, is the centre of the cooking, searing USDA Prime, True Japanese Wagyu and other prime cuts over smoke and flame rather than treating the grill as background theatre.

Order around that fire. The Arthur J Steak Sampler is the clearest way in: R&R Ranch tenderloin, Prime NY strip and Snake River Wagyu flat iron, each cut showing a different texture and richness from the same live-fire treatment. If you want the full statement, the wood-fired, bone-in tomahawk is presented as a house specialty and cooked on that same J&R grill.

Chef-owner David LeFevre leads the restaurant, and anyone who knows Manhattan Beach dining will recognise the name from M.B. Post and Fishing with Dynamite. Several of his nearby restaurants have been recognised in the MICHELIN Guide, but here the focus is direct: serious beef, white oak smoke and a grill built specifically for the job.