A prominent Korean chef who ran a Michelin-starred restaurant in Seoul is opening a massive, splashy restaurant in downtown San Francisco.

ABSteak from chef Akira Back will open Oct. 8 inside Hotel Fusion at 124 Ellis St. in Union Square, according to an announcement. The Korean steakhouse, with locations in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, is known for high-end, dry-aged meat cooked on smokeless tabletop grills. Back, a former professional snowboarder, has competed on “Iron Chef America” and operates more than a dozen restaurants worldwide. His now-closed restaurant in Seoul, Dosa, received a Michelin star in 2018.

The 6,500-square-foot San Francisco restaurant will specialize in an “upscale combination of Korean flavors and American steakhouse service,” a press release reads. Expect dishes like Wagyu-topped pizza, short rib fried rice and the extravagant union of A5 Japanese Wagyu with uni, caviar and truffle. Meats like 45-day New York striploin marinated in ssamjang (a Korean fermented soybean sauce) and Wagyu beef brisket will be cooked on custom grills equipped with Japanese Binchotan charcoal. The grilled meats, which are accompanied by banchan, Korean side dishes, range in price from $45 to $95.

Cuts of Wagyu and aged steaks will be displayed in glass cases, while a 112-bottle circular wine case will anchor the middle of the moody 130-seat dining room. ABSteak also has a separate bar and lounge area and several private dining rooms.

ABSteak’s San Francisco expansion has been in the works since at least 2019. “We are thrilled to bring ABsteak to San Francisco and to be part of the incredible culinary community here,” Back said in the announcement.

ABSteak will join a few other high-end Korean restaurants in the Bay Area, including the Michelin-starred San Ho Won and Ssal in San Francisco and upscale barbecue hot spot Baekjeong in San Jose. Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Vegetarian Recipes