Dallas has no shortage of steakhouses, and Harwood Hospitality Group knows it. Maybe that’s why it took more than two years to open the newest one. Docent Steak finally opened its doors October 1 in the Harwood District, with two things no other steakhouse in town can match: a certified Kobe beef program and a dining room full of samurai art.
The restaurant fills two floors of Harwood No. 14, the tower at 2801 N. Harwood St. designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. When it was announced in early 2024, the plan was to open that summer. The extra time went into shaping what the group now calls a contemporary steakhouse built on Texas beef, with global touches throughout the menu.
The name says a lot. A docent is a museum guide, and the dining room borrows from the museum a few blocks away. The Ann & Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum: The Samurai Collection holds one of the largest collections of samurai art and armor in the world. The Barbier-Mueller family, which also owns Harwood International, has placed more than 100 pieces from its collections around the restaurant, including full suits of armor, large sculpture, mounted warriors and, for good Texas measure, plenty of horse and cattle imagery.
There are two ways to dine. Upstairs, the main room is a classic white-tablecloth steakhouse that opens onto a wraparound patio. Downstairs is looser and livelier, with TVs. Several private rooms handle smaller parties.
The beef comes from two sources.
The first is HWD Beef, the group’s own program, which began with Stillwell’s, its Michelin-recommended steakhouse nearby. Taylor Kearney, Harwood Hospitality’s vice president of culinary, built it with ranchers in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico who raise Akaushi, the Japanese breed also called Red Wagyu. Nothing goes to waste, since the program uses the whole animal, and the beef is served only at Harwood restaurants.
The second is Kobe, and that’s the real headline. True Kobe comes only from Tajima-strain Japanese Black cattle raised in Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, and only places certified by the Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association may sell it by that name. Docent is one of them, with one of the largest certified Kobe programs in Texas. Several A5 Wagyu cuts from Japan, A5 being the top Japanese grade, are sold by the ounce. A rotating Kobe flight of five cuts lets you taste the differences side by side.
The rest of the menu covers a lot of ground. Starters run from Kobe potstickers and steak tartare sliders to a lump crab cake, tempura lobster, spicy tuna tartare, oysters and a seafood tower. Seasonal entrées include a Texas bison filet, Elysian Fields rack of lamb, a Kan Kan pork chop, Ora King salmon and miso Chilean sea bass.
Sides stick close to tradition, with a few twists: tallow-fried shoestring fries, whipped potatoes, potatoes au gratin, mac and cheese, lobster mac and cheese and Brussels sprouts with Japanese whisky, soy, maple and braised bacon. Dessert means baked Alaska, New York cheesecake, flourless chocolate cake, coconut cream pie or bread pudding.
General manager Rhea Knight runs the bar. Look for a Strawberry Lychee Martini, a Tamarind Buck, the Bread & Butter with reposado tequila, grapefruit and pickle brine, a rye cocktail washed with Wagyu fat and a $25 Boujee Cola. Her wine list is designed to change over time, mixing aged Italian, French and American bottles with newer producers. The sake list runs deeper than you’d expect at a steakhouse, with bottles from Dewatsuru, Manotsuru, Tengu, Soto and others.
Docent joins a Harwood District lineup that already includes Stillwell’s, Mercat Bistro, Harwood Arms, Magnolias Sous Le Pont and the restaurants inside Hôtel Swexan. The group calls it its most luxurious concept yet.
Docent Steak is at 2801 N. Harwood St., Suite 100, in Dallas. Book through OpenTable, and find hours and menus on the Docent Steak website.
