In fast-changing but still fine-dining-underserved Ditmas Park, a meat market entrepreneur plants his Manhattan-style steak house flag

By Matt Scanlon

Higher-end restaurants are, by their nature, an adventure in customer expectations, and there is perhaps no loftier level of scrutiny applied to urban dishes than that directed at steaks. As often as not served naked on the plate, with ancillary ingredients either applied gently or not at all, prime cuts simply cannot and should not hide amidst colorful sides or even the most bravura house sauces, as a chicken breast or fish fillet might. Steak is also not only an expensive thing for restaurateurs to acquire (the meat industry is ever challenged by environmental, political, and socio-economic factors), but the right market finds are far from the end of the worry process. Also critical is the proper niche…where one fits into the broader style/décor marketplace.

David Khan, majority owner of the 2013-opened and widely praised Atlas Meat Market (originally in Kensington and now in Gravesend), was chatting with market business partner Andrey Nevelskiy a few years ago, when the latter wondered: “We supply the same prime meat that high-end places like Peter Luger serves…why don’t we open a restaurant and feature our own meat?”

“I sat there and thought for a few minutes,” recalled Khan, “and it just seemed so obvious. Why should people have to go to either Peter Luger up north or to Chadwick’s or Amber Steak House in Bay Ridge to get a great steak? Ditmas Park, right on Coney Island Avenue, had no fine dining places of that kind….or any kind really. It seemed the perfect place to start something unique.”

The idea also cannily spoke to an evolution in Ditmas Park—fast evolving from a sleepy bedroom community of lovely Colonial Revival, Bungalow-Craftsman, and Queen Anne-style single-family homes—as well as high crime rates—into a fascinating cultural hub, and haven for Manhattan and Park Slope expats. Principally, these newcomers are in the critical demographic of 24 to 35 years old, one that a 2012 Johnson & Wales University study described as “the most frequent visitor to fine dining establishments—31% compared to other age groups.”

“Usually residential areas, even in Brooklyn, change slowly,” Khan said, “but this is one of the neighborhoods that is changing every single day. Cortelyou Road…18th Avenue, Coney Island Avenue… if you take a walk on Cortelyou between Coney Island Avenue and East 16th, you will see bar after bar and restaurant after restaurant filled with people, and feel that you are maybe in Park Slope or the Village. The change has been simply amazing.”

So, Khan, who grew up in the city and whose father has long been in the restaurant business, set about establishing what he termed, “an upscale New York City steakhouse at an affordable price,” which, while a catchy slogan, also happened to be a tricky recipe.

“The type of meat we get is no different than that served in other flagship restaurants… Prime beef [the highest USDA classification]. But it’s expensive, and I knew I couldn’t throw big Manhattan prices into the business plan. Even if our profits are going to be lower, I thought, that’s fine. My vision right now is not about making money, it’s about branding…about making this place happen…and to advance the idea that you don’t have to go to the city to eat like you are there.”

Aged in the steakhouse’s own dry aging room to achieve house-specified tenderness and flavor, there is a surprising diversity of cuts and price points available, from an eight-ounce filet mignon to slightly lower priced medallion and skirt steaks, ascending into the nirvana of rib eye bone-in prime 24-ounce to porterhouse prime 32-ounce cuts, then to New York strip, a gorgeous veal chop, lamb chops, and a cider-marinated short rib plate that is quietly becoming a staff obsession.

For slightly less ambitious appetites, there’s the Classic American Burger served with kettle chips, a St. Tropez Burger with Gorgonzola cheese and caramelized onions, and Atlas’s own Lamb Burger.

Though it’s of course slightly sacrilegious, accommodations needed to be made to those pescatarians among us, and the grilled tuna steak handles that task deftly, as do the branzino, butterflied salmon steak, and grilled red snapper. The lone chicken dish is a lovely, uncluttered grilled breast marinated with rosemary and garlic, and it, like all entrées, offers a choice of sides (typically rice, mashed potatoes, and the day’s vegetables).

Those sides need to be specified, as entrées nearly always come without them. A great way to sneak in an indulgence while appearing righteous is to grab a plate of the creamy spinach with baby bella mushrooms, but the ratatouille grilled vegetables, baked and mashed potatoes, kettle chips, or French fries all complement the steaks well. Another point of distinction at Atlas, apart from its strategic siting, is the menu’s Mediterranean influence, a gentle bend among some of the salads, appetizers, rice, and mezestyle dips to embrace Mediterranean spice…an effort that extends to the crispy pitas lamb chops and filets are served on. “They provide a wonderful extra texture, and complement the meat’s flavor,” explained Khan.

Atlas features a full bar, a small but strategically organized wine list, and live music or other live entertainment on Saturdays and Sundays, and occasionally other evenings (“Last week we had a French singer, before that an R&B/jazz singer,” said Khan)—another way of establishing an environment that evokes midtown sophistication, but remains approachable for visitors from other boroughs.

“It’s not a place where you dance,” the owner added, “but one where you can relax, have a good steak, a romantic dinner…and though you might know that you’re in Brooklyn, for a while you don’t feel that you are.”

Atlas Steakhouse
943 Coney Island Avenue / 646.494.7227 / atlassteak.com