Morton's The Steakhouse

Morton's The Steakhouse sits at 170 South Market Street, a short walk from the Fairmont and the San Jose Convention Center — which is no accident. Morton's opened its downtown San Jose location in 1993, when the city was still mid-transformation from sleepy county seat to the capital of Silicon Valley, and it has been the default power room of downtown ever since. Three decades later, in a city that has churned through restaurant concepts twice over, Morton's is exactly what it was: dark wood, leather banquettes, tuxedoed service, and steak cooked the way a serious steakhouse cooks steak.

What you come here for: the 24-ounce bone-in ribeye, the double-cut filet mignon, the Porterhouse for two, and the sides that belong on a classic American steakhouse table — creamed spinach, lyonnaise potatoes, lobster mac and cheese, jumbo asparagus. The seafood is seriously good for a steakhouse — the jumbo shrimp cocktail has been on the menu since the chain opened its first location in Chicago in 1978, and the sea bass is a reliable alternate for the non-steak guest at the table. The martini program and the wine list skew classical: a deep California cabernet section, first-growth Bordeaux by the bottle, and the kind of single-malt pour a deal evening often requires.

The dining room is laid out for how business actually happens. Booths are spaced for conversation, private dining rooms seat parties of up to fifty, and the Boardroom is the go-to for the dinner that has to happen but cannot be overheard. Service is professional without being stiff — the waiters have been here a while, they know the regulars, and they know how to pace a meal around the rhythm of a negotiation. You will not discover anything surprising at Morton's. That is precisely the point. When you bring a client downtown for a dinner that has to work, surprise is not what you want.