The NIXON Chops & Whiskey
The NIXON Chops & Whiskey is a new steakhouse in Uptown Whittier with a slight Mexican flare and a few flourishes from around the globe.
This restaurant took the place of long time Uptown Whittier restaurant, Seta Dine Lounge, and was born from a collaboration with Inspired Dining Group and Top Chef contestant, Chef Katsuji Tanabe.
Chef Katsuji Tanabe was featured on Bravo’s Top Chef television series multiple times and has worked in many of LA’s top restaurants, including Beverly Hill’s Mastro’s Steakhouse. He is also quite the restaurant mogul owning three other restaurants besides The NIXON all around the country including Barrio, in Chicago, and Mexikosher, in LA.
We were super fortunate to be able to sit down with Chef Tanabe and he shared with us how his cooking career all began. He grew up in Mexico in a very wealthy family. As a young kid he always loved to cook, but his father, who was a mechanical engineer, always wanted him to have a “real career”.
At 17 years old his parents divorced and he moved to California with his mother and sister and experienced a drastic change in lifestyle. He went from being extremely wealthy to not having much so he got his first job working in a restaurant washing dishes. Fast forward to today, and he is now a successful restaurant owner, renown chef and is married with two daughters ages five and two.
Now about the food…it’s delicious! From their salmon, filet mignon, 32 oz. bone in rib eye steak, and last but certainly not least, their Confit Half Pig Head that serves two, each dish is mouthwatering. They also have a brunch with bottomless mimosas, it doesn’t get much better than that! Their food is definitely one of a kind and has a unique flare to each dish.
If you aren’t looking for drinks and cocktails, they also have El Speakeasy at The NIXON that’s open Friday and Saturday nights from 9 PM to 2 AM, and it’s complete with a Ryan Gosling themed ladies room.
This place is a MUST TRY in Uptown Whittier. It definitely feels like a unique upscale restaurant that serves dishes you will likely never get to try anywhere else.
Photos by Hope Boat Productions.
