Kozy’s Steaks & Seafood

Many were skeptical when Bill and Dana Kozlak decided to try to replicate their family’s decades of success at Jax Café by expanding with a different concept in the Galleria, of all places. It seemed a disconnect and early reviews were middling. Kozy’s appeared to be taking Kincaid’s on, replicating its top-drawer prices, beige surroundings, and familiar supper clubby fare. But Kozy’s never looked all that busy, and when the more modern Crave opened down the corridor, with a menu of sushi, pizza, and the like, everyone wondered how long Kozy’s had left.

A year later, Kozy’s is improved, its menu seems broader, the prices, while still top-drawer, are a decent value as ingredient quality is good and cooking careful. And with a Westin Hotel opening next door this fall, Kozy’s will have a captive clientele primed for steak. And Kozy’s is a steakhouse, though with a larger menu of pastas, chicken, and salads than most steakhouses.

Our “Cajun” marinated ribeye was beefy and flavorful, cooked to ordered temperature. Kozy’s steaks will not likely cause the downtown steakhouses to go back to the drawing board, but I’d put them on a par with Ruth’s Chris, based on recent visits. Other dishes we liked included spicy “N’Awlins” shrimp in an addictive buttery-spicy sauce, two big lump crabcakes (a steal at $15), a traditional and tasty grilled meatloaf, and a special of baby back ribs—slow-braised and not smoked, but crusty and winning nonetheless.

Gimmicky scallop “lollypops” deserved better than to be breaded, but were moist nonetheless. A standard-issue flourless chocolate raspberry torte tasted too rich to even share and is way too heavy a finish for this kind of food. Shame on us for ordering it, I guess, but isn’t this cake closer to candy than dessert?

Our server was a pro, his recommendations on the mark. Managers roamed the floor and our happiness was regularly queried, not typical in local restaurants. Kozy’s has an innocuous wood and earth tone décor that won’t turn anybody off, and there’s a small bar that seems underpatronized.

So Kozy’s has evolved into a legitimate player in an ever-deepening Edina dining scene. If you’re looking for a steakhouse experience in the south metro, you can’t do any better.