This $74 cut from Bear Creek Farm can easily feed a group. | Rey Lopez/Eater DC It truly is the year of the steakhouse, with no shortage of hot new openings across the country. Chef Ryan Ratino (Michelin-starred Jônt, Bresca) brings D.C. a modern version of the steak-worshipping institution that just might win over diners exhausted by the return of huge T-bones. Ox Olive officially opens its doors on Thursday, May 7, in the old Reverie space, which was completely redesigned into a gothic, self-described “temple of beef” for Georgetown.  The newest outpost from Hive Hospitality is hidden down an alleyway just off the historic canals. A dark entryway feels like a confessional box, with arched windows covered in latticed metal and a glowing dry-aging refrigerator full of marbled meat. Dark green curtains open up into a dimly lit 50-seat restaurant from designer Natalie Park covered in dripping candles, wrought iron detailing, and a martini glass on every table. It’s a dramatic, intimate setting for revisiting the sprawling steakhouses of the past, telling diners that the restaurant group known for Michelin-starred tasting pads is not afraid to let loose in this a la carte setting. Raised by a working class family in Ohio that considered a juicy steak the epitome of luxury, Ratino knew that he could turn the status symbol into something unique, high-end, and, yet, still affordable enough for a fancy date night. First, he’s focused on where he gets his beef. “Rather than sourcing our beef from one or two programs, we’re using 16 different programs,” he tells Eater. Niche farms from Australia to Nashville are sending him cuts you can’t find anywhere else in the District and he’s created relationships with these farmers that help him to treat each steak differently. For example, he doesn’t age cuts from Australia’s Wanderer Beef cows that are fed a certain diet to elicit a distinct aroma and the cows at Tennessee’s Bear Creek Farm are fed leftover mash from a Jack Daniels distillery, creating a malty, fermented popcorn flavor in the meat.  That level of specialization should start with a three-figure price point, but Ratino is also committed to keeping costs down by butchering and even dry aging every cut himself in the restaurant’s basement. The mainstays on the menu from Maryland’s Roseda Farms start at $44 for a wagyu flank steak, while a pound of the revolving specialty cuts on the menu are $74 to $115. He only gets a few of these rare cuts, so they are featured on a small card stuck to the menu with a cow paperclip, so beef offerings can easily be switched out throughout the night. Ratino maintains that those by-the-pound cuts don’t need any sauce, but you can order house made “O-1” and au poivre on the side. Plus, each dramatic specialty beef comes with a green-hued beef tallow candle to dip bites of steak into. “We smoke the fat, we infuse it with thyme, rosemary, garlic, and sage,” Ratino explains. “And you can kind of drizzle some of that over your steak.”  Classic steakhouse starters get a glow-up as well. Deeply savory mini hotdogs ($13 for two) made with brisket and leftover beef ends are sandwiched in milk bread with mustard, house made relish with plenty of zing, and pickled onions. Steak tartare bites ($15 for two) are built on mini “eclairs” filled with “an aioli of mustard and a little bit of aged beef fat,” Ratino details.  Stepped up sides include thick-cut steak fries alongside incredibly thin-battered, crispy onion rings that are both served with a tangy sour cream ranch. The creamed greens are equally comforting and flavorful, cooked down in a mushroom-spiked cream and topped off with Parmesan bread crumbs. A chic conversation pit-like couch in front of the open kitchen will operate as a chef’s table, where up to eight diners are fed a curated menu covering dishes on and off the main menu. The meal starts at $95 per person for starters, sides, and dessert, before diners choose cuts of beef.  The cocktail menu is chock-full of martinis. A timeline starts in the 1860s with the maraschino spiked Martinez and makes its way through the late 19th century with Manhattans; a straight martini; a signature with lemon bitters and thyme-infused olive oil washed gin; and a dirty variation with a brine recipe filled with blended Castelveltranos and a little thyme perfected by beverage director Will Patton, who also runs award-winning cocktail bar Press Club. Ox Olive’s $16 martini hour runs weekdays from 5 to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to close at the bar and lounge. The right side of the martini-only menu features other liquors, including balanced versions of a black Manhattan; a French martini with pineapple rum; an espresso martini with tequila; a passionfruit pornstar martini; and a mezcal-spiked appletini. Every meal starts with a complimentary tea-infused martini and ends with complimentary beef tallow caramels that were, ironically, the hardest recipe to develop. It took seven test batches for pastry chef Yoonjung Oh to get the texture just right.  “You can definitely taste the beef fat,” Oh explains. “That’s actually the very fun part of working with savory chefs. I would have never imagined using beef fat in my dessert.” Her carrot cake was based on another dessert she was known for at Jungsik, a Michelin three-starred restaurant that pioneered Korean fine dining in New York City. In the original, proportional carrot-shaped sweets were placed in a planter with real vegetables. Her new carrot cake pays homage to Bugs Bunny’s favorite snack with a cartoon-like huge carrot mold topped with googly eyes and dramatic floppy greens. Her other desserts are also nostalgic favorites, like airy chocolate soft serve (mimicking a Wedny’s frosty) served with optional shoestring fries for dipping and a mille-feuille cake layered with chocolate puff pastry, brown butter ganache, and maraschino cherry compote. Ox Olive is open every day from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., with the 16-seat bar and lounge staying open till 11 p.m. for late-night martinis and bar-only burgers. ...read more read less