The lights dip, the background music fades into silence, and the waitstaff seemingly disappear into the walls. A moment later, a thunderous bassline erupts, a single spotlight illuminates the room, and servers re-emerge, now adorned in white gloves and carrying a gleaming golden briefcase.
This is the unforgettable introduction to 'The Beef Case' at Papi Steak, a $1,000 culinary performance that has taken the internet by storm. The dish, which was temporarily unavailable during a two-month renovation, is now set to make a grand return to the flagship Miami Beach restaurant, which reopens on November 14.
The Birth of a Viral Phenomenon
According to the restaurant's founder, David 'Papi' Einhorn, the entire concept was a happy accident. In a phone interview with the Daily Mail, Einhorn explained that he was gifted a gold briefcase with the Papi Steak logo but had no idea what to do with it. Inspiration struck when his beef vendor presented him with a special, and extremely expensive, 55oz tomahawk of purebred Australian Wagyu.
Faced with a wholesale cost of $250 to $350 per steak, Einhorn needed a way to turn a profit. He settled on a round figure of $1,000. Musing on the golden briefcase and the premium meat, his mind turned to the iconic 1994 film Pulp Fiction and its mysterious briefcase.
'It dawned on me that, you know what, it was always a Papi Steak in the briefcase,' Einhorn said. He decided to combine the two, creating a tableside show where the briefcase's contents are finally revealed with choreography and fanfare.
Dinner and a Show
When a customer orders The Beef Case, the restaurant's special programming system directs lights and music to their table. Waiters crowd around, singing along to a Top 40 track as the golden case is opened. Inside, resting on a cushion of glittering ice, is the massive raw Wagyu steak.
The spectacle continues as a puff of smoke rises from the Papi Steak logo being branded onto the meat with a hot iron, before it is whisked away to the kitchen to be cooked. The cooked tomahawk is large enough to feed five or six people.
The experience has proven irresistible for social media, with diners' videos propelling the steakhouses to internet stardom. Einhorn recalled that after the first time they tried the performance, it 'just went viral.'
Overwhelming Demand and Celebrity Fans
The demand for this luxury experience is staggering. Before the shutdown, the Miami Beach location sold around 25 Beef Cases each night. The Las Vegas venue sees even higher demand, pushing 50 to 60 orders per night. On one record-breaking night during Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas in 2024, they sold an incredible 86 Beef Cases.
The restaurant is a favourite among celebrities. Einhorn name-dropped fans including Ivanka Trump, Shaboozey, and Bad Bunny, the latter of whom went 'crazy' when his own track was used for the presentation. For performers or singers, the staff will often bring the steak out to one of their own songs.
Some customers are so enamoured they forgo bottle service for a 'steak service', ordering four or five Beef Cases at a time. Einhorn knows of patrons who have ordered it 50 times already. He attributes its lasting success not just to the show, but to the quality and quantity of the steak itself, making the $1,000 price tag a relative value when shared.
With the Miami location's grand reopening, the golden briefcases are set to emerge once more, continuing a unique tradition that turned a piece of meat and a gifted case into a world-renowned dining event.
