Australian and Japanese wagyu alongside Filipino comfort food will anchor Chiquo and Eva's, a steakhouse planned for the former Rookies Sports Bar & Grill at 321 First St. in Benicia. Married couple Phil and Amanda Layoso expect to open in November 2026 after years of running the concept as a Bay Area pop-up, with a soft opening targeted for Nov. 13.
The restaurant says it signed its first brick-and-mortar lease in August 2026 and aimed to open within three months, according to a statement on chiquoandeva.com. The Mercury News reports the restaurant is targeting a Nov. 13 soft opening and will serve a 48-ounce wagyu tomahawk. The restaurant's own menu lists its Australian wagyu tomahawk at 40 to 44 ounces, so the exact weight diners should expect remains unclear.
From Pop-Up Favorite to Permanent Address
The Layosos' restaurant plans grew out of a decade running a barbecue-catering business in Texas and a later Filipino-cuisine pop-up in the Bay Area, according to The Mercury News. They began considering a full-service restaurant in 2024. The pop-up menu included dry-aged American USDA Prime beef and American crossbred wagyu, but customers showed stronger interest in 100% wagyu. Japanese and Australian cuts reportedly sold better, and the Stone Axe Wagyu tomahawk became the pop-up's most popular item.
That steak is now central to the permanent menu. According to the restaurant's wagyu steak menu, the full-blood Australian wagyu tomahawk ribeye carries an Australian marble score of 9 or higher and is sourced from Stone Axe Wagyu in Victoria, Australia. The menu also features a 22-ounce Japanese A5 wagyu ribeye from the Miyazaki Prefecture with a Japanese marble score of 10 or higher.
A Menu Built Around Family Flavors
Alongside the steaks, diners can expect Filipino staples including lumpia Shanghai, chicken wings marinated in gochujang and mochiko batter, and garlic fried rice topped with a fried egg and fried garlic chips, per the restaurant's menu. Phil Layoso has called the Stone Axe wagyu tomahawk the greatest steak he has ever eaten, and per Layoso, restaurants across the United States now sell the Stone Axe tomahawk because the company is, in his telling, the largest full-blood wagyu program outside Japan. Stone Axe's own site backs up part of that pedigree, stating that its herd maintains 100% Full Blood Japanese Black Wagyu genetics, and the company says on its website that it has won Wagyu-branded beef awards grand champion titles back-to-back.
Renovations and 15 Tables
Inside the former Rookies space, Chiquo and Eva's has ongoing interior renovations underway, with plans for 15 tables and a look the owners describe as warm rather than the dark, dim feel typical of a traditional steakhouse.
First Street's commercial and waterfront role
A 2009 City of Benicia reuse study described First Street as the city's largest retail concentration, with restaurants, shopping and overnight lodging. The Press Democrat describes downtown First Street as an 11-block route from Military West to the Carquinez Strait waterfront, placing the restaurant in a district that serves both local businesses and visitors.
The name honors two deceased family members. Chiquo was Phil Layoso's dog, whom he credits with supporting him through major life events, including graduating, his mother's death, his marriage and his wife's chemotherapy. Chiquo later died of cancer. The couple's site sums up the idea behind the restaurant: “Wagyu is how we celebrated our loved ones.”
Part of a Broader Wagyu Moment
Benicia's new steakhouse joins a wave of high-end wagyu concepts that have cropped up around the Bay Area in recent years. San Francisco's Niku Steakhouse, a 60-seat spot that opened at 61 Division Street, built its entire identity around wagyu, offering everything from A5 Kobe beef to flights of wagyu jerky, as Eater SF reported. That restaurant served its dishes à la carte at first, with plans to add a tasting menu later, and paired its steaks with a 100-wine by-the-glass list using a Coravin system. Whether Chiquo and Eva's follows a similar format remains to be seen, but the appetite for premium wagyu in the region is clearly well established.
For now, Benicia diners curious about the new waterfront steakhouse can follow updates on chiquoandeva.com or on Instagram at instagram.com/chiquoevasteaks as the Nov. 13 soft opening approaches.
