asado

feels like they are following a formula for an asado restaurant, but doesn’t quite work. the food was ok for the most part. some better than ok and some worse. but the front of house staff were just off. the feel of the place was very awkward, not particularly friendly or welcoming, and not all that enjoyable. left thinking we probably wouldn’t bother returning.

food 9/10
value 7/10
great flavours on pretty much every dish we had during our $110 a head set menu. standouts were kingfish ceviche, provolone cheese, chorizo in the early stages, then the rib eye was beautiful, well cooked and very tasty. cost was probably a bit rich at $110 a head and not a heap of food. will be back but not for a set menu.

i absolutely recommend a visit but advise against the $110 food banquet and it is shocking value for money. the food quality is excellent, highlights bring the empanadas, chorizo and the one steak we got was very tasty. service was good but walked out of there still hungry after sharing one steak between 6 people... bit stingy by the restaurant i reckon.

although our experience of dinning with asado is strictly restricted to the pop-up outside arts centre, melbourne, we chose to write a review here.

we loved to use of color that's gone into designing thos pop-up.

ordered a cheese empanada, lomito and papas from this argentinian / spanish pop-up.

everything was yummy and fresh. beef was cooked perfect. potatoes were beautifully fried and crisp. cheese empanada was so moist from inside and crisp from outside.

the only issue that we probably had (and mind you, it not actually a big issue) was that lomito (grass-fed beef sandwich) could have had some more dressing then usual.

value for money and very friendly staff.

everything we ordered was delicious and service from alejandro was great. the beef tartare was my favorite (covered in potato crisps in the photo). had a very enjoyable experience!

i was reminded of san telmo - great food, being steaks cooked to perfection, really succulent lamb and a good drinks list to boot. the sangrias are really yummy and perfect for balmy summer afternoons.

asado a predominately argentinean restaurant focusing on just that, asado. it's got a few spanish tapas/pintxos as well as other south american influences in their menu, but it's all about that meat hissing away on that parrilla. like its counterpart san telmo and palermo there are a few popular items that can be found here and they are here for good reason, they're crowd pleasers.

they've got a good selection on argentinean wines, the price is quite a significant mark up and i've had my fair share of malbec when i was down there. regardless the atmosphere here is dark with cow hides and wines adorning the walls and the parrilla in full display with an open kitchen. the pork roasting away hanging on some grating, only thing missing is a whole lamb on a cross. you even get to see the dry aging room before you walk into the restaurant, a feast for the eyes.

we start off with a few lengua, beef tongue skewers layered with chimichurri. i didn't know beef tongue could get so tender, this was really soft and had a nice smokey flavour imparted onto it. the chimichurri was quite herbaceous and gave it some brightness.

they were out of their special lamb empanadas so we stuck with beef which was a sound choice, filled with mince, olives and egg it was a hearty pocket with a few spices to bring some mild heat into play.

the white fish ceviche was lightly cured and did not overpower the fish. you've got the corn and pine nuts for crunch and a few slices of tangelo for some citrusy sweetness, nice vibrant dish.

we also got a chorizo which to be honest i thought was going to be larger for the given price point but it was delicious nonetheless. it was gushing with spicy fatty juices and had some nice charring to it.

for mains we went for the 500g o'connor's premium dry aged pasture fed rib eye. perfectly cooked, perfectly pink with all that beautiful fat rippling through the meat which imparted a lot of beefy flavour. it's one of the best steaks i've eaten in melbourne. they did give us a couple of accompaniments, chimichurri and some type of salsa but really it was perfect in it's purest form.

we also had some of their roast pork which had been cooked over open fire, juicy white meat with a few shards of crackling thrown in. this benefited more from the sauces. as a side we got asparagus with cheese, almond and bread crumbs. the asparagus was soft and crisp with the almonds, all the ingredients just clung together and worked a treat.

for dessert we got some alfajores which had 2 shortbreads and dulce de leche squeezed in between. it crumbled with eat bite to reveal a sticky sweetness aliken to caramel. we also got the tres leches which translates to 3 milk, in this case 3 milk sponge cake. it had some familiar pairings such as strawberries and cream with some popping from the freeze dried berries. what makes this unique is the red pepper sorbet which on its own is quite confusing and there were some blank stares that night. combined however it slowly came together, it's an acquired taste and worthy of trying.

overall fantastic spot and can be overlooked as it is not directly on the main strip. they didn't take any shortcuts here and i was pretty happy with the ambience and food. the food had great pacing but there were a couple of times we didn't get as much attention as you'd expect due to the servers being overloaded, that being said another waiter (possibly manager) saw that we needed our table cleared and rushed over to help out.

i'm glad these guys are around, they're really making an impact on the south american dining scene in melbourne which is mostly underrepresented and gives me warm nostalgic vibes.

absolute cracker of a place! tucked just off the main walk, asado hit many highs throughout the night. funny and attentive waiter opened the evening with some friendly banter. we ate all of the small plates and a handful of the tapas type style too. grilled octopus was a highlight, as was the ceviche fish. chicken skewers popped off the plate and the empanadas were delicious! we had blade steak, rib eye and the pork; each were absolutely lovely.
thought so highly of this place that i will definitely be back for another go at it!! get there!

my favourite meat restaurant at the moment! i want to go back and have everything else in the menu!!!!!

originally planned to go to san telmo, but with me completely forgetting to actually book it in it got booked out. on the website however it kindly suggested their sister restaurants palermo and asado which are also argentinian grills. asado it was.

first of all - location is very convenient! southbank right across the bridge from flinders st station, right next to southgate.

as you are walking towards to entrance you are passing the window display of all the different cuts that were being aged right there, and the smell of something amazing hits your nose and you know you are up for a treat here! (see one of the videos)

the warmest greeting from staff as we are welcomed and escorted to our table. talking of staff - most are from spain, south america, france, all extremely helpful, and passionate about their food (and quite handsome!! 🤫😂)

the decor is definitely a steak house, in your face! love it! cow skin on the walls, on the menu covers, drinks menu made of soft leather, suckling pig hanging in the open kitchen being slowly roasted, proper steak knives with asado logo - all says - we know our meat!

now to the food:
we had few starters, 3 mains and couple sides.
🔸jamon iberico - top notch!!!! the smell, taste and lingering oiliness of acorns in jamon was beautiful and very pronounced. nom nom nom 🤤
🔸 beef tartare was the most beautiful i have ever tasted (and i have had a lot both here and in france). it came with marinated little mushrooms (enoki style, but probably not!) with zingy anchovy mayo served with crispy potato chips to scoop it up. the taste, texture and freshness all together worked amazingly!
🔸grilled beef tongue with chimichurri. braised for a day, then slow cooked for 12 hours, then thinly sliced and grilled on super hot coals, served with flavoursome chimichurri sauce. it was exquisite. so tender, with lovely caramelisation. i definitely recommend to everyone, and especially those who have never tried tongue and are cautious. it doesn’t taste like offal at all!!! just delicious!

🔸now on to mains: we had suckling pig, and also lamb and steak from the parilla - argentinian coal grill. ok, please try the pig!!! it was melting in mouth! didn’t know it was physically possible till that day with pork. woah!!

both lamb and steak were simply amazing as well. but steak is steak. these ones were pretty damn good though!! both lamb and beef came out perfectly medium rare, slightly on the rare side, which was perfect for me and were amazingly tender and full of flavour of both the actual meat and the coals of parilla.

and lastly couple sides that deserve a mention in their own right:
🔸artichoke hearts with grilled onion, garlic and tomatoes - i could just eat it by itself!!! (i actually didn’t adjust that photo, it looked that good!)
🔸and their signature dish- roasted brussel sprouts topped with manchego cheese - flavour overload!!

papas bravas were good too, but that’s to be expected.

we have not tried deserts at all, too full. there were still few more things on the menu to try so we shall definitely be back.
so if you are looking to have a great night night with some good meat to go along with your good red - give that place a go for sure!!!

had a delicious meal at asado last week. massive open space with good atmosphere. food was top notch. definitely rivals san telmo. between 3, we ordered the salted cod croquettes, the kingfish ceviche, the cuttlefish with romesco, the grilled provolone, the flank steak and the brussel sprouts with manchego cream. everything was fantastic but for me the provolone and the brussel sprouts were a major highlight.

asado lives up the expectations which its sister restaurants san telmo and palermo have set for it. we went to asado after we couldnt get into san telmo or palermo having dined at them before. the food is just so wonderfully tasty, a real treat! the meat is better than some specialty steak restaurants in the city, and the sides sophisticated and delicious. make sure you leave room for dessert - not to be missed!! service fantastic of course.

the folks behind san telmo, pastuso and palermo have opened a new restaurant in southbank, asado. it takes what works at those venues – tasty south american food, and puts its own spin on things. the food here is contemporary argentinean, with a focus on argentina’s spanish influenced dishes and flavours.

my advice is arrive hungry. seriously the food is rich and punchy. it's hard not to get carried away and over order. there was not one dish that we didn't love. even the side dish of brussels sprouts was amazing, yes amazing!

i will try to order less less time as we left far too full and couldn't finish what we we ordered. but boy did we try and had a great time doing so.

was so excited to try this new restaurant in melbourne. definitely did not leave disappointed. to begin, i was greeted by the friendly staff upon arrival. throughout the dinner they were so lovely and helpful in regards to the menu and in recommending what dishes to order. every dish we had i devoured and loved. the steak was definitely the highlight matched with the carrots paired with goats cheese and pine nuts. you cannot leave without trying their desserts. my favourite was the flan! can't wait to try asado again.

it's a new restaurant and so we thought we'll give it a try without making a booking. luckily it's a large space and many tables available on a weeknight at 6:30.  the place did fill up quickly though. the menu was covered in animal skin, and the place-mats was also leather. so it's probably not the best place for vegetarians.  we didn't know what to order so asked the waiter for recommendation. he said the flank steak and the skirt steak, which was really tasty. we also had the pork, which came with some crackling. i also enjoyed the sauces/salsa that came with the meal.