Settled in a mid-century house, Meatlicious is the new playground of Chef Gaggan Anand. Several times winner of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant, and 5th in position of the World’s 50 Best Restaurant for his eponym fine-dining concept Gaggan, the Kolkata-born chef took the leap and opened a boldly different casual concept called Meatlicious.

While you have the option of seating al-fresco and order a drink at the bar, the place to be is at the seven seaters chef’s table inside. It gives unbeatable views on the open kitchen showcasing chefs Jorge B. Grande Ordonez and Carlos Rodriguez in a cutting, grilling, seasoning party.

Inside, the atmosphere is charming and convivial. The exposed brick walls, hard-wood floors and ceilings, chandeliers made of recycled water bottles, metal forging partitions and chairs, but also the colourful mismatched glasses at the table,  and the napkins folded into fabric holders will make you feel as if you just entered Chef Anand’s loft for an intimate dinner with friends.

Burrata, Avocado, Mushrooms is a off the menu dish which can be requested, simply plated with freshly cut avocado and burrata cheese with drops of olive oil. Cutting the two ingredients on the plate is a mix of seasonal greens with mushrooms and coutons.  Various textures within a dish that will be an experience for everyone.

Let’s talk about the real deal, the food.  The focal piece of Meatlicious’ cooking arsenal is a woodfired oven which enhances tastes and brings a smokey aroma to your chosen dish. From meats, to fish, to oven-burnt ice cream, every dish has been prepared with the wood-fired in mind. Here lies the restaurant’s appeal.

For the aficionados of French food, we strongly recommend the Foie-Gras Breakfast as starter. It consists of a foie-gras crème brûlée served with a brioche and cherry compote to judiciously balance the sweet and savoury flavours, and give a texture varied dish. Fruits and goose liver are a match made in heaven.

Habanero Pig’s Ears is delightfully crunchy, with spicy, sweet and salty notes all in one dish, thinly sliced and deep fried before being tossed with habanero chili and lime. If you are not the adventurous type when it comes to eating, you should overcome your fear by ordering this dish. It will surprise you in the most pleasant way.

The Tomahawk is probably the star dish of this evening at Meatlicious. The 1.3kg Australian grassfed beef steak is served on the bone, together with vegetables and an offering of four dressings (feta cheese, panea chilli sauce, grain mustard and guacamole).

To fully enjoy it, you need to let your senses transport you: the sound of the meat sizzling, the smell of its aroma and the smoke coming out of the caramelised crust, the taste as you dig into the rare steak and let it melt in your mouth and excite your taste buds… they will bring you back to all your original instinct and you will not resist a second piece of the steak.

Shrimp, Seabream Ceviche also off the menu is a must order served with deep fried prawn head, the tiger milk is prepared in house like a sauce that is tangy, sour and refreshingly bold. Red and green chills adds a touch of spice to finish. The freshness of the shrimp and seabream can be savoured with every mouthful.

Then comes the scallops à la plancha. Served with a generous spice truffle sauce, mushrooms and spinach, the Hokkaido scallops are seared to perfection and promising to be stellar. The mollusks are fluffy and caramelised, laced with the wafting aroma of the precious truffle, which makes it an ideal alternative to meat.

Agentine Asado is Argentina’s pride and joy, tenderloin done to medium rare by the best way to cook it: low and slow (meaning of Asado cooking) on the grill and served with chimichuri. The chimichuri is made of finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and red wine vinegar. The dominant flavors are parsley and garlic which pairs well with the meat and lettuce wedge salad.

Lastly, the oven-burnt ice cream is a fresh and light way of ending such a meat-heavy meal. The raspberry-flavoured delicacy is topped with a flambé meringue which balances out the red fruit’s sour accents and enhanced the whole dessert with a smoky whiff. A small biscuit at the base will surprise you with some welcomed crunchiness and another layer of texture for this cleverly thought-out confection.

From the wine list we recommend a Jamsheed Pinot Noir, perfect to accompany grilled meats and salmon. If you are leaning towards beer, drafts are Belgian Vedetts and most bottled beers come all the way from Japan with Hitachino Nest brews.

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