“Our passion for the tradition of the ‘asados’, Argentinian barbecues, combined with Belgian standards of excellence brings you a varied menu of simple and tasty dishes.” In their own words, that’s exactly what Meet Meat does, and it does it very well.
The restaurant was set up by local Philippe Wiener and long-time Brussels resident Argentinian Eduardo Rios Centeno. They completely refurbished the high-ceilinged ground floor of a traditional maison de maitre – it’s long and open, fresh and simple in its decor with plenty of light and a large garden. As the name suggests, steak is on the menu – and how.
We shared three starters: a mouth-watering Jamón Ibérico Bellota (36 months) pata negra; crusty Beef empanadas (Argentinian pastry filled with hand diced beef); and an Argentinian specialty I had never heard of before called Provoleta: grilled Italian provolone cheese.
The recommended wine for these and the main course to come was the Monteagrelo Cabernet Franc 2009 from the Walter Bressia vineyard in Mendoza. According to vinesofmendoza.com’s tasting notes, it is “a sexy and complex Cab Franc… offers red and blackcurrant, fresh herbs, flowers, coffee bean and liquorice… Its long finish mixes with smooth tannins and lingering notes of flowers and herbs”. It certainly went perfectly with the starters, and it wasn’t the only ‘long finish’ of the evening, because… the main course was the Tira de Ancho, 550 grammes of spiral cut rib eye steak, which the menu states is ‘to share or not…’ Of course, we had one each, and we both agreed it’s the best steak in town (they source the meat from the same supplier to the Gaucho chain in the UK). Tira de Ancho is basically a long strip of rib eye, slow grilled to allow the marbling to melt before your very eyes.
Meet Meat is only a few steps from the Berlaymont, in the Schuman district, and is open weekdays for lunch and dinner. It can get very busy at lunchtimes so book or get there early. Upstairs there are rooms available for seminars and private dining.
124 Rue Stevin, 1000 Bruxelles
Tel/Fax: +32(0)2.231.07.42
