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MELBOURNE | 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. We were invited to check out the new space, and with the three existing restaurants some of our favourites in Melbourne, we were keen to see how the new venture stacked up.
The space is large – there’s enough room to seat 250 people inside and outside, and there’s also a private dining room. Lighting is low, with lots of leather, wood, carpet and cow hide combining for an on theme, trendy space. Music is theme appropriate and not too loud, however due to the size of the space and the exposed concrete roof, it does get quite loud in here and you’ll probably be repeating yourself a few times while conversing with your dining companions.
The menu features an assortment of dishes designed to share, from small plates to 1kg cuts of meat, vegetables, seafood and more. Head chef Ollie Gould (ex Stokehouse) comes over from Palermo to oversee a menu that features dishes that will be familiar to those who have dined at Asado’s sister restaurants, along with several new dishes. The focus is, of course, meat, and there’s a lot to like on that front. The kitchen features an open firepit (asado) and custom-made three-metre charcoal parrilla, which are used to cook succulent, charred meats. Think O’Connors premium pasture fed flank steak, Rangers Valley grain fed inside skirt steak, and Western Plains pork. Our advice is to go for the cheaper cuts – not only are they kinder on your wallet, they’re also the most flavoursome.
The morcilla (spiced blood sausage) is the same as at the other restaurants, and still one of the best we’ve had outside of South America. Other highlights include the pulpo – charred baby octopus, smoked paprika, squid ink, and lengua – fantastically tender grilled beef tongue skewers with chimichurri. For those looking for vegetables, alcachofa – artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes, garlic, chilli is fantastic, as are the sweetcorn, manchego, Spanish peppers empanadas. The papas – fried russet potatoes served with chimichurri rojo, and garlic aioli, are another great option.
For dessert, you can’t go wrong with any of the choices, but we recommend one of the more unique options. The torta calabaza is a pumpkin, almond and orange tart topped with roast pumpkin ice cream and is wonderfully flavoursome – kind of like a next level pumpkin pie.
For drinks, its an extensive selection of mostly South American wines, with a particular focus on those from Argentina, along with Argentinean beers and a decent selection of Argentinean inspired cocktails. And yes, there is Sangria – white and red.
The pedigree behind Asado meant that expectations were always going to be high, and thankfully Asado doesn’t disappoint. The meat is some of the best in town, with a perfect level of char, salt, tenderness and flavour, and the sides and non-meat dishes all stand on their own. The quality of dining in Southbank has improved immensely in recent years, and with Asado in the area, there’s now even more reason to head to the area.
Asado
6 Riverside Quay
Southbank
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9088 8600
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Mon – Sat: 11:00pm to 10:00pm