Italian Steakhouse.

You don’t often see many butchers in London with a fancy little restaurant  round the back. This is the exactly how Macellaio-RC is laid out in their South Kensington branch.  With four restaurants around the capital, this Italian steakhouse is looking to provide some incredible Italian meats, “sourced with respect, prepared with love and expertly cooked“.  After walking past the butcher area, the dining room has an old school wooden feel to it, with old looking newspapers as menus.  The best part is when one side of the wall is covered up with a diagram explaining each part of the the cow.  This restaurant is old school and gives some of the best steaks in town.  As they say, “we call it butchery with tables” – something tells me the meats are going to be real special!

Starters Worth Shouting About

While we waited for our food we ordered the Beef Tongue to share.  This was boiled and served with parsley sauce and was the perfect way to start the meal. Soft and smooth and something you wouldn’t have ever thought to try.  It was delicious and delicately cooked.

With the summer coming to an end and days getting shorter, you cannot beat a nice wintery soup.  Their creamy butternut squash was simply lush, the perfect kind of soup you have by the fire on a cold winter’s day.  It is so warm and filling and just so soothing!

You cannot have an Italian meal and not have some sort of charcuterie or cheese. We tried the Prosciutto Crudo – large hand carved bits of red with a nice plump sized burrata.  This really got us going – great saltiness of the meats all battling out with the smooth and cheesy burrata.  This round of starters really was worth it all!

Main Meat Masterclass

There were a few steaks to choose from, all sold by weight and some shown with their fancy Italian names (think Costata and Fiorentina).  We opted for the latter which was a large T-bone, perfect for sharing.  It was juicy, full of meaty flavors and perfectly cooked (It reminds me of the incredibly meaty ribs at Cantina Laredo).  Here, they say that their red meats originate from the Italian mountains and are dry aged in a special, authentic and contemporary style. Whatever this ageing style is, they are doing it right – the meat was just so tasty and delicious.

The Mains and Grill menu also had other meats like pork collar, pigeon, rabbit and chicken.  We also got to try their pork chop which was also very appealing and tasty.

For those more daring, go for the Offals section – think heart, tripe, liver and testicles.  Or just go for a side of grilled vegetables to accompany with that chunky bit of beef!

All in All

A classy Italian steakhouse that values flavors more than anything else.  One of the better steak places in London and well worth every penny!

Also published on Medium.