Pirata Group's Soho meat bar delivers promising food and beverage offerings in limited space
Good news for meat lovers: Pirata Group’s latest restaurant is a carnivore’s mecca. Appropriately named ‘Meats’, the Soho restaurant claims one of the busiest spots on Staunton Street and claims to be the city’s first and only meat bar. Previously, the team ran a short pop-up event at The Optimist early this season as a testing ground for the dishes they are now serving at the restaurant. So, have their experiments paid off?
On a weeknight, Meats, like any of the neighbourhood’s new openings, is packed; the venue occupies two shop spaces, connected at the back with a full view of the semi-open kitchen with bar tables set along the perimeter. High tables at the restaurant’s entrance are best for small parties, but seating tends to be packed. It is best to arrive early and settle at a table in the more spacious inner dining area.
The menu at Meats is a simple one-pager, where small bites flourish and larger mains are moderately portioned and good for sharing. The small bites selections are generous—items such as roasted chicken croquettes are masterfully crafted. Plump and with a thin crumb coating, they are deep-fried until golden-brown with a custard-rich béchamel filling laced with flakes of roasted chicken throughout. They are great on their own, but we suggest dipping them into the mildly sweet roasted garlic mayo—a wonderful snack to start the meal. The lamb ribs, coated with cumin and sesame seeds, were a bit on the dry side although the meat was thoroughly marinated.
