Charango Barbacoa – the new Bree Street Restaurant

Charango Barbacoa on Bree Street has gotten a name change, a fresh new look and is back in business. I haven’t been to the ‘first’ Charango, so when I was invited over to the newly renovated version, I gladly accepted. Their South American grill house menu features a wide selection of meat cuts which is basically carnivore heaven. The casual and airy décor is indicative of a well-travelled city dweller’s apartment and blends in perfectly with the Bree Street restaurants vibe, making it great for chatty meet-ups.

First things first…

Despite not being a particularly big fan of meat, I decided to go the whole nine yards with the mouth-watering Charango menu. They’ve got a fantastic drinks menu which includes cocktails, local wines and craft beers. But it was the Tanq jug that immediately caught my eye – Tanqueray gin, elderflower and tonic with cucumber, lime and orange slices. It’s a refreshing summer cocktail that’s great to kick things off with.

For starters, I went with the carpaccio (R80); seared black pepper beef fillet, black garlic aioli, crispy capers drizzled with truffle vinaigrette served on rocket leaves. Hubby went for the seared tuna tataki (R120); avo mousse, mango, cucumber with chilli salsa. Both starters were light and simple in flavour, setting us up quite well for the meaty mains.

How do you like your steak? At Charango!

Charango is of course all about that meat so if you’re going to pay them a visit, I highly recommend you take your pick from their excellent meat selection – you won’t regret it. For the mains, it was fittingly on to the medium-well done 200g beef fillet (R195) with a brandy cream sauce (R25) and a side of sweet potato fries with smoked salt and rustic garlic aioli (R35) for me. Surprisingly, my husband went for the 600g lamb ribs (R330) with the creamy burnt butter mashed potatoes as a side.

The meat was prepared to perfection and I honestly could not fault it. I have to make special mention of the generous portions of the side dishes as well. You can also choose from a variety of wet meat rubs such as, salsa verde, chimichurri, coriander pistou, chermoula, salsa picon, red pesto and basil pesto.

For the sweet tooth

No meal is complete without dessert. At Charango, you’ve got three options to choose from; crema catalane and fresh berries, dulce de leche ice cream and deep fried ice cream – we went for the latter. The deep fried vanilla bean ice cream coated in Rice Krispies with dark chocolate ganache is a decadent treat and great for couple sharing.

Charango Barbacoa is where you go when you’re in the mood for a good steak and don’t want to be disappointed. It’s the whole package – location, food and service on point.

www.charango.co.za | 114 Bree street | Open Monday – Saturday for lunch and dinner | +27 21 422 0757