Having heard many stories about the legendary Argentinian BBQ at Porteno, we excitedly booked a reservation as a reunion of sorts post the omicron wave. After a fire broke out at their restaurant in 2015, Porteno moved to their current location on Holt Street in Surry Hills. A very quiet street, the restaurant was very much removed from the hustle and bustle of Crown Street. Safe to say we were very excited to try the famous Argentinian style BBQ that we could see grilling in the open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant.

Tips: If driving to the city, you can pre-book parking in the Wilson car park directly opposite Porteno for $8 all night on weekends.

Location: 50 Holt St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Price: $80per person including drinks
Social: https://www.instagram.com/portenosydney/
Website: https://porteno.com.au/

James: 3 out of 5 – Enjoyed the lamb cutlet and blood sausage, but overall left me wanting more for the price we paid

I first heard of Porteno a few years ago so I was excited to finally see (and taste) what all the hype was about. Firstly the starters, I found the queso – wood fired cheese to be quite salty and really needed the olives to balance it. Had we not ordered bread separately this dish would have just been the cheese with nothing to really accompany it. Overall an average dish, not something I’d get again. The morcilla – grilled blood sausage, was a surprise standout likely as I was going in with low expectations (don’t judge a book by its cover…or name). The sausage was well seasoned with a light garnish that brought out a herby flavour but did not overpower. The pepper was perfect in providing some sweetness to the sausage and overall worked really well together. Wouldn’t have minded some more pepper to be honest, as once it was split in four there wasn’t much left.

Onto the main course, the lamb cutlet was my favourite of the night. Well cooked, tender and juicy, the lamb had great flavour, mixing well with the rosemary and garlic vinaigrette to give it a salty and acidic punch. While it’s still a good dish for $78 I’d like a bigger serving size and it was a bit awkward sharing between four – in my opinion this could be finished by two people! It would also be great with a bit more char on it to bring out a smokey taste but that’s just nitpicking.

We also ordered the Cape Grim T-Bone 750g steak which was presented great and looked awesome on the plate. Drizzled with a chimichurri-like dressing, the steak was cooked well for me, although others thought it was a bit chewy in some areas. Despite that, the steak was disappointing for me, it needed to be seasoned more and it didn’t feel like there was much flavour there especially compared to the lamb. It was also hard not to compare to elsewhere and I’d say comfortably that there’s many better steaks in the CBD which are better bang for your buck.

While it was fun to try something different and tick another place off the restaurant bucket list, I thought Porteno was a little disappointing for the price point and hype surrounding it. It’s a shame as it felt like the flavours were there but they just hadn’t been fully unlocked and sadly it’s too hard to ignore the price paid for the amount of food.

Melissa: 3 out of 5 – What makes food Argentinian?

The downfall of Porteno was probably the hype that solidified very high expectations in my mind. Not to say the food was not delicious, but I can’t really see myself returning anytime soon.

The house made sourdough was nothing special and served cold rather than warm (personal preference). This was strategically ordered to be consumed alongside the queso fresco, a wood fired halloumi covered in olive oil and a ton of olives. It was salty, as halloumi is, but well balanced with the olives. I didn’t get a hint of native honey at all, despite it being in the description. Definitely one to order bread with and only for die-hard cheese lovers (like me).

The bread also played an integral role with the morcilla porteno, a grilled blood sausage with a side of roasted capsicum. This really exceeded my expectations, I’m not typically a huge fan of blood sausage but this one was delicious, not overpowering in flavour and very soft in texture.

The mains were probably where I was most disappointed. The lamb cutlets came as a 600g serving – for us it meant we were served three sizeable lamb cutlets with the bone of another cutlet (and the meat taken off) for a table of four. Understandably they have to compromise to reach the 600g limit but it tends to be the little details that put off an experience. Aside from the serving issue, the lamb was delicious, perfectly cooked and well seasoned with rosemary.

The T-bone was very underwhelming. There were pockets of fat that didn’t completely render down and added a chewy, fatty texture to the meat. It was served with a nice chimi churri but overall was lacking when compared to some fantastic steaks we have (Bistecca). At these price points I expected a little better in the cooking of the meat.

Overall, this was by no means an average restaurant. There were some truly interesting and delicious dishes, but the T-bone steak (which was the main draw of the restaurant) tasted decidedly average for a restaurant so famed. That was what led to the rating being dragged down for me. I can’t see myself returning in the near future, not when the restaurant scene in Sydney is so competitive and there are so many other places serving similar food at similar price points.