Basque BBQ
 |
| Grill kitchen |
Located in Shoreditch, Sagardi is a Spanish restaurant specialising in Basque cuisine. It is already a successful business back in Spain and now it aims to expand in the UK market. Basque cooking is one of the finest cuisines in the world so I was very excited to dine at Sagardi after seeing the restaurant claim that they import their ingredients from the Basque region daily. On arrival, I was already impressed with the open grilling kitchen and butcher session, this shows the restaurant takes their Basque style grill meat seriously.
 |
| Iberian ham |
 |
| Farmhouse pork ribs |
To start off the menu, we opted for the Spanish classic: Iberian ham. Without asking what grade it was, I would have expected it is to be at least Jamón Iberico de Bellota (The best) grade consider it costed £20 for a tiny plate. The rich, oily and nutty textures were fine but lacked moisture. The farmhouse pork ribs were outstanding, crispy surface with a melt in your mouth texture, the meat came out of the bone easily and every mouthful was a pure sensation. Last but not least was the "Txuleton vaca" beef rib, it was blessed with rich and powerful flavours with a very robust smoky aroma from the grilling process. It was a really fine plate of steak.
 |
| Lettuce with spring onion |
 |
| "Txuleton vaca" ciderhouse |
Overall, it was a very enjoyable meal and those meat dishes were indeed pretty special. However the price was questionable. Without my soft launch offer, the meal would come to at least £60 per person without any desserts. A side dish of lettuce costing £8 was just ridiculous with most appetizers costing above the £15 mark. While the restaurant claim that all the ingredients were imported from Spain, for me, it still doesn't justify the expensive mark up on some of the dishes. I would love to return but the sky high cost of the menu does make me wonder if it is worth it.
Food 3.5/5
What I paid:
£30 per head with a cider (soft launch offer)
Average cost without drinks and services:
£50
95 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3BS
http://www.sagardi.co.uk/
EmoticonEmoticon