Juan Berbeo of Berbeo Bar & Grill isn’t Melbourne’s best-known steak specialist, but it’s hard to imagine many local chefs have cooked as much meat as he has (including for 5500 people in one day, once upon a time).
14/20
Steakhouse$$
Steak isn’t hard to come by, but next time I have a serious hankering for beef, I’ll be going back to Berbeo Bar & Grill. I was floored by the quality, variety of cuts, expert grilling and good value: it’s limousine food at rust-bucket prices.
The location (Docklands), setting (two-level, corporate) and broader cuisine focus (Colombian) might seem a surprising match for superlative steak, but dig in and it all makes sense.
Colombian-born owner Juan Berbeo has been in Australia for 20 years, cooking at MoVida, Latin restaurant Pastuso, his own Colombian street-food hangout, Berbeo Bros, and at events such as Meatstock. He’s brought his heritage and experience together at this function-friendly restaurant, which is about to celebrate its first birthday.
After waiting for a liquor licence for months, there’s a small, smashable selection of tap beer, cocktails and Argentinian wine, including lush Ruca Malen malbec.
Berbeo isn’t our best-known steak specialist, but it’s hard to imagine many local chefs have cooked as much meat as he has. Back home, his grandparents, uncles and parents are renowned butchers, caterers and restaurateurs, sometimes feeding thousands of people at government-funded celebrations for farmers or pensioners in their town of Fusagasuga, one hour south of Bogota. Meat was always the focus, cooked over glowing heaps of charcoal.
By the age of 10, Juanito would stand on a chair and help cut carcasses. From 12, he had to slaughter lambs for his parents’ restaurant before heading off to play. A decade ago, he returned to run a feast for 5500 farmers and hired one person to continually sharpen his knives so he could keep rotating them.
Quantity is one thing, quality another. Here, Berbeo, 38, is buying direct from Victorian farmers Nick and Vicki Sher, who run their wagyu on grass for more than a year before fattening them on grain. Their rich, flavoursome meat is excellent, whether you find it at a farmers’ market or restaurant, but Berbeo’s expertise means he can carve out tasty, tender steaks where others may not, leading to better prices and beefy adventure.
The long, thin inside skirt isn’t as prestigious as prime cuts, such as sirloin, but in Berbeo’s hands, it’s conversation-stoppingly delicious, brushed with a house seasoning of spring onion, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and white wine, and judiciously cooked and rested.
Many steak restaurants charge extra for sides. Not here. Mains come with a salad, Colombian-style sauces – one a lemony sour cream, the other a zesty tomato – and a choice of fries, rice, plantain fritters, cassava chips or golden potatoes. Bring friends and share a bowl of each.
Killer lunch deals are $19 (bowls) or $25 (steak of the day), delivered efficiently by a friendly team.
Entrees and desserts are where Berbeo’s Colombian side unfurls. Empanadas are an easy win, house-made chorizo is served with cheesy arepa (a corn flatbread), and pork ceviche is a citrus-spiked salad that’s sweet, sour and extra-crunchy, thanks to chicharron, a curl of pork crackling.
The Latin classic sponge, tres leches (three milks; whole, evaporated and condensed), is turned from a soggy marvel into a dining-room dessert with the addition of toasty caramel, lulo pulp (Colombian fruit) and a crown of torched Aperol meringue.
I’m not enamoured of Docklands, but sometimes I need a great steak. Until I can get to Fusagasuga and hang with 5000 feasting farmers, I’ll be staving off my cravings at Berbeo Bar & Grill.
The low-down
Atmosphere: Efficient by day, upbeat at night
Go-to dishes: Inside skirt steak ($39, 250g); cheese and corn empanada ($6); chorizo con arepa ($18); tres leches cake ($18)
Drinks: Tap beer, cocktails with Colombian touches and approachable, good-value Argentinian wine. As befits a steak restaurant, the red wines are listed first.
Cost: About $150 for two, excluding drinks
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine
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