Buenasado, Whiteladies Road: ‘Luxury manifested’ – restaurant review

First things first, you should know that I have never been to Argentina. But I have been to Buenasado, which is just as well considering I’m reviewing it. This means you should take all of the following recommendations with a pinch of salt (pink and Himalayan, like the kind that comes with the steaks). Obviously, I cannot comment on how Argentinian this Argentine steak house is, but rest assured I will comment on everything else.

Despite it once being a destination for such a thing with the likes of the Cowshed and The Ox, a good steak in Clifton or Redland has become a rare medium well done these days. Fortunately, the opening of this new Argentinian steakhouse has flooded meaty juices back into the veins of Whiteladies Road.

Buenasado are no strangers to running restaurants; they have branches in Reading and Walton-on-Thames. Their latest opening on Whiteladies Road fittingly used to belong to The Ox, a Bristol favourite that locals enjoyed sinking their teeth into. Sadly, this branch of The Ox was the victim of a bad fire in 2019 and never recovered. I guess the conditions weren’t quite right for conversion into a smokehouse.

Buenasado has risen pheonix-style in its place. Inside the spacious restaurant, moody lighting and dark leather set the tone for a well thought through evening.

The manager who seats us is a butcher by trade, which bodes well, and recommends the ancho rib-eye and the chorizo al malbec to start. The menu can effectively be divided into cow and not-cow, though they haven’t been so brash. Steak aficionados will enjoy the seven different steak dishes on offer, ranging from £16.95 for a rump all the way through to £84.95 for a 21oz Argentine chateaubriand. All steaks are served with a choice of steakhouse fries, chips, mashed potato, or salad.

On the less beefy side of things, you might feel as though you’ve accidentally step foot in an Italian, and in a way, you have. Chicken milanesa (£15.95) and tagliatelle al funghi (£13.95) are two of the many other mains with considerable Italian influence. This is most reassuring as Argentinian and Italian food are indistinguishable in South America due to the vast swathes of Italians that emigrated there in the 19th and 20th centuries. How well these dishes stand up to some of the excellent Italian food we are lucky to have in Bristol I cannot say, as I was here for one thing and one thing only – steak.

The wine list is comprehensive; this is clearly the place to be if you like an Argentinian malbec. Well, in Bristol at least. Arguably the real place to be if you like Argentinian malbec is, well, Argentina. Either way, you shouldn’t have any difficulty finding the perfect juicy red to pair with your meaty main.

To start we order the chorizo al malbec (£7.50) as per the recommendation and gambas in garlic sauce (£9.50).

The prawns are chunky succulent curls of delicate flavour, drenched in a mild garlic butter. The accompanying bread snapped under pressure and felt entirely unnecessary. Something softer would’ve been much better for mopping up the sauce – I’d recommend a research trip to Pasta Loco down the road who are specialists on the subject.

The prawns were hidden under a slice of bread so dry no amount of garlic butter could rehydrate it. Photo: Meg Houghton-Gilmour

The chorizo is a real treat. The spice is a little muted but more than made up for by pockets of sweetness and you can taste instantly that it’s been carefully made on the premises. It’s so good that it wasn’t until we’d almost finished it that I remembered it was meant to be doused in a malbec sauce, which was either very well disguised or missing completely. The salsa that accompanied it instead was fresh and vibrant but very much a lemon and herb entry on the spice scale.

The chorizo was particularly memorable but seemed to be lacking the malbec sauce. Photo: Meg Houghton-Gilmour

For the main event, two steaks, both ordered medium rare. The 8oz ancho rib-eye (£23.95) arrives first, oozing its meaty juices in a delicate dribble on the plate. Luxury manifested; the higher fat content is succulent, and the marbling is perfectly distributed – no chewy chunks of regret here.

The Ancho rib-eye was literally dripping with flavour. Photo: Meg Houghton-Gilmour

The 8oz ‘cuadril’ heart of rump (£16.95) arrives a towering statement. Just like its counterpart it is cooked exactly as requested, a perfect medium rare. The leaner cut makes for a saltier, more metallic taste than the rib-eye but this is by no means a flaw, it is seductive, moreish and impossibly tender.

The rump, a chunk of texture and taste. Photo: Meg Houghton-Gilmour

The peppercorn sauce (£2.75) is sweet and not peppery enough, but an inoffensive accompaniment. The second sauce ‘salsa criolla’ (£2.75) is delicious but the same as the supposed malbec sauce that should’ve been with the chorizo… It took the two of us a while (I blame the malbec) to put two and two together – they served us the chorizo criolla as a starter instead of the one we ordered. I wasn’t offended although I would’ve liked to try the famed malbec sauce that came so heartily recommended.

The fries and the chunky chips are both very good; they have the perfect crunch, fluff and salt ratio. My repressed northern soul is screaming to put them in a chip butty, but it’s not that kind of joint.

Have you ever come across chip butty fodder more perfect than this? Photo: Meg Houghton-Gilmour

Ending on a high, a martini glass brimming with dulche de leche banoffee pie (£7.50). I feel as though banoffee pie has become something of a retro dish, but this puts it right back in the spotlight – where it belongs (in my opinion). It is light, the banana reassuringly present and the classic Argentinian dulce de leche delivers a hearty caramel kick. The only improvement I’d recommend would be to serve it in a pint glass.

Buenasado have taken dessert cocktails to a new level. photo: Meg Houghton-Gilmour

Service is attentive. The staff are endearing and deeply apologetic for the chorizo scandal.

This place already feels like you could put your night, your friends, your dinner in their hands and trust that it would be go down a treat with everyone except for the vegans. It seems to have just about escaped the corporate-entertaining edge that so many steakhouses seem to have these days.

I am pleased to announce that steak is very much back on the menu on Whiteladies Road in this very respectable homage to the Argentina (or the Argentina that I imagine, for now).

All photos: Meg Houghton-Gilmour

Buenasado, 96a Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2QX

www.buenasado.com/restaurants/bristol/

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