I have thought about the controversy this blog title might stir, but, yeah, I said what I said! Santa Maria Del Sur serve the best steak in these London Streets! Neal heard of this gem via a mutual friend who could not sing their praises enough so we decided to go see for ourselves what the fuss was about and
We decided to sample a few dishes, and the food here, is too good. They embody the saying ‘keep it simple, stupid’ because in as much as the dishes were simple, they were just amazing. We had a selection of starters and it was quite difficult to decide not just because there were quite a number of options, but everything listed just sounded delicious. We settled for papas fritas (sweet potato fries with garlic), chorizo (Argentine style sausage), provoleta (grilled provolone cheese). All I am going to say is OMD! These dishes were colourful and flavor full, I could not wait to tuck in.
How many of you are fans of sweetbreads? What is it some of you are wondering? Sweetbread aka (throat, gullet, neck, belly) of a calf or lamb. Ha! I see you cringing, but I promise you, it is not as bad as you are thinking. It is quite a culinary delight and if you want to try it out for the first time and happen to be in London? You best make your way down here because JESUS CHROIST! The sweet breads here is off the chain! It is called Mojella on the menu and served with lemon, even though I really didn’t see the need for the lemon. It is fatty and juicy and just yummy! Trust me, it is the business!!!
Then came the Bife Ancho – a 300grm Prime rib eye steak. Emphasis on prime because it really was a prime cut. When I tell you that the rib eye made me smile, it literally did. It was (still is) the best looking medium rare rib eye steak. It was the perfect cut, the perfect size, perfectly cooked medium rare steak that tasted flipping amazing!
Neal has this theory, which is, if a piece of meat is quality aka organically bred, fed and all that, you don’t really need to do much when cooking it. This is a tried and tested theory. Neal has practised with our green egg as well as the oven; and best believe; store brand meat does not cook the same as meat from the butchers! And no, even meat from the ‘finest selection’ does not come close either. Any ho, I digress, back to this rib eye steak, turns out, these guys fly the meat in from Argentina! So, you know that cow has had a good life lol! More importantly, there was no gimmicks with the cooking according to the chef and i quote “a bit of salt, small seasoning and put in fire”! like I said, don’t need to do much cooking… keep it simple, stupid!
Just when I thought these guys could not pull it out the bag, they served pudding – the Don Pedro to be exact! Lissttteeeennnn! I was not ready. when I was being told the dessert options, I heard ice cream and said yes. What I didn’t realise was what came with the ice cream. The ice cream flavours were hazel nut, caramel essentially a sundae but it came with a shot of amaretto! Come on now!!! The Argentinian’s not having none of it! It was sinfully good!
Santa Maria Del sur, one word – FANTASTICO!!!
Salud
Ndidi
p.s. I have since been back to Santa Maria Del Sur on different occasions and the food is still as amazing as the first time.