Obviously, Meat Me in Lisbon is a place to go for steak. Dry-aged, cooked over fire, and impeccable quality beef—Chilean Waygu, beef Chuletón and bull Chuletón from Spain, and, of course, Iberico pork from the Alentejo.
But the pun works because Meet Me is a remarkably convivial place. Beside some of the booths there are buttons with plaques that read “press for Champagne.” (We tried it. It worked.) On the mezzanine there’s a chic bar with a dark oak counter, dark blue leather armchairs, a library of Gestalten and Assouline books, and a fireplace.
Lisbon is still lacking in really good cocktail bars—proper places to have a drink—so it’s nice to see this addition to the city. The mixology menu, designed by Vasco Martins, the head bartender of the Seame Group, is split between signature cocktails, punches for sharing, and classic but lesser known cocktails. The presentations are stunning.
But back to the meat. Meat Me is the only restaurant in Lisbon to serve what are considered to be the best meats in the world. One of the key suppliers is El Capricho, a producer of meat with a namesake restaurant in León, Spain, run by José Gordon. It is famous for it unique way of selecting and caring for its various homegrown breeds, many of which are Portuguese. The animals live in a calm and serene environment, as stress harms flavor.
There are various cuts with various amounts of aging, plus delicacies such as roasted bone, 180-day-matured veal carpaccio, steak tartare, beef Wellington and suckling pig belly. Everything is painstakingly overseen by Porto-born chef Tomás Pires, who spent ten years as chef Aimé Barroyer’s right-hand man at the Oitavos, and also worked with Pedro Lemos, Tavares Rico and Grupo Olivier.
Despite the name, and unlike some of the city’s other steak houses, meat isn’t the only thing on his mind. The menu also includes chicken, quail, tuna and a delicious grilled octopus, as well as grilled vegetables and good renditions of other steak house staples. Even if you aren’t feeling all that carnivorous, it’s still a very fine meal.
For more information visit the Meat Me website.
Meat Me
Largo Picadeiro, 8A
Lisboa
Phone: +351 213 471 356
Email: reservas@meatme.pt
Hours:
Monday to Thursday – 12:30 to 15:30 and 19:00 to 24:00
Friday – 12:30 to 15:30 and 19:00 to 01:00
Saturday – 12:30 to 01:00
Sunday – 12:30 to 24:00