Steaks are a tricky business. And no, I don’t mean chicken, but the succulent slabs of beef available in various cuts. It’s all a game of temperature they’re cooked and rested at; even a minute less or more can affect the texture. Though it depends on an individual what temperature they want their steak to be cooked at – rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, well done, but connoisseurs suggest ‘medium rare’ delivers the best texture and flavour.

Bovinoes Steak House opened up in a busy market of Sector FF in Phase 4, Defence, around a year ago with a promise to offer delicious premium cuts of meat.

Inside, it’s a small two-storey space with the interior mostly done in shades and textures of brown to go with the food on offer. Besides various categories of steaks, Bovinoes also offers pastas, burgers, grilled chicken and a handful of desserts.

Tagging a friend along, I decided to pay the restaurant a visit after waiting for almost a year, and sat down at a table by the entrance. Between the two of us, we ordered three beef steaks and two appetisers.

The Stuffed Chicken Strips were large pieces of tender chicken stuffed with cheese that trickles out as soon as one slices into them. Covered in a crispy shell, the strips were served with garlic mayo on the side that added some punch to the chicken and cheese. The Loaded Potato was nothing to write home about. Two potato halves covered with an unappetising mix of shredded chicken, mayonnaise, pepper and diced capsicum was coated with melted cheddar cheese. As much as it looked delightful, it tasted like the potato and chicken salad served at weddings.

In the main course, first the pan-seared T-Bone and rib-eye steaks were served that my friend and I shared.

The rib-eye, with its bone and fat intact, was succulent, juicy and had a beautiful char on it that gave the flavour an additional kick. We had mashed potato and sautéed vegetables on the side. The seared T-bone, served in a hot pan with mashed potato and spinach on the side, was a big, gorgeous piece of meat lightly drizzled with a garlic dressing. This was another mouthwatering piece of beef.

The third steak we had was the fillet mignon that was as tender as the other two and had a good char on it. It was served on the side with some very disappointing scallop potato and a delicious garlic mushroom sauce.

The hearty meal culminated with a delicious dessert: the caramel cheesecake that was arguably among the best I’ve had in town. Not only did it look pretty, but tasted even better! A dome of cold cheesecake with a crunchy base was drizzled with a delicious caramel sauce and decorated with a shard of chocolate.

Overall, it was an absolutely fulfilling experience right from the appetiser to the dessert with the star of the meal obviously being the steaks. The only problem, and some serious customers might not take it too lightly, was that the steaks were cooked at a slightly higher temperature than I had asked for: my ‘medium rare’ steaks were served ‘medium to medium well’, which affected the texture. And this is how one determines how well a restaurant knows its steaks – I’m sure Bovinoes is well aware of its meat and cuts; just needs to be very precise about the temperatures.

A beef fan would love this place despite the fact that it could leave a gaping hole in one’s pocket; but that’s the price you pay for some prized cuts of meat.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2018