Disclosure: we were given a discount off our bill of £60 in order to review the restaurant. This review reflects our honest opinion of our evening.
On Thursday night we headed to Fiesta del Asado, “Birmingham’s first Argentine Asado restaurant,” to try out their menu and review the restaurant. James and I had both been drooling over the menu online for several days in anticipation, and were definitely looking forward to our evening.
We often eat out with the kids in tow, so they came along with us, and I’m pleased to report that all four of us enjoyed it very much indeed!
Upon arrival we were greeted with a friendly smile, our coats were whisked away to the cloakroom and a highchair for Lydia appeared like magic. We were led straight to our table which is always great when you have kids with you, who are allergic to waiting around.
The menu has a great selection of nibbles, starters & mains, including some very appetising sounding sharing platter type options for each course. They have a separate children’s menu which we thought was very well priced; every meal option for the girls was under £5.
We were offered a bottle of mineral water for the table (£3.49) and after we ordered, we given some complimentary bread while we waited for our starters to arrive. The staff were great and asked us if we wanted the children’s meals to arrive with the starters – which we did, and it’s nice not to have to ask.
James chose the Rabas fritas – crisp baby squid rings with aioli sauce (£5.79) to start, and it looked and tasted fantastic. James’s official verdict was “very yummy” and Lydia stole the sauce to dip her food into after he finished the squid rings, so that went down well with both of them.
Meanwhile, I ordered the Costillas de cerdo – a baby back rib of pork, smothered in their signature smoky sauce (£6.89). It was absolutely delicious, I cannot recommend it enough as a starter. I have a real weakness for ribs and and these were so well cooked and full of flavour, with a perfect sauce. The dressing on the salad was really tasty too.
For mains, James chose the Bife de lomo – a 11oz fillet steak on the bone (£23.49), accompanied by a Huevo frito – a fried free-range egg, which is a traditional Argentine accompaniment for steak (£1.89). He opted for medium rare and it was cooked perfectly, was wonderfully tender and seasoned beautifully. It was served up with a chunky bit of grilled carrot, some onion, and a mixed leaf salad. James’s opinion was that it was delicious, and he certainly devoured it all.
For my main course, I chose the Bife de chorizo – their 10 oz sirloin steak (£16.99). I ordered it to be medium rare and it was excellently cooked; full of flavour and a melt in your mouth texture. Again, really tasty and well cooked accompaniments went perfectly with the meat.
We ordered three sides to go with our mains; Pure de batatas – mashed sweet potato (£1.99), Papas fritas con perejil y ajo – fries with parsley and garlic (£1.99), and Salteado de vegetales mixtos – a selection of vegetables tossed in lemon and butter (£2.99).
The fries were absolutely amazing, I could have just three bowls of them to myself quite happily, and all four of us were nibbling away on them throughout the meal. The vegetables, peppers and butternut squash, were cooked perfectly and packed full of flavour. The sweet potato mash was tasty but I wasn’t keen on the overly smooth texture; although James enjoyed it.
For Lydia, we ordered Butifarra con batata pure – lean pork sausage from free-range Marlborough pigs; flavoured with fennel and a hint of garlic, served with sweet potato mash and malbec gravy (£3.49). She definitely enjoyed this, and when I stole a bit of sausage (purely for review purposes, of course) I have to admit I was a teeny but jealous, they were super tasty.
For Georgie, we ordered Alitas de pollo – grilled chicken wings served with mixed leaves and hand cut fries (£3.95). When it arrived our jaws dropped, such a generous portion for a childrens meal, and really tasty too. Georgie was able to eat the chicken off the bone, but I did decide to strip the wings for her to make it easier for her.
For dessert, the girls shared a selection of home made ice creams (£3.89) which went down incredibly well, with Lydia determined to eat it all herself with no help whatsoever. Georgie made sure I got to taste hers and it was really scrumptious.
James ordered the Panna Cotta with cherries, which must have been nice and he polished it off completely.
As for me, I finished off my meal with the chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream, which was well worth the 15 minute baking time. It was absolutely fabulous, a perfect serving of chocolatey goodness accompanied with some of that delicious ice cream.
We opted to stick to soft drinks throughout the meal, being a school night, and they seemed fairly reasonably priced for the type of restaurant. I had an Appletiser for £2.79, James had J2O for £2.79, and Georgie had two glasses of pineapple juice at £2.29 each.
Our total bill came to £97.98, which I wouldn’t think unreasonable for the quality and quantity of food ordered, for this sort of eatery. We would certainly come again for a special occasion meal such as an anniversary, or a birthday meal.
Throughout the meal the staff were absolutely brilliant – attentive without being intrusive, and really great with the children. They were incredibly polite, helpful and friendly all evening, and didn’t mind the occasional toddler moment.
If we visited again in the future for an evening meal, I probably wouldn’t bring along the children just because we don’t tend to take them along to the type of really “special” meals we would eat in a place like Fiesta del Asado. However, saying that, I wouldn’t hesitate at all to bring them along to a celebratory family meal or similar – I’d know that they would be looked after, fed well, and made to feel comfortable by the excellent staff.
To sum up, we had a brilliant evening out, wonderful food in a great relaxed atmosphere, were attended by fantastic wait staff & all four of us really enjoyed ourselves.
And yes… I think they probably are the best steaks in Birmingham. Yum!
I need that rack of ribs in my life! The food looks amazing and the kids portions are huge! Looks like you had a lovely time x
Oh my word I’m literally sat here drooling lol. The food looks absolutely mouthwatering!xx.
That does look good, and it’s not far from us. My husband does enjoy a good steak, looks worth checking out.
OMG I’m sitting at my laptop and it’s 11pm I am seriously hungry right now. Looks absolutely fantastic x
I’m drooling! I’ve not had a good steak in a while! Wish we were more local!!
Lovely to see you linking up with #TriedTested this week x