For a duo that needs no introduction, Chris Mark and Vidur Yadav, the former with his starry history and the latter a co-founder of Bengal Brothers and Zozzona, joined by Chris, take Sai Ying Pun as a breeding ground for their latest operation.
Don Pedro, a tribute to the beef-grazing fields of the Argentinian interior, earns itself a post in the hilly neighbourhood, taking over the residence of the former Bone & Blades. With one steak place leaving us, another replaces it – such is Hong Kong.
Chris is a longtime Sai Ying Pun-er. A neighbourhood restaurant felt right for the restaurateur, entering an area that, according to the team, is ‘more of a risk’ than the usual SoHo trappings. I disagree: BRUT!, Catch., Dara, La Paloma, Pondi, Le Colvert, House of Culture, 2 Sup, and Calici have all opened and thrived with local Sai Wan support. And if anything is to go by my experience at Don Pedro, they will too.
The general manager Richy greets us at our table with a beaming smile in his slick royal purple buttoned top, donned by the whole team. We quickly bicker about England’s performance against his home nation of Ghana at the World Cup just passed. He brings a gregarious energy to our table and the restaurant that welcomes you into the Mark-Yadav home as a long-lost cousin.
The chicken liver parfait (HKD88) graces the table first, glazed with a sherry vinegar gelée. The tables, mind you, are small, designed for intimacy and closeness, even if the music is a bit too loud at some points. The parfait was excellent, with a mineraly chicken flavour lingering on the tongue.
An appetiser I was most excited to try before my visit was the beef empanada (HKD58), something so Argentinian it has become unusual to not feature in an Argentinian restaurant in Hong Kong, more than 18,500 kilometres away from the farm that Chris and Vidur source their cattle from.
Owing to the use of hand chopped and likely stewed steak bits stuffed inside the flaky pastry crust, each bite is unlike the last. It is meaty and salty and messy. Add a heavy spoonful of the adorning chimichurri and you’ve earned yourself a quality bite of savoury and sour.
The tomato salad (HKD118), constructed using marinated tomatoes, salsa golf, pickled shallot, and dulce de tomate, trades between sour, sweet, and salty with a dusting of parmesan slices to finish the dish. It is a great interlude between the rich appetisers and the saltier and more heavy steaks to follow for mains.
Unusually, Don Pedro, for only the first few months I expect, has just two steaks on the menu: the ojo de bife (HKD328, 340g) boneless ribeye and the bife de lomo (HKD298, 228g) tenderloin.
Both steak perform well on the stage that is Don Pedro, as if the servers are following a choreographed act to please diners. The ribeye is balanced with chunky fat and salt-drenched meat, whilst the tenderloin, with its relatively more firm texture, is hard enough for a good chew to release all the meaty goodness.
Paired up with the steak comes the lemon buttery asparagus à la Plancha (HKD118) with a good snap to it, oyster mushrooms (HKD118) delivering woody and earthy flavours, finished with a soothing sherry vinegar glaze, and the starry patatas bravas (HKD118).
Insanely moreish, made possible by the roasted garlic aioli and mojo picon red pepper sauce, the potato chunks are a treat to enjoy with the funky sauces pulling you back in for more and more. It is a salty lover’s dream side dish.
Our verdict of Don Pedro
It is not a race to entice diners to visit Don Pedro, but if it was, this new Argentinian steakhouse is already ahead by 30 meters and gaining velocity by the second. It may be a recent opening, yet we have high hopes for its future. The service is kept fresh and menu concise for diners to return for a second and third time before new items get added.
Don Pedro, Shop E & Shop F, G/F, Tung Cheung Building, 1 Second Street, Sai Ying Pun, 7075 8631, book here
| Order this: beef empanada, tomato salad, ojo de bife (ribeye), patatas bravas Menu: à-la-carte menu Price for two: HKD500 – HKD750 | Atmosphere: a fun, boozy riot, best served with Malbec and salty steak Perfect for: diners who enjoy Argentinian steak and the buzz of new restaurants |
This review is intended to offer an individual perspective on the dining experience and should not be considered as a definitive judgement of the restaurant’s overall quality or reputation. The views expressed in this review are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of Foodie.
