Worth the Splurge? 40 Days Dry Aged Charcoal Grilled Angus Rib Eye Steak by Antonio's

Antonio's 40 Days Dry Aged Charcoal Grilled Angus Rib Eye Steak

Worth the Splurge? is a series on my foodventures that costed me a fortune! LOL. The first entry is on Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, the New York steakhouse started by Wolfgang Zwiener (read it here). This article is about my steak experience (again) in a top restaurant in Tagaytay City.

My wife and I got married in Silang, Cavite last August (yahoo!). Because we’re already in the vicinity, we planned to celebrate our union with a steak at Antonio’s. Even though it’s the 84th placer at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants (congratulations!), the Tagaytay restaurant is considered the best in the country by many foodies. Since it’ll be my first time there, my anticipation was so high!

Unfortunately, they were closed on Mondays (we forgot to check; maybe we were still on our wedding day high!). But we still wanted to have a steak celebration so we went to another restaurant of Antonio’s, Breakfast at Antonios.

We got the Grilled Angus Prime Ribeye. It’s juicy and tender, and has a nice marbling. We just find it a bit lacking in seasoning. However, the grilled corn, which is briny and spicy, and wedged potatoes, which is well-seasoned (although some are undercooked), compensates for it. And if you want more flavor, they provide sauces and seasonings.

Breakfast at Antonio’s Grilled Angus Prime Ribeye

We didn’t give up on our Antonio’s celebration. So on my birthday, which was in September, we went back to Tagaytay. This time we we checked their schedule and made a reservation, just to be sure.

We got their 40 Days Dry Aged Charcoal Grilled Angus Rib Eye Steak (P8,300). The steak weighs 700 grams (good for 2 persons) and comes with a choice of salad, soup of the day, 2 side dishes, a choice of dessert, and coffee or tea.

Salad: Lardo Watermelon Salad & Root Vegetable Slaw and Herb Salad

We got both salads. Between the two, I liked the Lardo Watermelon Salad better. It has rich lardo, sweet watermelon, crisp greens, and salty and funky cheese. It’s an explosion of flavors and textures!

Lardo Watermelon Salad (left) and Root Vegetable Slaw and Herb Salad (right)

Soup of the Day: Mexican-Style Soup

The soup is a light consommé that’s slightly spicy and has cumin flavor. It has a crunch because of the corn and tortilla, and an earthiness coming from the beans. It’s a satisfying soup!

By the way, you can also ask for bread. We gotta maximize my meal since we’re paying a lot! LOL.

Steak

Before the steak was served, we were given a sorbet which acted as a palette cleanser.

Now let’s talk about the star of the show. As always, our steak is medium rare. It’s juicy, tender, and fatty! It’s also topped with deep-fried onion crisps, which contrasts with the tenderness of the steak.

40 Days Dry Aged Charcoal Grilled Angus Rib Eye Steak

If you want an additional layer of flavors, you can choose among 8 condiments provided: Burnt Onion & Apple Steak Sauce, Chili Flakes, Dehydrated Chimichuri, Dijon Mustard, Gorgonzola Hollandaise, Horseradish, Pickled Garlic, and Red Wine & Rosemary Salt. While the steak is already flavorful in itself, don’t miss the opportunity to try every condiment with each bite!

Sides: Charcoal-Baked Gratin Potato and Duck Fat French Fries

Five out of six side dishes are made with potatoes (the non-potato is tomato risotto). Since my wife loves potatoes, we got the fries and the gratin. They’re both okay but need more salt.

Dessert: Chocolate Olive Oil Cake and Dark Chocolate Soufflé (plus Cardamom Panna Cotta because it’s my birthday!)

There are many options for dessert. But we went for the Chocolate Olive Oil Cake because it sounds interesting and comes with a scoop of ice cream, and the Dark Chocolate Soufflé because it has raspberry cranberry sauce.

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake (left) and Dark Chocolate Soufflé (right)

The cake is mousse-y, has a soft chiffon, and has a crunch from the honeycomb. The pistachio ice cream with it is creamy and nutty. The soufflé is soft, with a nice cardamom flavor and a cream that’s tart and slightly sweet.

Because it’s my birthday, Antonio’s served us with Cardamom Panna Cotta. It’s silky with orange notes.

Cardamom Panna Cotta (Happy Birthday To Me!)

Worth the Splurge?

YES! Every dish we had, especially the steak, was delicious. We got our money’s worth and we’ll definitely be back again…in a year or two when we save up enough money for it! LOL.

Have you been to Antonio’s? What other food should we try there? Comment it below!

Address: Purok 138, Brgy. Neogan, Tagaytay City, Cavite | Operating Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 11AM-1:30PM; Friday-Sunday, 11AM-1:30PM & 5:30PM-7:30PM | Contact No.: 0917-8992866, 0918-8992866| Facebook | Instagram | Website