El toro steakhouse house of meat — *Here we can see El Toro House of Meat Steak House.*

It was my birthday and if you know me, one dish that I love the most is a nice, big, juicy, medium rare steak. So of course I took that opportunity and brought my family to try out a Steakhouse in Bangkok that I’ve wanted to try since forever. El Toro Steakhouse, House of Meat.

And I brought my girlfriend along with me, and I ended up liking her steak much more than mine… But more about that below!

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My YouTube Vlog on El Toro

If you want to watch my first hand experience on trying El Toro’s steaks, I’ve made a vlog on my YouTube channel, JamesKWN :)

Bangkok’s House of (Argentinian) Meat

El toro steak cuts — *So much meat to choose from!*

El Toro Steakhouse is an Argentinian style steak eatery slap bang right in the middle of Bangkok’s busiest International business district, right across the newly opened Emsphere Shopping Mall and between Asoke and Phrom Phong BTS station.

Not only does El Toro specialize in steaks they do this Churrascaria Style Buffet. Big hunks of meat grilled on skewers and then served fresh right at your table. The steaks are cooked over an open flame which is fitting because “Churrascaria” is Portuguese for “Barbeque”.

I didn’t try the Churrascaria Buffet though because it’s quite expensive and not really worth it, although the novelty is pretty fun. I’ll still tell you about it though further in the review but perhaps next time when I am rich I’ll try it.

El Toro’s Steakhouse Menu

El toro steakhouse menu — *El Toro's Menu is so extensive*

El Toro Steakhouse’s Menu is really extensive, in fact, it’s overwhelming… There’s beef (duh), chicken, lamb, sausages, and even fish (though only limited to Barramundi or Salmon).

Starting off with the steaks you have an option of: Australian, Black Angus, Australian Wagyu, Dry Aged, Thai-Black Angus, US Prime, New Zealand, and of course Argentinian cuts.

For your choice of cuts, you have the usual like: Ribeye, Striploin, Tenderloin, T-Bone, etc… But you also have some uncommon ones like: Picanha or Cowboy.

Furthering your options you can choose the amount ranging from a measly 200g all the way up to 1 Kilogram for you carnivores out there. Aside from steaks you also have various pastas and burgers. Also your steak comes with a side that you can choose, either baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, or fries. Plus every order of steak comes with a free salad bar.

The Churrasco Buffet includes all cuts of beef, chicken, lamb, pineapple, and the salad bar is also included.

For the full menu you can head on right over to El Toro’s official website.

Pricing

Ok, I might be a little bias here as I am a local Thai, and El Toro is obviously providing foreign style dining catering towards international patrons who are more wealthy than your average local. But OMG the prices here are insane.

Expect to spend around 2,000 THB for a steak, and up to 6,000 THB++ for a larger portion/better cut. Nothing on the menu is less than 1,000 THB except for the sides and the fish, and even then the fish steaks are around 600 THB++.

The Churrasco Buffet costs 1,980 THB++ though children under 12 get a discount and children under 7 get to dine for free.

If you just want to eat the salad bar (which is something I have another problem with) without ordering a steak, then that’s going to cost you 1,100 THB++. That’s basically criminal. And not to mention, the price on the menu does not include service charge and VAT.

This is daylight robbery for the average middle class (heck even upper-middle class) Thai local.

El Toro’s Salad Bar

el toro steakhouse salad bar — *A pretty simple salad but actually quite tasty*

For my appetizer I started off with El Toro’s complimentary salad bar, which was really limiting in terms of options, there’s only about 4-5 vegetables/pre-made salads, olives, and fruits to choose from and one choice of protein which is the salami.

If you’ve ever been to Sizzler in Thailand you’ll know that their 199 THB is more varied (and exciting) than El Toro’s 1,100 THB++ offering… But comparison is the thief of joy…

Though I will give them a point for the incredible quality of the ingredients, all the vegetables tastes fresh, crunchy, and very vibrant. I especially love the sautéed buttery mushroom dish, no doubt helped by the fact that I just love mushrooms in general.

The Salami was also sour an salty which does well to add some vibrancy to the salad. All in all, it was a good tasting salad, but not impressed with the offerings.

Australian Picanha Steak

el toro steakhouse picanha steak — *That's probably the most beautiful piece of Picanha I have ever seen*

I ordered the 250g Australian Picanha Steak (medium rare of course). In fact, even before setting foot into El Toro, I knew I wanted to eat Picanha, I’ve never had a proper piece of Picanha steak before so of course I took my opportunity here.

For those who don’t know, Picanha is a popular cut of meat in Brazil/Portugal that’s from the upper rump of the cow. Picanha is known to be tender and juicy while also being a lean piece of meat. That is, if it’s cooked properly.

Shoutout to Guga Foods, that’s were I learnt about Picanha :)

Also before I forget to mention, I ordered my Picanha steak with French Fries.

The thick cut of Picanha was juicy and very very flavorful, a beautiful medium rare with a great sear! I don’t think the steak was seasoned much as I had to add some more salt and pepper, however that’s a good thing as it allowed me to taste the full flavor of the meat. Though the steak wasn’t as tender as I had hoped, it was still easy to chew. Pepper sauce was tasty as well, creamy and peppery.

My steak came with a side of plain (blanched?) carrots and broccoli, they’re alright? I mean what else could I say. But the real star of the veggie sides was the oven baked garlic! the garlic buds were so soft and easily spreadable onto the steak giving the meat a very aromatic garlic flavor. And you know I love my garlic.

The fries were alright, not spectacular, lightly seasoned, a little crispy, and fluffy. Not the best fries I’ve had but pretty good for snacking along with my Picanha steak.

Australian Black Angus Ribeye Steak

My girlfriend ordered the Australian Black Angus Ribeye, cooked medium rare, and paired with a baked potato.

My girlfriend was generous and shared with me a piece of her steak and oh my lord, that first chew was heaven. Since her steak was a Ribeye, there was more intramuscular fat and thus more juiciness, tenderness, and flavor to the steak. Wayyy better than my Picanha steak, I was almost jealous!

Of course I shared with her a chunk of my Picanha steak as well, and while she did say it was absolutely delicious, the mighty Picanha couldn’t beat the divine Black Angus Ribeye.

Argentinian Black Angus Ribeye

My Dad wanted something big, he’s a big man, and a big man needs big amounts of protein. So he went ahead and ordered the 400g Argentinian Black Angus Ribeye cooked medium rare of course.

This one comes with a whole basket of fries. In fact the waiter said this was enough to share between 2-3 people. I had a little taste and I got to say, wasn’t as good as I was expecting. It was a little chewy compared to my girlfriend’s Australian Ribeye. But the flavor was still really good though.

The roasted veggies were nice though, I’d much prefer those over my the boiled carrots and broccoli.

Spaghetti Pomodoro

This is where things start getting a little disappointing. We ordered the Pomodoro Spaghetti, a pasta with a tomato based sauce, which we hoped that the tartness of the tomato sauce would help cut through some of the fattiness of the steaks.

The Pomodoro Spaghetti tastes, pretty lackluster. El Toro’s version tastes like the sort of spaghetti you would get in a school cafeteria… I know that sounds harsh but it really does taste that disappointing.

There was no tartness from the tomatoes, there was only richness, and um… sweetness, like they added a lot of butter or something oily into the sauce. The Pomodoro Spaghetti did not help cut through the fat of the steaks. Honestly it made me feel even more greased up.

Grilled Barramundi Fillet

My Mom ordered the Grilled Barramundi Fillet. Right off the bat, the fish came out looking a little dry and overcooked. Though it was sitting on a bed of roasted bell peppers and veggies, adding a little bit of moisture to the fish.

My mom eats very little meat as her stomach could not really digest it, so she was hoping that the fish would be good. In fact she eats very little in general so that ties in to another reason why we didn’t go for the Churrascaria Buffet.

I did not get a taste of the fish fillet, but my mom said it tasted ok, she enjoyed the vegetables and mashed potatoes though.

El Toro’s Churrasco Rodizio Buffet

El Toro steakhouse Churrasco Rodizio Buffet — *Image provided by El Toro's Website*

While I didn’t have the Churrasco Rodizio Buffet, I can give a few comments and thoughts.

I can see that the experience looks a bit “not worth the money” While the novelty is cool and fun, the buffet is not worth the price of ~2,000 THB++ per person.

The main problem I have is the speed at which you get served. While I was there it looks like there was only 1 or 2 meats in circulation at a time, so you have to wait for the meats you want or be willing to try a bunch of different meats and fill your stomach up.

And this limitation and time between the steaks allows your stomach to digest the food you’ve just ate giving you plenty of time to start feeling full. So in the end you’ll probably be eating less food than what you would have if you ordered a regular a la carte menu.

Plus you’re only limited to 2 hours, and you don’t get any sides like fries or baked potatoes.

Conclusion

Pros

The beef steaks are done really well, cooked beautifully, great sear, great meaty and beefy taste.
Service staff is very friendly and attentive plus the environment is very comfortable.
Salad bar, though quite limited, shines in its high quality and fresh vegetables.

Cons

The prices are expensive. I understand this is “real” steak unlike Sizzler or Eat Am Are, but come on, 1,100 THB++ for the salad bar, really?
Non-beef dishes need some work in terms of flavor.

Overall I recommend you try El Toro Steakhouse, in terms of steak, they cook a damn good steak. Service was also really good. Though their pricing is a bit shady and (almost understandably) expensive. I have a huge problem with their non-steak dishes being subpar, if I’m spending a good chunk of my salary on a meal then I expect everything to be good.

El Toro’s Steakhouse | 7 / 10

Phone: +66 2 258 4824

Location: 541 Sukhumvit Rd, Khlong Toei Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110

Opening Hours: 11:00  AM - 11:30  PM | Mon - Sun

Pricing: ~2,000++ THB per steak | $$$$

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