My On Going Quest for the Perfect Steak- Porterhaus, South Court Mall, Saket

I am in an eternal search for the perfect steak. It’s crazy, some of the places I’ve dragged the hubby to on this quest of mine. Luckily for me the hubster is amazing and gives into these crazy demands of mine. I think he’s amused by the fact that I can get so worked up about food :) So when I heard about this new restaurant in South Court Mall, Saket called Porterhaus, I informed the hubby that that’s where we would be lunching that weekend.

Porterhouse is a cut of steak that is cut from the rear end of the short loin. So I think Porterhaus is the ideal name for this steakhouse. We arrived around 12.30 and basically had the place to ourselves. I think this is because the mall in which Porterhaus is located is still not fully complete and most of the stores are unoccupied.  

The ambience is really nice. The dark green walls and the walnut tones of the furniture seem like the perfect setting for a steak house. It’s also attached to the Harley Davidson Showroom next door, so there are a lot of references to that in the décor too. When we entered Ol' blue Eyes was playing- they have a nice selection of Jazz and blues which is perfect for the setting.

While Porterhaus is a classic steak house, it’s menu is quite impressive and there is a wide selection of seafood options as well as some great options for vegetarians. For starters we ordered a carpaccio of tomato with goats cheese dumplings and some Kingfisher beer. Porterhaus has some great options of international beers on tap, but I was in the mood for some some good old KF that day :)

While we were waiting for our starter, we were served with a complimentary bread basket that came along with some flavored olive oil and what seemed to be a tapenade of some sort. All the bread served at Porterhaus is baked fresh in-house and it was excellent, as was the tapenade.

The starter, when it arrived was really good. A decent sized portion for one, although we shared it. The goats cheese dumplings were basically goats cheese that that been batter fried. I’ve never tasted anything like it and it was delicious. A lovely fresh plate of food that was rich and tart and perfect for a summer lunch. Loved the balsamic drizzle that accompanied it, the sweet, tart balsamic worked beautifully with the rich, salty goats cheese.

For the mains the hubby ordered the Chipotle potato and bean burger and I ordered the New York Strip. The steak comes with choices of different rubs, sides and sauce/jus. I went for garlic and rosemary mash and our server recommended the Porterhaus special rub and red wine jus so I went his recommendation.

The food arrived after a short wait and the first thing I did was cut into my steak. I usually ask for medium rare, and I’m always disappointed because the steak always ends up somewhere between medium to well done… closer to the later :) But when I cut into it… the joy! It was beautifully pink and the meat was so tender and succulent, it almost melted in the mouth. The mash was excellent too, as was the jus and I have to also mention the mustard served on the side. It’s made in-house and is divine! There was very little to complain about, but if I were to be really critical, the jus was slightly over seasoned for my taste and the grilled carrots served with the steak had a little too much bite for me.

The hubby enjoyed his burger. Says it’s the 2^nd best burger he’s had so far. Taste wise he rates it number 1, but he was a little disappointed with the fact that it sort of fell apart and was very difficult to pick up and eat with his hands. He liked the beans in the patty which made it stand out from the regular aloo patty which he sees in most burgers. One other small negative was the potato wedges, which were a little soggy and not at all crisp. For me the perfect wedge should be nice and crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy in the inside. 

Sadly when it came time to order dessert, the unthinkable happened… we were too stuffed to eat another bite! But since their dessert menu had a lot of things that I’d like, I made a promise to myself that I’ll make sure to save room for dessert on our next visit:) 

Porterhaus is a must visit for meat lovers and especially those of you who love your steak. So nice to visit a place where the steak is prepared exactly how you like it! Our meal came to about 3K including drinks, which is not too steep considering the quality of the food. Service was also excellent… no issues there at all. If I were to rate my experience at Porterhaus out of 5, I’d give it a 4.5/5. We were both very happy at the end of our meal.

As a postscript, I’d like to mention that I was so happy with my meal that I wrote in to Porterhaus to let them know. I also had a very nice chat with Porterhaus’s owner Kuldip  Tolia. He very kindly spared the time to chat with me about the restaurant, his team and their future plans for Porterhaus. He also clarified to me that Porterhaus is not part of the US Porter House chain, it in fact a standalone restaurant and brand that he has created with a view to providing as many different options when it comes to steak. 

Address

Plot 158-161, Ground Floor, DLF South Court Mall, Saket, New Delhi  

*Note that we were not invited to review Porterhaus, but visited as paying customers

[All images- Shalini Pereira]