A soaring space for serious steak nestled in the heart of downtown Saigon
Since the opening in may 2016, B3 Steakhouse and Craft Beer (Level 1, 90 Nguyen Hue, D1; 3pm-11pm) has been quietly gaining a loyal following with its juicy cuts of grass-fed New Zealand beef, served in a premise located inside a historic heritage building in downtown Saigon.
Being different from other steakhouses in town, the restaurant brings a friendly and cozy atmosphere by combining retro and contemporary street art in its decor. The name B3 Steakhouse stands for Beer, Beef and Buddies (in Vietnamese it’s Bia, Bò and Bạn). They are unquestionably the ingredients for a good time, one that we embraced during our recent trip.
When opening the menu, our first impression was that the owners are serious about their steaks here. There are 8 different cuts of beef alongside photos to illustrate, and all come in 3 sizes: 200, 300 or 500g. The cuts vary from the common Tenderloin and Rib Eye to the lesser-known Oyster Blade.
Diners can customize their meal from a complimentary selection of 11 sauces and 16 sides. From the drink list, there are no less than 15 local craft beers on tap, ranging from local favorites like Pasteur Street and Phat Rooster to quality imports such as Belgian favorites Duvel and Maredsous. For wine lovers, the wine list is a standout for variety, value and quality.
To start our dinner, we ordered a Burrata Salad (VND195,000). The salad was a generous serving of three varieties of organic lettuce, mixing with parmesan cheese, ham and a Burrata Cheese bun in the center. When bursting the Burrata bun, the fresh cheese blended well with the ham while the greens and dressing sause paired perfectly with it, freshening the mouth with parsley and garlic were both crisp and rich, respectively.
Moving on to the highlight of the dinner-the Beef, it is worthy to mention that B3 offers fresh beef from New Zealand. This is top quality fresh Prime Steer Beef with a standard of grass-fed, no GMO, no hormone and no antibiotic. As recommended by one of the staffs, we went for their specialty 900g OP Rib (VND995,000) and a 300g Tenderloin (VND665,000).
The OP Ribs came with 2 side dishes and 2 sauces, while the Tenderloin came with one side and one sauce. For the sauce, we chose Béarnaise, Blue Cheese and Chimichurri in pairing with the side dishes Gratin Dauphinois, Sautéed Mushrooms, Cream Spinach. Couldn’t help the temptation, we added a side of warm goat cheese on bread to make sure we try all the best dishes of the restaurant.
The OP Rib arrived on a wooden platter with gorgeous sear marks. The meat was cooked to an ideal medium rare, just as we had requested. The chimichurri sauce paired perfectly with it, freshening the mouth with parsley and garlic nuances while the blue cheese embraced the beef flavor to its best.
The Tenderloin lived up to its reputation to the fullest: very tender and juicy, cooked to a perfect medium rare. Paired spectacularly well with the béarnaise sauce – a great combination of sour and buttery flavor that uplifted the natural flavors of the steaks. When it came to our side dishes we congratulated ourselves at having made excellent choices, although it would have been hard to go wrong. The Warm Goat Cheese on bread featured generous slices of aged French goat cheese on crispy bread. Not to be outdone, the Gratin Dauphinois arrived on the table piping hot, with a golden crisp and creamy core. Our dish of Sautéed Mushrooms was possibly my favorite, it had a well-chosen mix of Shimeji and Paddy Straw mushroom sautéed to perfection in butter and garlic.
Despite having nearly 1,2KG of meat on the table, we enjoyed the meat to the very last piece.
We wrapped up our night with a Brownie topped with vanilla ice cream (VND85,000). The brownie was rich in dark chocolate and warmed with a wonderfully molten consistency.
By the end of the night we could confirm our first impression, B3 Steakhouse can count two more among their rapidly growing fan base. This new steakhouse might just earn itself a fourth B, for Best.
B3 Steakhouse & Craft Beer
Address: Level 1, 90 Nguyen Hue, Dist.1, HCMC Open 3pm – 11pm
Reservation: 0166 51 99 846
IMAGES BY NGOC TRAN
