Ranked #5 of 16 · 8.4/10 · St Julian's, Malta

Toro Toro

On the menu as “Beef tartare”

8.4/10

Pan-Latin high-rise

Truffle, chipotle emulsion and sun-dried tomato on the 11th floor of a Zaha Hadid tower — the most fun a tartare had all year.

The review

Eleven floors up the Mercury Tower, with Paceville glittering below and the music a notch too loud, Richard Sandoval's pan-Latin steakhouse hands its tartare a passport. Chipotle emulsion brings smoke and a slow burn, sun-dried tomato adds a sweet umami bassline, truffle rounds it into something plush — and the whole thing sits on the suviche bar menu between ceviches, where you can crown it with caviar if the night demands. It shouldn't work; it works. This is the only tartare on this list that made me grin at first bite. What keeps it off the podium: at this volume — decibels and price alike — precision occasionally loses to party. Order it in the Torokase flight and start an argument.

Judged on five criteria

  • 01The Cut
  • 02The Seasoning
  • 03The Yolk
  • 04The Sides
  • 05The Room

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