Travel Diaries- Ritual Ristorante Brasiliano @ Turin, Italy
DAY 22 OF BLOGMAS?! Before Blogmas, where I've blogged every day in December on the run up to Christmas, my posting was always quite sporadic but this has really got me back into the flow of things so I THINK (but cannot promise) that things might be a little more regular in the New Year. Unless I've completely run out of things to say that is!
Today I'm talking about an amazing restaurant we went to on our recent visit to Turin in Italy. We really fancied a steak one night so we did a bit of research on google and everyone was absolutely raving about Ritual Ristorante Brasiliano. A lot of people had been recommended the place by their hotel or friends who had visited Italy before so we took a walk down there one evening. We didn't find their website to be that informative so we went with little idea of what to expect and our minds were totally blown.
We decided on the Carne Alla Pietra which is steak cooked on the hot stone slab. This comes as a 750g steak for two people and the price was listed as €28 'per 2 persone' so we fully expected this steak to be €56 in total. The gentleman who owns the place was so friendly and helpful- translating the menu for us and recommending side dishes that would go well. With his assistance we decided on black beans with rice and 'patate al forno'- seasoned baked/roasted potatoes. They also brought out a bowl of powdered seasoning and herbs to dip our meat into. I've no idea what was in that little bowl of wonder but it was incredible.
The steak came out on the sizzling hot plate sliced up and we just had to keep an eye on it and eat it as soon as it was cooked to our taste. The steak was perfection. The slab itself was seasoned with salt and pepper so the meat was cooking in the flavours. The rice and black bean combo I can only liken to chilli con carne- that kind of thing but not the same taste. It was amazing. And of course the potatoes were cooked to perfection. So buttery and delicious.
When the bill came I truly could not believe it- the steak was only €28 in TOTAL. You pay that kind of price minimum in Malta for a single steak and the quality cannot be relied upon. This steak was at least 750g and I suspect it was actually quite a bit more than that and it was perfect, no chewy, fatty bits just pure tasty meat.
I cannot rave about this place enough. The decor is really homey and cute, the staff/owners were super friendly, the prices were incredibly cheap and the food was out of this world. There was also a darling old lady who seemed to be related to the owners who was a real character- chatting away, dancing like she was in a nightclub and at one point she even had on sunglasses in the shapes of pineapples. She disappeared half way through our meal but she was so happy and full of life that she really made my night. A perfect piece of steak didn't hurt either!
Definitely pay these guys a visit if you're ever in Turin and DEFINITELY get over to Turin if you're ever looking for a break!