BLT Steak opened mid January in Ocean Terminal and is the first international venture for French chef Laurent Tourondel, whose branches of a modern American steakhouse have proved a hit in the US, which has lead to BLT Fish, BLT Market and BLT Burger. BLT is not in this case short for bacon lettuce tomato, but Bistro Laurent Tourondel.

I normally wait for a restaurant to have been opened for at least a few weeks before reviewing to allow the restaurant to work out the kinks that only surface once open. In the case of BLT Steak I dined there exactly one week after it opened and while this does not account for all that was not up to expectation it may have been a contributing factor.

Mixed Start

Any meal at BLT Steak begins with complimentary popovers, an egg-based bread, that is a cross between a croissant and a Yorkshire pudding. BLT does a Warm Gruyere Popover which it serves with salted butter. The salted butter elevates the tasty popover, with its crunchy outside and soft inside, and is an interesting alternative to bread.

For starters we ordered the signature Tuna Tartare/Avocado/Soy-Lime Dressing and the Maine Lobster Salad "Cobb" Style. I enjoyed the textural contrast between the soft tuna and the crispy fried onion and waffle crisp that it was served with, but I wasn't a fan of the taste. However my dining companion enjoyed it very much, commenting that it was one of the best tuna tartare he has tried.

Personally, I think it is a little misleading of the restaurant to call the salad we had a lobster salad, instead I would call it a cobb salad, with lobster. It contained all that a typical cobb salad does: lettuce, bacon, eggs, cheese, avocado, plus purple cabbage and fried onion, but the lobster was simply another ingredient and not the star. It was not the freshest tasting lobster I have eaten either. We also found it to be over-seasoned and over-dressed. I think though that it will appeal to those that enjoy mayo style salads.

Steak Mistake

On the menu the restaurant explains that it is serving the best beef available, which it naturally ages for maximum tenderness and flavour before being cooked in a state-of-the-art charcoal broiler; this endorsement made me excited and I was looking forward to eating my 12oz Wagyu Sirloin from Australia, while my dining companion selected the 14oz USDA Ribeye. Steaks are served with herb butter, roasted garlic and oregano. There is also a choice of seven sauces, which are served on the side, and I choose the bearnaise.

My first disappointment was visual, my steak was almost half the size of my dining partners, yet they were only meant to be 2ozs difference. The next disappointment, unfortunately, was how it was cooked. On the menu is a description of the temperature and appearance of how your steak will be depending on how you want it to be cooked. The list ranges from Blue to Well Done, my dining partner chose rare, which is described red, cool center, and I went med-rare, which should be red, warm center. My steak was closer to med-well, dull, pink center, and my friend's was medium-rare to medium. I found this a shock, surely a steakhouse should serve the steak how it is requested every time, especially one that goes to the trouble of including such details on the menu. I know of two other food writers who have eaten at BLT Steak, one also had an overcooked steak and the other said it was one of the best steaks she has tried! Despite the steaks being overcooked the quality was high, with a good flavour.

We also selected three sides from the 11 choices, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Sautéed Pea Shoots with Nutmeg, and Potato Gratin Forezien. Both green choices were overcooked and over-seasoned and very disappointing. The potato was delicious, creamy, cheesy and homey.

One More Try

We pushed on past this letdown and ordered dessert, Crepe Soufflé/Passion Fruit Sauce, and Cassis Lemon Meringue Pie/Lemon Sorbet. The crepe soufflé was tasty and light, great textural plays, and the passion fruit sauce was perfect. The serving is quite big and we could not finish it. The pie was a little bit of a mystery, there was no sight of any meringue, instead in its place was toasted marshmallow; the sorbet was great.

Overall, it was a disappointing meal. However, I don't think it is fair to write-off a restaurant after just one visit, especially in its early days, so I would give BLT another try.

Ambiance, Service, Price

The mix of leather, wood and brick give the restaurant a steakhouse vibe, but the choice of furnishings, bare wooden tables and disposable paper menus and wine list, ensure that the diner is aware that this is casual steak dining. It felt to me more like a hip cafe than a restaurant. Finishing touches to the decor were still to be completed when I visited, which I hope added a sense of warmth and personality. There is an outdoor terrace with a small amount of tables and its location on the waterfront affords harbour views from outside and from those tables closest to the terrace.

The service was friendly and efficient and the staff have the knowledge to answer questions and can easily recommend their favourite dishes.

A popular item choice on the night we visited was the Seafood Combo platter, priced at $350. Starters range in price from $88-195, steak prices begin at $198, with most between $360-450, all the way to $900 for a 40oz porterhouse for two. In addition to one lamb, chicken, and duck main there are four seafood mains. Sides range in price from $58-78.

BLT Steak in Hong Kong is a partnership between Tourondel and Dining Concepts, the restaurant group behind Ocean Grill, Craft Steak, and Malouf's to name a few.