THE MEAT CO., a restaurant located in Souk Al Bahar in downtown Dubai is a celebrated restaurant that offers its diners the best steaks and burgers in town. The restaurant has a festive feel to it and employs South African waiters and staff to reflect the real culture of the restaurant.

As soon as you walk in, you are greeted and lead to your table by the hosts. I prefer to be seated outdoor, where I can enjoy the view of the Dubai Mall's dancing fountain and the Burj Khalifa. The outdoor area is designed to have a romantic setting using candlelight that is set on every table. Lounge music in the background makes the ambiance chilled and relaxed.

The interiors comprise of white stone walls and dark wooden chairs and square tables. Up to 300 diners can be seated at a time. The indoors are festive with a lounge area, where you can have small bites and enjoy the live band music.

The staff is very friendly and you will always see the restaurant manager guiding and talking to guests and diners. He walked to our table and explained to us the concept behind the restaurant. “We always try our best for you to do the rest,” he said.

One of the things I loved is that the staff goes all out when there is a birthday celebration. The staff would perform a traditional African dance and sing a birthday song in their language, which is something that everybody enjoyed.

The appetizers are such that you can't get enough of them. We started with the cheesy garlic bread, freshly baked in their in-house bakery. It comes warm and topped with shredded baked cheese and a taste of fresh garlic.

As an appetizer, we had the traditional African sausage, which is a think piece of sausage on a bed of tomato sauce, and a side of mashed potatoes. It’s surprisingly light and the chunky tomato sauce is delicious. I dipped the cheesy garlic bread in the sauce to make sure it doesn’t go to waste.

We also tried the Beef Carpaccio. It was smooth, thinly sliced and topped with capper.

The restaurant uses different kinds of beefs from Argentina, US, New Zealand and Australia. The menu offers several kinds of meat with different cuts that suit every taste. First you get to choose your favorite kind such as Fillet, Rib-eye, T-Bone, Rump or Sirlion, then you can add your favorite side, such as two small lobster tails, pan seared Foie Gras, two grilled jumbo prawns and much more.

Wagyu beef is the restaurant's specialty. The fillet Wagyu is highly recommended. I tried the Chateaubriand, which is a dish for two. It comes with beautifully sliced Wagyu beef. I choose asparagus with hollandaise sauce, small roasted potatoes and sautéed mushrooms. The waiter also included a special secret South African steak sauce called Connoisseurs sauce, but I didn’t need to use it for the steak was perfectly marinated and seasoned. This dish is highly recommended.

The gourmet burgers are very tempting. The rib meat burger and the Wagyu beef burger are highly recommended; they all come with secret sauces and a side of golden crispy fries.

The Meat Co. does not only offer beef, they also offer chicken and seafood. Try the farmhouse chicken breast; it is beautifully cooked chicken with crispy skin and juicy white meat from the inside. Also try the grilled giant prawns. You will love the taste of charcoal on the juicy prawns and you would not want to share it with anyone. It’s beyond amazing.

The best part of the meal comes in the end. The restaurant offers different kinds of desserts and ice creams but the South African Malva Pudding wins the grand prize. The dish is the perfect end to any meal. The pudding is warm and rich and the ice cream is cold and light. Topped with caramel sauce, it appears to be a homemade delicacy and definitely tastes like one.

Expect to pay: 300 AED

Opening hours: From 12 p.m. to 12 am.