Barbarian’s nomadic, cave-like space finds a new home inside the luxury mall Plaza 66. Probably an odd contrast yet it injects a new wave of energy into the mall and shows the restaurant’s ambition to target the posh urbanites with their passion for tribal cooking and mixology.

Barbarian opened its first place in 2017 and now has three outlets in town.

The newly opened venue on the fifth floor of Plaza 66 is definitely the step up for the group.

Occupying 650 square meters over two levels, the restaurant is again decked out in a tribal, nomadic theme, with rustic wooden tables made from tree logs, Arabic rugs and cushions scattered here and there, transforming your mood to free and chilled the moment you step inside.

Barbarian highlights their smoked and charred deliciousness from the charcoal grills. Executive chef Todd Alyn considers grilling his forte.

The American basically grew up on the barbecue.

His love for fire and smoke started early on and he believes there are a few essential elements to grilling great food.

Another key point is the utilization of smoke. “The beauty of the grill is that when the fat falls onto the hot coals beneath the food it turns into smoke which rises and goes back onto the product with a new element of flavor,” Alyn said.

“While grilling, I frequently cover the food items so as to trap the smoke, giving even more flavor.”

As the goal is to take the guests on a journey filled with smoke and fire, the signature grilled skewers are big, juicy and have their own home-made marinades so there is a myriad of global flavors from Middle East spiced lamb kofta, the soy-ginger chicken, gochujang (Korean hot chilli sauce) marinated pork to chimichurri prawns.

For those feeling like a real barbarian, the restaurant offers some big-size juicy steaks — the Prime Australian M5 Tomahawk steak (1,500 grams) resembling a Native American single-handed axe is essentially a rib eye steak left on the extended bone, featuring rich flavor with buttery, melt-in-the-mouth texture.

The kitchen wraps each tomahawk in a whiskey-soaked cloth and dry-ages them for at least 15 days and up to 45 days to enhance the flavor. Another steak offering “Porterhouse steak” (700g) is a steak cut from the rear end of the short loin that includes a T-bone.

Info

Opening hours: 10:30am-10pm

Tel: 1590-0823-959

Address: 5/F, 1266 Nanjing Rd W.

Average price: 180 yuan