You know you’re going to get a good steak at CHAR. The 29th floor dining room at the Indigo Hotel proudly boasts that it flies in the finest cuts of beef from around the globe, but what surprised us was the quality of the other dishes on offer.

First, though, the meat. You’ll find five types of beef on the menu including two types of Wagyu. The highlight is the Blackmore’s, an Australian breed that’s grain-fed for 600 days using traditional Japanese farming techniques and has a marbling score of 9+, all of which is supposed to make it some of the best in the world. It’s priced accordingly–200 grams of Blackmore’s with seared foie gras, grilled lobster and truffles sets you back RMB1,888.

After negotiating the rather cluttered menu, we went for a 500g T-bone (RMB450) from Cape Grim in Tasmania with a marbling score of a mere 2+. Served with peppercorn sauce, it was perfectly cooked with a well marbled tenderloin that melts like fudge in the mouth and a tougher short loin that’s lined with a juicy rim of fat. The portion is large enough for two, especially with sides–we added a tasty but uninspired creamed spinach (RMB50) and rocket with shaved manchego that came out a little tart and sickly (RMB50).

Many of the cuts are served to share, as is much of the seafood, which makes Char better for group dining than dates. Surprisingly, the best thing brought to our table was a piece of grilled black cod (RMB280) served with a sweet smear of carrot confit. A star anise and lime syrup came on the side and stayed there–the anise was far too full-on for the fish. But the cod was perfect, with a chewy film of skin blackened until it just lifted off a plump, buttery nugget of flesh.

CHAR doesn’t quite rival the best steakhouses in town, though the beef and the incredible view out over the Huangpu are certainly star attractions. Whether those are worth the prices will depend on how seriously you take your steak, but even non-meat-eaters will find enough to explore here.

Our rating: 4/5

DETAILS

What: CHAR

Where: 29/F, Hotel Indigo, 585 Zhongshan Dong Er Lu 中山东二路585号上海外滩英迪格酒店29楼

Tel: 3302-9995

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