Vamos, vamos Argentina!

Was I sitting on the porch of a ranch in Argentina digging into a juicy gaucho steak? Asado The Palace's Argentinean grill with live tango music and open kitchen is one of the most welcoming and festive restaurants in town.

Well, where will you find a restaurant in Dubai where you and your friends can feast on a whole roasted baby goat, called cabrito, and look up at the mighty impressive Burj Khalifa?

Its traditional décor boosts antler light fixings, pebble stone walls and a glass room in the centre exposing an entire goat roasting over hot coals on a wooden spit. Goat is a bit of a speciality when it comes to Argentinean cuisine, and Asado's speciality is grilling, with a fine selection of steaks on offer. Yes, asado is the South American version of a barbeque. The primary reason you should go to Asado, though, is for the steaks — they have a deep beefy flavour and are juicy, this is steak with texture.

On a balmy weekend night, which is when you want to go, we headed to the restaurant to indulge in Fiesta de la Familia a mouth-watering grill set menu.

As we were given a tour of the restaurant, laughter and the scent of garlic and grilled meat wafted over the quaint dining room.

We started with a selection of grilled vegetables tender baby cabbages, eggplant, meaty mushrooms and polenta crowned with warm goat cheese served on a bed of greens that brought smiles all around. It doesn't flirt with the trendy, but harks back to a more gracious age of dining.

Fresh chapter

The soup of the day a light, rustic chicken broth with a hint of herby olive oil, lemon and lots of coriander arrived in a modestly sized bowl, leaving plenty of room for the mains.

After the soup, I realised my first bite of almost anything at this place will be an undeniable clue that the restaurant's cooking opens a fresh chapter in Argentinean eating. For the main course we were served parrillada mixed grill for two, which is ample for three, maybe even four if you don't have big appetites. A small grill arrived on the table, with coals underneath to keep the meat warm; melt-in-your-mouth and marbled to perfection. You get chicken, lamb chops, steaks that collapse under the dull edge of a fork, tiger prawns, squid with a hint of sweet spices and spicy Argentine style beef chorizo. It's accompanied by flattened sweetbread, cooked until crispy at the edges quite the carnivore's feast.

With any meat, you get a sauce boat of chimichurri sauce; basically roughly cut parsley, garlic, olive oil and lemon and highly addictive.

Even with music swirling all around us, we could hear each other. My husband kept remarking at dinner, "I feel as if I've dined, not just eaten."

The waiters are also enthusiastic about the food, offering advice in the nicest possible way. Their informal style and sense of humour seem to fit the setting.

Most people don't think about cooking fruit, let alone grilling it. But for a change we had grilled fruits with chocolate ice cream, and it was incredibly generous for all sweet tooths — definitely the biggest bang for a dessert.

Argentinean cuisine probably doesn't spring to mind when wondering what to have for dinner, but stepping into Asado could change that — it's gutsy, affordable and fun.

Asado