5 restaurants for tasty tartares in KL and Selangor

Tartares are recipes of chopped meat or seafood, served gloriously raw. From versions with pork or salmon to the more typical beef, here are five places that serve interesting interpretations of this delicate delight.

1. Coquo for Iberico pork tartare

This is the rare recipe that calls for close-to-raw fresh pork – Coquo relies on Spanish Iberico pork, suffused with a sultry smokiness, made to be mixed with a sweet-sour mango ‘yolk’ and charcoal mayonnaise. The chef lifts the lid on the plate when it’s served, ensuring a striking presentation.

Address: D1-G4-6, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur
Read review: Coquo at Solaris Dutamas
Find: Contact details and map for Coquo

2. Rendez-Vous for salmon tartare

If you’re looking for creamy comfort, set an appointment with Rendez-Vous’ salmon tartare, with morsels of fish that linger lovingly on the palate.

Address: 100 Lorong Maarof, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur
Read review: 2016 menu: Rendez-Vous at Bangsar
Find: Contact details and map for Rendez-Vous

3. Gastro Bar by Burgeon for beef tartare with quail eggs

Gastro Bar may be the Klang Valley’s only outlet that serves steak tartare in this striking fashion, with succulent blobs of chopped Black Angus tenderloin and sun-dried tomatoes on herbed toasted baguette slices with confit yolks of quail eggs to be consumed with the final mouthful of raw beef.

Address: 8 & 10, Jalan BM 1/2, Taman Bukit Mayang Emas, Petaling Jaya
Read review: Gastro Bar by Burgeon at Bukit Mayang Emas
Find: Contact details and map for Gastro Bar by Burgeon

4. Mercat for Iberico ham tartare

If you’re pursuing robust flavours, the hunt should lead to Mercat’s Iberico ham tartare – it might border too close to raw pork for some customers, but this is top-flight meat that’s well worth savouring, supplying a tender chew with the compelling dimensions of flavour that the word Iberico conjures.

Address: 51 Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar
Read review: Mercat Barcelona Gastrobar at Telawi, Bangsar
Find: Contact details and map for Mercat Barcelona Gastrobar

5. Chez Leoniel for sturgeon tartare

This restaurant is enthusiastic about sturgeon, showcasing the fish in various cooked dishes. But for the ultimate way to relish the sturgeon’s natural nuances, try the sturgeon tartare, interspersed here with crisp, tangy vegetables.

Address: 15, Lorong Gurney, Kuala Lumpur
Read review: Chez Leoniel at Alliance Francaise
Find: Contact details and map for Chez Leoniel