You don’t win friends with salad
Fuel, fire, food: return to animal instincts when you dine at MEET.
A word of advice: if you are heading to MEET, ease off eating anything in the lead-up to it. To enjoy this delicious carnivorous experience in full, bring an empty tummy, a big appetite and a sense of fun and adventure.
MEET has a focus on meat, not unsurprisingly perhaps. But that doesn’t make it just a restaurant for carving up a steak with chips and pepper sauce. It’s also a bar, a place to graze, a date night destination, the perfect group get-together and it’s for all ages. MEET also caters for non-meat eaters, making it the absolute all-rounder of dining digs.
Initially opened at the former Sprout site in Honeysuckle in 2015, it attracted plenty of patrons and curious culinarians from the get-go. After a few successful years there, it was time to move to larger premises and in mid-2019 MEET re-opened over on Darby Street.
A sleek transformation of an empty warehouse has now become an urban destination, marked by its bright pink neon M sign above the door. The interior boasts multi-level tables and benches for groups or just a table for two; trees, tiles, soaring ceilings and modern vibes. It’s both laidback and trendy, yet don’t be deceived by this relaxed atmosphere – the food is on par with the gorgeous décor: technique, flavour and skill are on display with every bite.
Dual entrances provide access to the two distinct parts of the venue. The Darby Street entrance leads to a moody cosmopolitan bar, perfect for pre-dinner cocktails or post-dinner digestifs. There is the option to graze on share plates in the bar area if you’re after something a little more casual than the full MEET experience. But chances are you’ll want to head in and partake once you can smell the enticing aromas coming from the main hall.
The MEET approach is modelled on churrasco – a progressive Brazilian barbecue feast where the waitstaff bring around course after course of flame-cooked meats. I can’t be sure of the exact number, I lost count after the tenth round.
The menu will change daily, but you could expect to taste a selection of chicken thighs and wings, beef short rib, lamb, pork belly, 12-hour smoked brisket, chorizo, chicken hearts, pineapple and traditional South American cuts like picanha – also known as rump cap.
You can ask the waiter for a large piece or just a tiny taste, it’s really up to you.
Read more in the Autumn Edition of Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine or subscribe here.
MEET, 9 Darby Street, Newcastle. Open Wed-Sun dinner and drinks, Sat lunch also.
