There were great celebrations in the city with news that F.X. Buckley had made the cut at No.6 in The World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants Ranking for 202 Ranking for 2023. Describing the meat served by the sixth generation Dublin butchers as ‘100% Irish – 100% quality’, the judges said, “Although we have known the benefits of Irish beef for a long time, the quality on offer has been very good. F.X. Buckley has left a lasting impression with us”.
Initiated in 2019, the coveted Restaurant Ranking system sees meat ambassadors and testers visiting and evaluating up to eight hundred restaurants around the world in their quest to showcase some of the best quality produce available. In addition to assessing the quality of meat being served in restaurants from Japan to Argentina, Europe and the United States, judges also assess areas such as product knowledge, cooking methods, service and interior design.
Praising the premium quality of the produce they sampled in Dublin, the citation said, “At F.X. Buckley they source their own Angus and Hereford beef, which means that they know exactly what’s being served on their restaurant tables. The steak cuts from heifers only are grazed for at least two years on the finest quality Irish grass, which means that there’s lots of time for a good layer of marbling to build up – for that extra special flavour.”
The 2023 awards saw Pablo Rivero and Executive Chef Guido Tassi of Parrilla Don Julio from Buenos Aires placed first in the rankings for their work with natural grass-fed classic breeds, selected from the restaurant’s own sustainable breeding programme. Last year’s winner, London’s Hawksmoor finished second, with New York’s well regarded American Cut Tribeca in third position.
While the overall winner came from Argentina, judges said they were particularly impressed by many of the European steak restaurants they visited this year, noting that the focus on old local breeds, new ageing techniques and ‘nose to tail eating,’ now sees European restaurants “increasingly asserting themselves against the former supremacy of the established classic steak restaurants in the USA.”
