LPs Quality Meats, Chippendale

Hidden away in the back alleys of Chippendale is LPs Quality Meats, a quiet achiever that hits all the right notes with its somewhat unconventional meat offerings.

The restaurant has a casual warehouse feel, mostly communal seating and an open kitchen that runs the length of the space so you can watch the chefs hard at work crafting the dishes.

Their starters are made up of an eclectic mix of meat, seafood and vego dishes – we ended up picking a Smoked Beef Tongue, Boudin Blood Sausage and an Eggplant Parmigiana with Burrata to keep things balanced.

Their take on beef tongue was done so well, you almost forgot which part of the cow you were dining on – delicately thin slivers of the tongue were smoked with just enough flavour, then elevated with some rich bone marrow and a zesty eschallot vinaigrette to keep it from becoming too rich. It was a pretty generously sized serving too.

Smoked Beef Tongue with Bone Marrow and Eschallot Vinaigrette, $18

The Eggplant Parmiagiana was also delicious, with hearty flavours mixed with an amazing, creamy burrata cheese that stole the show. A simple, yet comforting dish that unexpectedly ended up being one of the stars of the whole meal despite not being meaty.

Eggplant Parmigiana, $22

The Boudin spiced smokey blood sausage is for the more adventurous diners out there – there were definitely some complex flavours in each slice, but I’m not a fan of the concept in general and wasn’t won over by the chewy texture though my friend loved it.

Boudin Blood Sausage, $16

The other highlight of the dinner was of course, their Smoked Beef Short Rib. It was quite a large serving, matching up with its hefty price tag and the tender meat just fell off the bone. Soft and buttery, each bite was incredibly tasty and lifted by each of their condiments on the side – you can pick from a Dijon mustard, a hot sauce and salsa verde which was my favourite.

Smoked Beef Short Rib, $44

A casual meal at LPs is fairly pricey, but the high calibre of their dishes makes it a worthwhile treat for the carnivores (and even the eggplant lovers) out there.