Meat District Co. to open in Old Town Pasadena with steak, burgers, meat on a hook

Meat District Co., a new meat-centric restaurant, is slated to open on Raymond in Old Town Pasadena on Aug. 25. The restaurant, by Platinum Restaurant Group in Australia, will offer steaks, premium burgers, salads and a special meat skewer served on a hook.

The hook is just one of the menu items partners and brothers Coco and Garry Simonian and consultant David Diamond are hoping will entertain guests while they eat. For the skewered meat, executive chef Rasel Rasheduzzaman pairs fattier and leaner cuts of meat on a metal rod before grilling. The meat is then served on the rod, hanging from a hook with a small container of sauce that drips down on the meat below. There’s a version with chicken, and one with steak.

“Dining out is now theater,” said Diamond. “We want to supply the theater aspect and really make dining here an experience.”

The restaurant also features an open kitchen and a glass cold room where diners can watch the chefs grinding burgers and cutting the meat. And to cook the ribs, a special round “cookon” grill from Australia that the Simonian brothers claim is one of the first to be used in the United States.

All of the meat on the menu has no antibiotics, hormones or steroids, listed as “never ever” grade. There’s flat iron, sirloin, a petite filet and a $28 12-ounce ribeye. Diners will have the option to baste their meat in the restaurant’s secret sauce that includes almost 40 spices.

“We’re aiming for that middle market no one is catering to,” said Garry. “If you want a good steak at Mastro’s, it’s like $50 a plate. Our steaks are premium, but affordable.”

You can also order grilled chicken, slow roasted lamb and pork sandwiches on baguettes, hot dogs, a variety of burgers including salmon, turkey, soft shell crab and more. All of the produce on the menu will come from local distributors, and the restaurant is having custom brioche buns made by a local baker with no sugar, a double egg glaze and black and white sesame seeds.

To sip, wine and beer, with eight local brews on tap.

The decor, by design company DS17, is a rustic, industrial mix of concrete, white tile and black painted walls, leather and wood chairs and Edison light bulbs. There are front and back seating areas with a large patio dining area under a skylight in the atrium of the building. Garry says he’s thinking about opening that area in the future for dining after 6 p.m.

The Simonians own 14 restaurants in Australia, but were looking to open something specifically in Pasadena. The Pasadena location will serve as the flagship Meat District Co., and they are looking to expand in other areas as well.

“We like the area, the demographic and it’s an educated clientele who appreciate good food,” said Coco.

Meat District Co. will be open for lunch and dinner daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

69 N. Raymond, Pasadena, www.platinumrestaurantgroup.com/new-venues/.

[Updated August 15, 2014, 2:11 p.m. to reflect the new opening date of the restaurant.]