Olio Steak: Sizzle, smoke and hearty platters
With smoky steaks, generous sharing platters and a warm, understated ambience, Olio Steak enters Dhaka's crowded dining scene with a focus on comfort, consistency and carefully balanced flavours
In a city where new restaurants arrive with polished interiors and ambitious menus almost every week, it takes more than a good-looking space to hold attention. Olio Steak seems to understand that balance.
Located in Gulshan, it presents itself as a steak dining destination where timeless elegance meets bold, layered flavours and for the most part, it delivers a meal that feels thoughtful, filling and quietly confident.
From the moment one steps inside, Olio Steak sets a warm tone. The ambience is welcoming without feeling overly formal. Wooden textures dominate the space, giving it a comfortable, grounded character, while soft music plays in the background, adding to the relaxed dining mood.
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The restaurant feels clean, organised and easy to settle into, which matters especially for a steakhouse trying to appeal to both casual diners and those looking for a more composed evening out. Service is another strong point. The food arrives on time, and the staff maintain a steady rhythm without making the experience feel rushed.
The meal begins with a small but pleasant gesture: complimentary orange juice shots for every guest. It is a simple touch, but one that immediately gives the dining experience a sense of hospitality. In a competitive food scene like Dhaka's, such details often help a new restaurant stand apart.
Cream of Mushroom
The Cream of Mushroom soup makes for a gentle start. It is thick, creamy and comforting, with a texture that melts smoothly in the mouth. The flavour is light rather than overpowering, which allows the creaminess to take centre stage.
What gives the soup a little distinction is its faint smoky note, adding depth to what could otherwise have been a standard bowl of mushroom soup. There is also a sufficient amount of mushrooms, which gives the dish body and keeps it from feeling one-dimensional. It is not a loud opening, but it is a good one, warm, familiar and well suited to the rest of the meal.
Price: Tk599
The Crisp Delight Combo
The Crisp Delight Combo moves the meal into more playful territory. The combination works well, especially because it brings together sweetness, spice and crunch without losing balance. The rice comes with pineapple, adding a light fruity sweetness, while the corn is noticeably tasty and slightly sweet.
The frango chicken is crisp, spicy and satisfying, offering the kind of texture that makes a combo plate enjoyable.
The chicken cutlet carries a smoky flavour with a mild spicy edge, rounding out the plate with a more savoury character. It is the kind of dish that feels designed for diners who want variety without committing to a heavy steak-led meal.
Price: Tk899
Carnivores Crush
The Carnivores Crush was true to its name; it is a generous platter built for serious appetites and perhaps best shared. The dish brings together six items, and the variety is its greatest strength. The fish and chips stand out immediately. Made with authentic dory fish, the fish is tender inside and crisp outside, with a clean flavour that works well with the rest of the platter. It is not merely a side attraction; it holds its own.
The sirloin steak is the item that best reflects what Olio Steak appears to be aiming for. It is juicy, smoky and tender, with enough depth of flavour to satisfy steak lovers without becoming too heavy. The smoky note gives it character, while the tenderness shows care in preparation. Alongside it, the garlic mushroom is well cooked and served in sufficient quantity, adding an earthy richness to the platter.
What makes Olio Steak interesting is not that every dish tries to surprise the diner. Rather, the restaurant seems focused on offering dependable comfort with a few thoughtful flavour accents, smoke, spice, creaminess, sweetness, and freshness all appear throughout the meal in different ways
The chicken wings bring a different mood altogether: sweet, sticky and barbecue-flavoured, they add a casual, familiar comfort to the otherwise meat-forward spread.
The rice items, Spanish rice and fungi rice, pair well with the meats and help bring the platter together. They provide a necessary base, softening the intensity of the steak, wings and fish while adding their own subtle flavour. A platter like this can easily become crowded or confused, but Carnivores Crush manages to feel coherent. It offers abundance without losing control, and that is not always easy to achieve.
Price: Tk3,999
The Golden Sun
The Golden Sun arrives as a bright and effective drink. It has a noticeable punch, but remains balanced. Sweet without being excessive, it is refreshing and minty, making it a good match for the smoky and spicy elements of the meal. In a steakhouse meal, where richness can quickly build up, a drink like this plays an important role. It cuts through the heavier flavours and keeps the experience lively.
Price: Tk399
Brownie with Ice Cream
The meal concludes with a Brownie with Ice Cream, a simple but effective ending. The brownie is dense and not overly sweet, allowing the ice cream to take centre stage. It is a straightforward dessert, but one that provides a satisfying close to the meal. Not every ending needs to be elaborate; sometimes a familiar dessert, done well, is enough.
Price: Tk249
What makes Olio Steak interesting is not that every dish tries to surprise the diner. Rather, the restaurant seems focused on offering dependable comfort with a few thoughtful flavour accents, smoke, spice, creaminess, sweetness and freshness all appear throughout the meal in different ways.
For those looking for a refined yet relaxed steakhouse experience in Gulshan, Olio Steak makes a promising case. It may still be a new name in the city's food scene, but with its welcoming ambience, smoky flavours, generous platters and well-paced service, it has already added another feather to the cap of steakhouses in Dhaka.
