TDC Steakhouse: Where tender meets chargrilled
TDC Steakhouse enters Mirpur’s restaurant landscape with warmth, flavour and earnest ambition — and with a little fine-tuning, real potential
Mirpur has never been short of places to eat, and TDC Steakhouse is the latest addition to the neighbourhood. Its name — "Tender, Delicious and Chargrilled" — sets the tone for what it promises, and the restaurant makes a deliberate effort to match that promise with both service and food.
The wooden interior, styled with a Texan cowboy theme, feels intentionally crafted. The ambience is warm and welcoming — the kind of place where one settles in without feeling rushed.
Soft music plays in the background. Clean tables and comfortable chairs set a reassuring stage, and before anything else, every guest is welcomed with a complimentary shot of orange juice.
Cream of Mushroom
We began with the Cream of Mushroom. It was thick, and its velvety texture was immediately noticeable. Creamy in the truest sense, the soup had a very light, almost understated flavour. A touch more salt could have brought out the mushroom's natural taste more, but it still worked as a comforting start. Warm, smooth and subtle, it set a steady tone for what was to come.
Price: Tk349
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Holy Cow Platter
This is the most popular item on the menu and the showstopper — a combination of seven to eight items that attempts to capture the full range of the restaurant's meat-driven identity. The baby back ribs are the highlight.
The ribs were tender, slightly smoky and balanced with a hint of sweetness; they paired perfectly with the smashed potatoes served alongside. The sweet-smoky glaze elevated the taste further, giving the ribs a flavour profile that was both familiar and comforting.
The platter also included Jamaican chicken — juicy, cheesy, and deeply flavourful. Again built on a smoky theme, it had a different personality from the ribs. The spices felt measured rather than sharp, and the chicken retained its moisture well.
The mushroom steaks were noticeably bland and unusually chewy. They paired better with the sides, but the texture held them back. The bacon was also very dry, lacking crisp tenderness. The sausages were perhaps the weakest element of the platter — artificial in taste and not particularly satisfying.
But the sides offered redemption. The butter rice was delightful — fragrant, soft and better balanced — while the grilled corn held its own with a mild crunch. The best side dish, however, was the mashed potato: rich, creamy and perfectly seasoned.
Price: Tk3,999
Sirloin Steak
The Sirloin Steak was served with Mexican rice and vegetables. The steak had a good portion of fat and a satisfyingly chewy texture; it filled the mouth with flavour — hearty and assertive.
The Mexican rice, however, lacked strong seasoning, and the vegetables fell short as well. Lacking freshness and intensity, they needed more attention to match the standard set by the steak. The addition of cheese sauce helped balance the plate.
Price: Tk1,999
Korean Spicy Chicken
This dish carried a distinct aroma of garlic, spice and cheese mingling together. It was among the more successful dishes of the meal: soft, flavourful and coated in a spicy gravy clearly crafted for those who enjoy heat. The chicken's tenderness paired well with the sauces, and there were mushrooms present in the gravy, too. Spice lovers will likely find this dish worth returning for.
Price: Tk749
Orange Mojito
Compared with the richness of the dishes before it, the drink felt underwhelming. Not overly sweet, minty and mildly tangy, it was pleasant but not memorable. It lacked the boldness that characterised much of the restaurant's savoury selection. As a palate cleanser, it worked; as a final impression, it did not.
Price: Tk449
Taken as a whole, TDC Steakhouse's strengths become more apparent. The restaurant is new, and like any establishment attempting to carve out its identity, it shows both ambition and areas needing refinement. Its strongest offerings are the ribs, the smashed potatoes, the Jamaican chicken and the Korean spicy chicken.
The shortcomings — the vegetables, the sausages and the bacon — are not irreparable flaws, but rather signs of a kitchen still calibrating itself. Given the overall experience, the atmosphere and the attentive service, these gaps felt less like deal-breakers and more like opportunities for improvement.
TDC brings something genuine to Mirpur: a steakhouse that wants to be more than just a place to eat. There is a sense of earnestness in the environment — from the wooden textures and Texan cowboy décor to the unobtrusive music and staff who remain attentive without hovering.
In a city increasingly saturated with new eateries, standing out requires more than well-placed décor and clever branding. With some fine-tuning in a few areas, TDC Steakhouse could easily secure its place among Dhaka's notable steakhouses.
