With a variety of mixed reviews, we were a bit hesitant to dine here, however THANK GOD we did! Everything from the food to the service was absolutely spot on. This is a restaurant to provides a total experience, not just good food.
ATMOSPHERE
This is your typical steak house done right. It’s hard to pass by without noticing the large fiberglass cow staring at you, which does a good job of luring you in. Located at the far end of Chapel Street, the space screams class. From the purple hue of the lights to the artistic feature wall, the space is filled with large wooden tables, beautiful banquette seating and plush cushions to relax on.
The space is separated into a few different sections which include the main dining room space, plus two separate private dining spaces. The first located on the ground floor, seating up to 20 guests and the second, more private space is located upstairs, which offers its own private bar, seating up to 40 guests.
FOOD
When seated, you are presented with two separate menus. One with Appetizers, Tataki Bar, Oyster Bar, House Salads, Mains and Desserts. The second, dedicated to just beef! With more than 25 different cuts to choose from, everything from 1000gm Rib Eyes to 250gm Tenderloins and everything in between. The menu showcases grain-fed, grass-fed, level of ageing and wagyu marble scores so you know exactly what you are ordering. This is a meat loves heaven to say the least.
It might be a bit full on to get your head around the copious amounts of meat to choose from, so to help understand what you’re reading, the waitress brings over a board of the different cuts of meat. She fully explains the marbling and what you are ordering to ensure it’s exactly what you want (since pricing is a bit on the steep side). Weight of that board? Over 10Kg!!
Once decided on what meat we wanted, we ordered a few small entrees to get the night started. ‘Zucchini Flowers’ filled with lemon buffalo ricotta and warm caponata was a beautiful starter. The batter was light and crisp and the zucchini flower was crunchy, creating a beautiful mix of textures and worked wonders with the lemon ricotta.
‘Oysters Natural’, served with lemon and Barolo shallot vinegar, not my thing, but the group did say they were tasty. I especially liked the added touch of the lemon being wrapped to avoid squirting other guests when squeezing.
And then, the highlight of the night came out, STEAK! You’d expect that coming to a steak house, they would know how to cook your steak accordingly and they do not disappoint. The dish was presented with a small salad and a crumbed roasted bone marrow with mashed potato filling. A wonderful little touch to the dish instead of just presenting an empty plate.
Once the meat was served, a second waiter followed with a board of condiments to choose from. There was something for everyone on the board; bearnaise sauce to onion jam and horse radish were a few of the options available. (Apologies for the blurry photo, lighting was not the best for photos here)
Since I’m not a huge meat lover, I went with the ‘Truffled Potato Gnocchi’, which was served with creamed wild mushrooms, snaps, peas and beans. When first presented I was a bit concerned that it wouldn’t be very filling, however it was a struggle to finish. Flavours worked beautifully together and the gnocchi was soft and fluffy with a small touch of pan fried flavour to them.
Sides included a stack of onion rings and steak chips. The onion rings were on the greasy side and the further you went down the stack, the greasier they got. Chips were tasty and very crispy.
SERVICE
The amount of staff working was quite impressive. There was a different job for almost everyone and it seemed like each table had 4 different waiters. One to welcome you and take your order, one to showcase the meat board and condiment board, and one to pour your wine.
At no point during our meal did we need to look for a waiter for a top up of water or wine. The service was attentive without being overly available to ensure you enjoyed your visit with minimal interruptions.
Although there have been some mixed reviews on the quality of food and service from others, I would definitely recommend Steer Bar and Grill to anyone looking for a romantic night out with amazing food and wine. The experience in itself is like no other in Melbourne and is truly worth the money paid.
