Steer

5th October 2012

After heading out to Vue De Monde last year for my birthday dinner, i decided to head out for another extravagant dinner to celebrate my birthday. I settled on a place that i had yet to go to and had received a Hat in the latest Good Food Guide 2013, Steer. Steer, as the name suggests, was focused on beef and was a throwback to the great traditions of New York steakhouses but with some modern touches and embellishments.

After arriving early to catch up with Joe, my brother, we were escorted upstairs to the separate bar. Located in the Olsen hotel, the dining room had a dark modern feel with modern art hanging and lots of glass and black fittings. The restaurant was punctuated with a black wooden Steer to meet you at the door. The upstairs bar had a separate feel and also headed out to the hotel.

After selecting 2 beers (budvar) from the extensive and varied list, we settled down into some stools and had a chat whilst everyone else arrived. After a few arrived we were moved down to our table. Our table was located at the back of the restaurant and slightly secluded from the rest with the wine cellar to one side. Wood tables and wooden block holding our ornate cutlery (including a very nice steak knife) and matching well with the ultimate steakhouse theme.

After everyone had arrived and was seated we were instructed to flip our place mat by our charming, confident and quirky waitress to show our menu for the evening. Unfortunately with the size of our booking, we were forced to pre select only three dishes from a range of 10 entrees and five mains. We were also offered in advance the choice between 2 or 3 course which i opted for 2 and left desert up to individual dinners. This was a slightly disappointing draw back.

With the entrees, i selected for the 3 options - a Crisp Calamari and Pork Belly, hummus, dukkah and pomegranate; Buffalo Ricotta Gnudi and Miso Roast Scallops, pork crackling, Japanese spices and daikon. I went with the Crisp Calamari and Pork belly. Perfectly fried pieces of calamari and fatty cubes of pork belly with great flavour and texture were perfectly matched with the smoky hummus, nutty dukkah and contrasted by the sweet pomegranate seeds.

For main everyone had the choice of 3 dishes being a Scotch Fillet, Eye Fillet or Market Fish with werribee artichoke barigoule and asparagus. The steaks were served with roast bone marrow and spring salad. Everyone ordered a steak and forgo the market fish but i had previous organised with the staff for a special bday steak, a David Blackmore 900g Wagyu Rib Eye steak served on the bone (for a proposed supplement of $109 - however they only charged an additional $30 bringing the total to $109). The meat was magnificent - ridiculously smooth, silky and buttery, perfectly cooked with a pink inside and a slightly charred outside with nice grill marks criss-crossing the meat. Was also a massive cut of meat and i was definitely not hungry afterwards. Would have been worth the exorbitant price quoted but for the lower price was a steal.



As part of the 2 course menu offer, the steak was also accompanied by a number of sides - Steak chips, salad, spring greens, Asparagus and the best of the bunch Onion rings. The chips and salad were great but the standout were the extra crisp batter and great flavour of the onion rings. A must for anyone who ventures to Steer.

We then moved onto the important decision of the evening. Must to the horror of my brother, i declared that yes i would like the desert menu (after demolishing the 900g steak). As this was not part of the set menu we were offered the full desert list. The deserts also stuck to the new york style theme with a version of Reece's peanut butter cup, donuts, new york cheesecake, bombe Alaska and my desert - a Strawberry Bakewell Tart / Ice Cream Sundae.

Two deserts in one, with a slice of moist bakewell tart with a layer of strawberry jam running through the middle. Accompanying this was three scoops of ice cream and this was accompanied by meringue blobs, strawberries, strawberry gel and square blocks of chocolate fudge. Decadent, beautiful (presented on a wooden board shown half eaten below), full of flavour this was a great desert and was well worth stuffing down after steak.

Overall a fantastic night out with great company and superb food. A real focus on quality produce and ingredients, especially the steak, but with some quality and refinement in the dishes. The cost of the meal varied on the quality and expense of the steak chosen but the other items were very reasonably priced ($79 for 2 courses and extensive sides - Entrees $14, sides $8 and deserts $12 on al a carte menu) and you would never complain about portion size or not being full at the end of the meal. For an amazing steak and some outstanding cooking i would fully recommend a trip to Steer.