Steer Bar and Grill
Steer Bar and Grill is located right under the Olsen Hotel on Chapel Street, you can’t miss it. If you ever walk passed it you would have seen the impressive fibreglass cow glaring out at potential diners. This is a truly steakhouse experience, where each table is presented a massive board showcasing all the beef cuts available. Sympathies for the poor old waiter, that has to haul it out all night every night.
P.S. I ate here back in April, so please bear with my lack of finer details. I have dilemma’d over writing this post for a while now, but have decided to share my thoughts after all.
Our steak selection:
Sher F1 Wagyu, Rib eye (1 kilogram)
O’Connor Black Angus Rib eye
Desserts:
Flamed Bombe Alaska
Steer’s Sundae
Vanilla pannacotta
Chocolate cake
Although I do appreciate my steaks, I would only have it once in a while. There are several reasons why. There are few places that do it well, and even then there are even fewer instances where my tastebuds have been seduced. Call me a snob, but for me a steak is great only if all the stars align – from the cow, to the preparation, to the final execution and even diner preference.
Our meal at Steer is the perfect example of where a small glitch (even if its the customer’s fault) in one step can ruin the entire experience. The quality of the steaks here were undeniable (nor was the cost), the execution was as we had requested (medium rare). But having overlooked the fact that the F1 wagyu with a very high marbling ratio cooked medium rare would mean much of the marbling would remain largely un-rendered. Don’t get me wrong, I love my wagyu and the fact it melts in your mouth, but a tad longer on the grill would have been preferred. I don’t blame the waiter for taking the order (it was clearly our naivety that stemmed the problem), but it would have been nice say if they had encouraged us to have it cooked a certain way to produce the desired texture.
A little ranting tangent aside, we still enjoyed our dining experience at Steer, and I would still score it at least Rating: Yummy+1, for the produce and range of selection is excellent, the porterhouse was perfect, and the desserts are pretty darn good as well. And not to mention, there is (as of July 2013) a darn cheap Friday lunch special to lessen the blow to the wallet. I would give them another try, but this time armed with questions to ensure the end result is the texture I want it.
[Steer Bar and Grill]
Where: 641 Chapel St, South Yarra
Contact: 03 9040 1188.
Open for dinner daily.
