Marble and Grain — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

Ambiance: Upon entering Marble and Grain, I was immediately taken aback by the chic and sophisticated decor. The restaurant exudes a modern yet comfortable atmosphere, making it ideal for both intimate dinners and social gatherings. The dimly lit space and soft background music added to the overall sense of relaxation. The marble accents and stylish furnishings further enhanced the dining experience, creating an atmosphere of refined luxury.

Service: The service at Marble and Grain was impeccable. The staff was attentive, knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about the menu offerings. From the moment I sat down, I felt well taken care of. They were more than happy to answer any questions about the menu and offer recommendations based on personal preferences.

Appetizers: To start my culinary journey, I opted for the chef's selection of appetizers, which showcased a variety of flavors and textures. The dashi prawn was a standout, featuring succulent oysters, perfectly cooked prawns, and tender calamari. Each element was fresh and complemented by unique house-made dipping sauces. The crispy arancini balls were delightful bursts of flavor, and the roasted beetroot and goat cheese salad added a refreshing touch to the overall appetizer experience.

Main Course: For the main course, I savored the mouthwatering 30-day dry-aged ribeye steak. Cooked to perfection, the steak was tender and juicy with a rich, smoky flavor that left me craving for more. Accompanied by a delectable truffle-infused mashed potato and roasted seasonal vegetables, this dish was a true masterpiece of culinary artistry. The menu offers a wide range of main course options, catering to various tastes and dietary preferences.

Dessert: No meal is complete without dessert, and Marble and Grain did not disappoint. The raspberry broulee cake was a revelation – decadent, gooey, and perfectly balanced in sweetness. The presentation was equally impressive, with a drizzle of raspberry coulis and a scoop of velvety vanilla ice cream that enhanced the overall experience. The dessert menu boasts a variety of delightful sweet treats, making it hard to pick just one.

Beverages: The restaurant's well-curated wine list offered an excellent selection of local and international wines, which paired beautifully with the dishes. The sommelier's recommendations were spot-on, and the carefully crafted cocktails were...

TLDR: Lunch for 2, meals were meh, local wine was great, French Champagne by glass - not recommended.

Visiting Canberra and we went looking for a good Steak Sandwich to share, a cold beer for me, glass of champagne for her. Google reviews and internet searches said this place had both.

Turns out the Steak "sandwich" is now a roll stuffed with shredded steak for $22 and the French "Champagne' was Veuve D'argent Blanc de Blanc ($14/120 ml) but from Burgundy and whilst it is in France. . It is not a "Champagne" as touted by the Menu by the glass listing. On closer inspection of the bottle both Blanc de Blanc and Brut appear on the label (weird?). Nevertheless, she is not one to shy away from smaller growers and/or a decent Cremant, she got a cautionary taste of it, but, it was not great and did not meet her expectation of what was displayed on the wine card.

So we skipped both our original ideas and went with a mix of share plates and a glass of Nick O'Leary's Riesling and Rose from Murrumbateman - they were the highlights of the lunch, both delightful.

Wagyu beef cheek croquettes $19 : our combined view, dry and not overly tasty or interesting. Our expectation was that they would be moist and gelatinous and full of slow cooked flavour... they weren't.

Seared Canadian Scallops with Pork Belly $26: forgettable, honestly I can't recall, so let's assume they were neither great nor terrible,

Green Tomato Salad with Szechuan Pepper, mint and cucumber $15: again, just my expectation, but if the menu lists the ingredients in a specific order my guess is that there will be a majority of the first followed by a descending amount of the others.. have a look at the photo, and due to the high res image you may pick up the microscopic dusting of red Szechuan pepper and mint flakes with some fairly decent chunks of cucumber. I can't verify that the two flavouring ingredients were as stated because I couldn't see them or taste their presence. She had a preference for the cucumber over the (possibly under seasoned?) green tomato so that probably speaks volumes about the amount of the tomato that was left over untouched.

Rustic Fries $11: similar to the Scallops, not terrible, not great, forgettable.

For a shared lunch of $103.50 for two at "Canberra's #1 European Steak house" it underwhelmed on all fronts, not bad, not great,...

This place advertises their business to be an upper end restaurant but what I was met with was terrible service and even worse food, I am clearly not a member of the Royal Family although I do expect some form of ‘hospitality’ when I am dining in somewhere.

We were told to order our food and drinks at the bar even though the place was practically empty and had someone who seemed to be of a supervisory position at the door who clearly would have been very capable of taking our order and entering it into the POS machine which was the first issue.

When we ordered our drinks, they didn’t mention to us that they had no more ice so we were served room temperature cocktails which was disappointing so me and my partner decided to get Tequila Sunrises instead and BOTH the Bartenders did not know what that was, so I had to tell them how to make it. (I am a Bartender myself and I understand to have patience if someone is being trained but the fact that both the Bartenders didn’t know how to make a Tequila & Orange Juice with a splash of Raspberry Cordial was just beyond me…)

If things couldn’t get worse, we had to wait 45 minutes after ordering our food to receive a bland Ribeye which I paid upwards of $60 for, aswell as a Scotch Fillet that was ordered Medium Rare and came out Blue.

There was no offer of compensation, instead we were met with a staff member offering to bring the SAME Scotch Fillet into the kitchen to cook it for a longer time. To be honest, I refused and I asked for a whole new steak as it was a very unprofessional and casual response to someone’s food being literally served RAW.

We waited twenty minutes for a new steak to arrive and it tasted great, all for the same supervisor to come up to us while we were eating and tell us that the restaurant was closing in ten minutes and that we had to finish and leave.

We once again refused and stayed to finish the food as that was extremely unprofessional and rude especially after we had to complain about the quality of the original meal we ordered.

If you are travelling to Canberra, I really agree with some of the reviews on here…

Just go to the Meat & Wine Co.

Thanks for a waste of $200,...