The Meat & Wine Co Southbank — Restaurant in Melbourne

Review from May 2023: 😍 Cauliflower Mac and Cheese: Elevated, sophisticated take on a classic. Complex flavours. Loved the pepper and cauliflower accents – cauliflower doesn't dominate but has a good presence. Crispy breadcrumb were a highlight. Overall tender and juicy – not all coagulated like some M&C can be. The best mac and cheese I've ever had.

👎 Burger: Beef patty was thick, juicy, and had a nice char to it. With the onions and sauce, it felt like eating a steak, which was different but a good thing. However, the mouthfeel didn't feel quite right – there wasn't enough contrast between the different elements: the lettuce seemed to be shredded and melded into the heel of the bun, the onion rings weren't crispy at all (more like floury), and the patty needed to be seared more – it fell apart towards the end. However, chips were perfect this time, after I asked for them to be extra crispy and sufficiently salted.

❤️ Apple and Rhubarb Crumble: I thoroughly enjoyed this rustic dessert. The apple and rhubarb weren't very tart, as sometimes you find. The vanilla ice cream was lovely and creamy, and the custard tied it all together.

Review from 2023: ❤️ Salmon Skewer: Perfectly cooked medium; subtle seasoning – squeeze of lemon made it perfect; eye-catching presentation

😍 Tomato Salad: Each seasonal tomato was crisp, juicy, and bursting with flavour. Clearly, only the highest quality produce is being used. The goat's cheese was delicious, as was the burnt onion puree. I would probably order it with a lighter main though, as I felt quite full after it.

❤️ New York Sour: Enjoyable cocktail, with balanced flavours – easy to sip throughout the meal.

👎 Chips: No salt at all, so it was quite bland. They did offer to remake it for me, but I opted for dipping sauces and grinding salt over it myself instead. I would probably choose the garden salad option next time.

👎 Jerky: Pretty ordinary – if you've tried jerky, you've tried them all IMO. Save your money for a more interesting side.

❤️ Hospitality: still top-notch and professional. Ambiance is calm and relaxing.

Review from 2022: I ordered the Three Course Express Lunch, and l couldn't have been more pleased. The Szechuan Calamari melted in my mouth. I loved the balanced seasoning and the Nam Jim sauce was a lovely complement.

The 250g Wagyu Rump was masterfully cooked medium (as requested) throughout. A very high quality cut, this definitely isn't your average steak. I usually bristle at the thought of ordering a steak, but you'd be mistaken to choose anything else here. The Veal Jus subtly brought out the beefy flavour – nothing else needed. The chips were evenly cooked – crispy exterior; fluffy interior.

The Strawberry Crème Brûlée was the perfect way to round out a delightful meal.

The staff were friendly, courteous and professional. I...

Updated Review: following my first review the manager called and discussed my experience. Several months later; tonight was an entirely different experience. Pork belly was truly superb and the steak delightful, perfectly cooked (rare). The sides were well presented and tasty. All in all very good meal with good quality food and service (prompt, attentive and engaging)

Recommendation to establishment: I continue to suggest that the chips they use are ordinary and add nothing to the meal. They are essentially McCain steak fries. Be more creative and innovative.

The lighting on the second floor needs to be slightly brighter. My partner had to use her phone up read the menu.

Overall: excellent meal, excellent service with some very minor imperfections in atmosphere. Old review so you can see they are responsive to feedback; So I don't usually give poor reviews but... The bruschetta lacked flavor, they then forgot out mains, frustrating but I understand how tough hospitality is doing it at the moment. When our mains arrived, an hour after being seated, the steaks were mis-plated and over cooked, they also had forgotten our sides.... 😤.. begrudgingly I sent my steak back and waited longer. 8 minutes later a much better steak arrived. The wait start did their best to remedy the situation, but by this time my wife and I were frustrated and disappointed, I appreciate they were trying but the comedy of errors just piled up.

Sooooooo what was the food like; second steak was good, but not brilliant. The chips were disappointing. As an establishment charging $79+ for a 300 gram steak, I probably expect something more than 'birds eye' steak fries; at that price point I expect a fluffy home cut chip. We ordered onion rings, which were... Onion bits in batter... The night prior we had enjoyed amazing onion rings at Third Wave.... The ones we got at the Meat and Wine Co paled in comparison, they were lots of cooked batter with bits of onion. In the end we didn't try the greens side as it was forgotten and passed on dessert as we thought it best to cut our loses.

Whilst things weren't up to our expectations the staff realized the issues and sought to rectify things after we enquired about our meals. I will give them a second shot as I understand the challenges faced in the industry and I'll update my review.

In the meantime recommend - they need better chips and onion rings, better attention to detail, and more focus on...

🐓 Portuguese Chicken Thigh Skewer 🥩 Eye Fillet, Salad 🧀 Truffle Mac and Cheese 🍫 Sticky Date Pudding

The Meat and Wine Co is an African inspired steakhouse restaurant established way back in 2000 now with 4 locations in Melbourne. We visited their Southbank venue, which had a million dollar renovation, spans over 3 levels and offers views of the Yarra River and the city skyline. It also features a open kitchen, adding that element of theatre to your experience.

The restaurant is known for their signature flame grilled skewers, ribs and premium steaks as well as their impressive wine list. We started with a few cocktails (Amaretto Sour and Raspberry Beret) that were absolutely on point. For entree we had to try the Portuguese Chicken Thigh Skewer - it ended up being dish of the night! It was marinated so well, had great char to it and super juicy. 🔥

The Eye Fillet Steaks were good, cooked perfectly to our liking and you could tell they were marinated well. It was not as tender as I expected and didn’t have that crisp outer I look for but it was still enjoyable. I would probably try another main on my next visit. The sauces were okay, the pepper sauce was overly peppery. 🥩

The Truffle Mac and cheese was great, it wasn’t overpowering but enough truffle to know that it’s there. I would’ve liked to see a bigger macaroni pasta used but I enjoyed it and it’s a very generous serving. Finishing with the Sticky Date Pudding was a fantastic idea, I love that the sauce was over the top rather than inside - and there was a lot of it. Heavenly! 🤤

I was pleasantly surprised by our visit, considering how long The Meat and Wine Co have been around I almost imagined it to be quite dated and overrated. It was the opposite of that - modern, beautifully designed and the music was a vibe. We did have some issues with service with some long wait times between courses and dead plates left on the table for too long. These were apologised for and complimentary dessert, coffee and tea were offered to...