Nioka Steakhouse — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

We dined at Nioka on Saturday evening. We made a last minute online reservation earlier that afternoon for ourselves and our older children (10, 10 & 11 years). Having dined at many restaurants along Honeysuckle we anticipated great quality food and service to match. Being there was a kids’ menu we assumed older well-behaved kids would be made to feel welcome and we also booked an earlier 5:30pm sitting so we would not be there during their busiest time - however we were very wrong. Upon being seated at the back of the restaurant, the service manager immediately began a long-winded 5-10 minute explanation suggesting I had made 2 separate bookings for 2 different tables, but that it was OK, he had my back and would waive any cancellation fees for the second table. I was very confused as I had made one simple online booking a couple of hours earlier and certainly hadn’t made a second one. It was clearly a system glitch. I offered to show him my booking confirmation email (I had received just the one), but he didn’t care and was more interested in highlighting an inconvenience for the restaurant and heroing himself for saving the day. About 10 minutes later he then seated another couple at the table next to ours and in a very loud voice apologised a number of times for where he had seated them, stating “I’m so sorry to have to put you at this table, it is the only one we have left.” I was again quite confused and looked around - there was absolutely nothing wrong with the table itself or its location - other than being seated next to a table with 3 children, I soon gathered. Not long after (still waiting on food), the manager came over to check how our meals were (though we hadn’t received any at this point) and made an unnecessary remark about how he used to be a swim teacher so understood the challenges of having kids, and then asked our children directly when they planned on misbehaving. Our children were seated, quiet and well-behaved throughout the meal. I doubt anyone else in the restaurant would even have been aware of their presence. Food eventually came out after a 1 hour + wait. The steak was fine, although a little sinewy in parts and definitely not the best we’ve had - and also not what we expected for a $240 shared cut of meat. Our daughter’s pasta came out and at $30 per kid’s meal, it was around 3-4 tablespoons worth. Consequently we had to order another serve of pasta to fill her up, which to their credit they did take off the bill when we questioned it. All in all, we were very disappointed. Our meal was tainted by the attitude of this particular staff member, and we were not made to feel welcome at all, from the moment we entered the restaurant. Very inexperienced wait staff and incredibly sub-standard food for this price point. Nioka sadly struck us as a restaurant trying very hard to be something it is not. There are so many other great restaurants on Honeysuckle, so don’t waste your time or pay check on this one. We generally eat out just the two of us and wouldn’t ordinarily take our kids into town for a meal, but a word of advice: if you’re not welcoming of families with older kids (and clearly this was the case on the evening we attended), get rid of the kid’s menu altogether. On the upside for management - we...

Nioka Steakhouse TLDR: Excellent food, great atmosphere, priced for a variety of occasions. If you can muster up the group for it, highly recommend the private dining room.

Sourdough with Coppertree Whipped Butter: 4/5- Solid, no complaints, bread was fresh, butter was creamy smooth and lightly seasoned

Small plates: 4.5/5 Pan Fried Potato gnocchi: 5/5- no contest my favourite of the small plates, perfectly crisp, amazing flavour, well rounded plate with some greens Seared scallops: 3.5/5- not a fan of scallops typically, the dish would have to be amazing to garner a high rating anywhere, especially for the price they often drum up. Roasted Bone Marrow w/ Sourdough: 5/5- Amazing! a table favourite, such that we ordered a second serving. Silky texture, rich fatty flavour that paired perfectly with sourdough. Bresaola: 3.5/5- first time having bresaola and pleasantly surprised. Nutty/crunchy elements paired nicely with the meat layer on the bottom and the shaved pecorino romano on top. Soft shell crab: 4/5- Nice crisp batter, really balanced plate. Went beautifully with the lime aioli, and celeriac freshened the dish up, well presented. Sicilian style grilled octopus: 4/5- nicely tender, subtle chili warmth, wouldn't say that it was at all spicy, tomato complimented the gentle smokiness of the octopus

Beef: 4.5/5 Icon XB Australian Wagyu Striploin: MVP, exceptional, tender, great fat distribution and for the price, 6/5 no question. Miyazaki A5 Japanese Wagyu: 4.5/5- beautiful marbling, smooth as butter and gone in an instant. Dry aged Bistecca: 5/5-Showtopper, beautifully intense, doesn't benefit greatly from any additional sauces due to its natural flavour and still some meat to hack off at on the bone if you don't mind getting primal. Wet aged Tomahawk: 5/5- Tender, flavourful, plentiful. In my opinion this steak paired best with the sauces, of which the best was the Chimichurri.

Tiramisu: 5/5- This dessert was amazing, and on the night, I helped myself to more than one serving. The espresso glaze is very rich, the team deliver it separately so that you can choose just how influential it is on your final dish of the night. For some, and only for some it may be too rich, so advisable not to dump all of the glaze on there before you try some. Tiramisu itself is amazing, fluffy, sweet, and appropriately portioned.

Overall highly recommend dining at Nioka. Whilst we tried just about everything on the night, you can definitely visit on a range of occasions depending on the preferred price point. Waitstaff were friendly, helpful and accommodating. Wait time was extremely fast considering how many things we ordered, had they taken longer I would still say it would be more than reasonable. One item I would love to try next time is the 12h hour brisket. One item I wouldn't get again is the Scallops, to be honest they just aren't my thing. One thing I would get every time is the Icon XB Aus Wagyu, no matter the occasion the quality at that...

My hubby and I dined here last night and we had very different steak experiences. He ordered the eye of the rump and it was cooked perfectly, flavoursome and tender. Melted in your mouth with just a bit of sinew which you expect for this cut. I ordered the butcher’s cut and it was cooked perfectly, flavoursome but was inedible. First bite and I was so disappointed to be biting down on a tough piece of meat and this was the same whether it was an outer or middle piece. I have suffered a few tough steaks in my life from cheap supermarket meat but never have I returned it to the chef, tough but still edible. This one had no choice but to go back because I couldn’t even politely try to eat it and keep my teeth. The lovely waitress apologised and handled it very well. She offered for them to cook me a rushed replacement but I declined because we had unfortunately waited just over an hour for our steaks and I wanted to dine with my hubby, not after he had finished. She returned a few times throughout the evening to apologise which wasn’t necessary but showed she was genuine and offered a complimentary dessert, drink or cocktail but I didn’t complain about my steak to receive a freebie so I declined. Overall this lovely waitress saved the day. I picked at the side of chips and cheesy gnocchi (give this one a miss) while hubby ate his steak and we still enjoyed the evening as the atmosphere was relaxed and everyone else seemed to be enjoying their steaks. I don’t think they ordered the butcher’s cut! So after recovering from a tough steak and an hour waiting for it, as hubby was waiting for me at the entrance to the restaurant a different waitress charged over to him questioning if he had paid for our meal and from what he has said she was unnecessarily rude and unapologetic when he politely confirmed he had. He isn’t one to be riled up but I could see he clearly was. Again, the nice waitress smoothed the waters with him and our night was over. Not what we hoped for but not the end of the world.

Would we return, sadly no. If you market yourself as a steakhouse then your all of your steaks need to be the finest in the land and one out of two doesn’t cut it. Also, the wait was unreasonably long and we weren’t the only ones. But the clincher was the waitress that finished the night on an unpleasant note especially after I had graciously copped an inedible steak in a steakhouse, not the local RSL. There are ways you can ask a question and when wrong own your mistake. On a separate note, after enjoying the most divine sandwiches we have ever had in our lives for lunch we set this as our benchmark for the evening meal. Hands down Arno deli was the winner of the day, even with an almost 30 minute wait. This is what carried me through dinner. I had the number 10 and the rare roast beef was moist and tender. Best steak of...