EMERGE STEAKHOUSE — Restaurant in Victoria

My boyfriend took me to your lovely restaurant while I was visiting from Canada! 🇨🇦

I have good news and bad news: the good news is, this was the best meal I had during my entire 3-week stay in Australia. The bad news is, I can never go back to another steak restaurant without comparing it to Emerge and the wonderful food we had there!!

We’d been to a few steak restaurants while I was down, in Geelong and Melbourne, but they didn’t compare to Emerge. The place was recommended by my boyfriend’s foodie friend and I’m so glad he took the recommendation!! It was truly the culinary highlight of my trip!

We both had the full blood wagyu steak, medium rare, a 9 on the marbling scale (the highest possible!). I wish I could come up with the words to describe how much we loved it… It was thick and perfectly cooked with a beautiful crispness on the outside and delicately soft and buttery on the inside. The two of us like to talk while we eat together but this experience had us both silent while we took in the complexity of the flavours and the deliciousness that we had never tried before. The only time we managed to speak was to communicate how happy we were and how much we were enjoying ourselves!!

The steak was the star of the show but the entrée and sides also deserve mentioning!!

We had the crocodile tail to start with! It was our first time trying crocodile and we were impressed with the flavour and fascinated by the texture. If you’re unsure if it’s for you, the closest thing I can compare it to is chicken, but a little tougher! I’m glad we tried it!

Our sides were the pumpkin with mint yogurt and the hand cut chips with wagyu fat.

Boyfriend had the yogurt sauce since I can’t eat dairy, but the pumpkin was amazing even without the sauce!! I had no idea that pumpkin could be so soft and flavourful, it was cooked to perfection.

The hand cut chips were crispy yet soft and fresh! The wagyu fat gave them so much flavour, they completed the steak beautifully. The only downside is that I couldn’t eat as many as I wanted due to the richness of the steak! I was filling up fast!

If you’re planning to go to Emerge, make sure you show up hungry!! We both agreed on one word to sum up our experience: rich. If you want to shower your taste buds in luxury, this is the place to do it. We left full, happy, and satisfied on so many levels.

Thank you for making the last dinner on my vacation one to remember! We will most definitely be back when I return...

The dining experience was fine on a whole but I just felt like it was unpolished.

As you walk into the venue the first striking thing is the gas meter affixed to the left hand wall, It sticks out like a sore thumb and could easily be fixed by draping a black curtain to the side of the table built on top of it.

The waitstaff were friendly but did not feel present, we went on a quiet lunch and there was 3 tables all towards the front of the venue and the waitstaff were at the bar, on their phones when not doing anything else. Being seated so far away created a divide between the guests and the staff, as if we weren't welcome in the rest of the venue. It would make more sense to seat guests closer to the bar on a quiet service anyway as the staff wouldn’t have to run back and forth as far.

The bathroom artworks felt tacky, especially in contrast to the beautiful large canvases in the dining room. If you were worried about negative space in the bathrooms, colourful animal prints were not the solution.

My guest had a Scotch Fillet and myself the Wellington. The scotch fillet was cooked as specified and no issues there at all. The Wellington was underwhelming, instead of a single piece of fillet beef, I received the tail of three pieces rolled into one. This was disappointing as I am looking at other reviews where this isn’t the case and feel a bit ripped off. It really changed the texture of the dish, and meant there was no beautified pink cross face on the meat. The duxelle was super chunky, not sure if that’s what they were going for but it’s not what I am used to on a Wellington.

I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a BAD experience. I would normally overlook aforementioned at a pub or cafe but I felt that when you’re paying 70-80 for a piece of protein before sides or condiments are are added in… well it’s a bit rich.

I haven’t dropped the rating from 5 stars because I know how frustrating it is getting 1 bad rating and needing 20 good ones to get it back. I don’t want to be that guy and I’m only writing a review because it felt so close to being a good experience save for a few glaring...

EMERGE STEAKHOUSE, 112 Ryrie Street, Geelong Look for the fresh/aged meat in the window. A must-visit destination, offering one of the most exceptional, top-ranking dining experiences in the region. I visited for a midweek birthday lunch and I’ll definitely be back at every opportunity to sample the entire menu!

The mouth-watering, world-class steaks were cooked to perfection, made with fresh, high-quality produce. The smoky bourbon BBQ sauce on the beef short rib was incredible—melting in your mouth with each bite. Every dish we had was absolutely delectable. The diverse menu caters to all dietary preferences, including fantastic vegetarian options.

What really stood out was the amazing staff and chefs. They were incredibly accommodating, handling my egg, garlic, onion, chilli, cow’s milk, and sulphate allergies with ease. Truly impressive!

Atmosphere: Relaxed yet classy, with warm lighting and soft background music. The intimate setting allowed for conversations to flow without being drowned out by surrounding voices, creating a comfortable dining experience.

Front-of-house service was outstanding. The staff were smiling, welcoming, and attentive, striking the perfect balance between professionalism and warmth, making this a truly memorable experience.

I absolutely loved dining at EMERGE today.

Be prepared for a food coma or consider sharing! Here’s what we ate: • Caramel Sticky Soy Pork Belly, nam jim slaw, toasted sesame • Cape Grim Beef Short Rib, 14-hour slow-cooked with smoky bourbon BBQ sauce • Rangers Valley, Glen Innes Scotch Fillet, Marble Score 9+, 500g – (Next time, I’d definitely share this, as I had to take half of it home!) • Broccolini, Green Beans, lemon oil, goat’s cheese, toasted almonds • Mac & Cheese, bacon, jalapeños, parmesan crumb • Hand-Cut Chips, wagyu fat, rosemary salt We even had to take home the Sticky Date Pudding, with butterscotch sauce, vanilla bean ice cream, and cream.

BTW, my photography does not do the...