Meat & Grain Steakhouse Wollongong — Restaurant in Wollongong City Council

It is sad to see another steakhouse that fails to deliver on good steak. We looked at the menu and were excited about the dinner reservation. It was to celebrate a birthday and to finally try some wagyu steaks.

We arrived and were greeted with a pleasant smile, taken to our table and offered some table water. The staff were friendly, the still water was chilled and we were off to a good start.

For entree we ordered a serving of garlic bread and the salt and pepper squid. The garlic bread was a nice take however was just lacking some flavour. Perhaps I like a little more punch than others. The squid was delicious, well cooked and the aoli paired with the lemon slice made the dish delightful to eat. Very minor observation it was a little oily however would definitely recommend and order again.

As for the mains, we both ordered wagyu steaks (we were both extremely excited to try some wagyu), a 300g scotch fillet, and the 350g rump (cooked medium rare). Both with a side of chips, one with a red wine jus and the other with a pepper sauce. We ordered a single side of vegetables.

When they came out we were surprised. The scotch was not what we were looking forward to, it was sliced very thin, way too thin for my liking, if I was to hazard a guess no more than 10 to 15 millimetres thick. The steak was under seasoned, and no surprise over cooked. The chips looked like your average ever day chips, not some nice steak cut and the red wine jus tasted like tangy BBQ sauce that had been splashed with some wine. Overall the scotch was extremely underwhelming.

The rump didn't fare much better, it was also over cooked and way more chewing than required to eat. You could see where they had grilled one side to death and the other barely enough to leave grill marks, and the flavour well it was just ok not what we expected. The pepper sauce was ok but had no real pepper flavour, more just like a creamy sauce.

The bowl of side vegetables were nice, they were cooked well and had a nice flavour.

The wait staff were well... lets just say, we didn't have them come over again once our main meals were delivered. No offer of another glass of wine or even to see if we wanted dessert. At the end we just got up and left.

While paying the bill, over $200, we were asked how everything was, however they didn't seem to happy when we told them we were underwhelmed. At that point they were more interested in completing the transaction and saying goodbye.

On that note we say goodbye to you Meat & Grain steakhouse. I was really hoping for a good experience however this did not turn out to be so, and I really can't recommend you. First impressions last a lifetime and for wagyu steaks, you have ruined that for us. I've had better steak at my local football club bistro which is saying a lot.

We hope you pick you game up, and please don't apologise simply do better. Actions speak...

This place is definitely still finding its feet. I initially was so excited to have a new steak restaurant in the Gong! I have a friend who visited a couple of weeks ago who had said it was pretty good except their steak was rare instead of medium rare. Easy mistake, I thought, no big deal…

I booked in for date night and was super excited about the menu after viewing online. On arrival, we were greeted warmly and given a table in a cooler spot of the restaurant where it felt like the air con was directly above. Not a huge deal, we just kept our jackets on. We got to looking through the physical menu and given the aesthetic of the restaurant, I was quite disappointed in the wine list. Any steak restaurant should be expected to come with a decent wine list. The majority of the wines were by the bottle only. We ordered the squid for starters and it was great! Very well cooked and the aoli was delicious. By comparison, the table next to us ordered the squid also and received a serving twice the size of ours which did irritate us a little but, not to worry. We’d certainly ordered enough food to fill us up! For mains we ordered an eye fillet and half rack of pork ribs. The ribs looked amazing on arrival and the char shone through however they were lacking in meat which can be the case when purchasing to cook at home but not what you expect in a restaurant. The sauce was quite unimpressive without much punch. The eye fillet, just like my friend experienced, was undercooked and completely raw in the centre. Again, the flavour was great but the execution was poor. The sides were lovely. A lovely side salad came along with the ribs and the chips on the side of the steak were a great portion size - not overloading the plate. The biggest negative for us was the accidental addition of a bottle of wine to our bill. I was in a rush to pay the bill and only noticed the charge after paying the full $218. When we raised this mistake with the waitstaff, she took away the receipt and discussed it with two staff members before (I assume) the manager came over to apologise for the charge. Instead of just refunding us the cost of the wine $60+, he issued a refund for the entire amount of the bill and then asked us to pay the actual bill amount. Being one day prior to pay day, I didn’t have 300 odd dollars readily available to spend and had to pull from savings to settle the second charge as the refund was not instant.

I wouldn’t ordinarily leave such a negative review for a new restaurant but sadly there were just far too many negatives in the one experience. I truly hope they improve their overall service and quality as the flavours of the food were...

Would not return. Lovely decor, wait staff and front of house professional, food below average. Mocktails were not balanced and very strong, entrees of scallops with chorizo were brought to the attention of wait staff. Chorizo overcooked to the point it was blackened little discs. Scallops overcooked also suffering from some charring. Asked the waiter to bring it to the attention of the chef stating the issue and the chef might want to respond. The side salad with Mirin dressing which would have been good except it didn’t seem to be mixed as a dressing with oil and vinegar to balance it. Only mirin leaving it quite sweet. Mains of grass fed steak and New York both ordered as medium rare. One end was medium, the other medium rare. Side of garlic potatoes were very poor. They seem to have been advanced prepped/baked then flash fried with some fresh garlic. No problem in theory except the unseasoned potatoes were very dark and tasted like that were a couple of days old. Again some of our garlic was cooked, some was closer to raw. The chimchurri sauce was not fresh and also tasted old. The colour was a deep dark green soft mix usual with either jarred product or it has been sitting in the chiller for too long. In paying we asked for feedback from the chef about the entree and it had not been registered. After some conversation and promoting agreed to comp that entree. Two mocktails, 1 l of sparkling water, 2 entrees, two steaks and 1 extra side came to $202 once 1 entree was comp’d. We don’t enjoy posting poor reviews and would prefer just not to return. But this restaurant needs to get in a chef with experience in this cuisine. Soon after providing, quiet feedback about the entree, the young lady at the next table seemed to make a point of complimenting the waiter on the same entree she was eating, same looking over charred chorizo stating that it was delicious and she and her partner would return every year for their anniversary. I guess it takes all types but we shall unfortunately not be supporting this local...