Meat and Wine Co Melbourne

Freshwater Place 3 Queensbridge St
Southbank, VIC 3006
Ph: (03) 9696 5333
Website: Meat and Wine Co

My work mate Sari, a vacation student from New Zealand, generously offered to shout me dinner as thanks for helping him out at work during his stint. We decided to go to Meat and Wine Co after he visited it a week earlier and loved it. I had heard recommendations from other friends about this place but just never got round to going. There are far too many eating options in Melbourne.


When we arrived, I could smell the meat from far outside the restaurant already. We were seated in the outdoor undercover area, which I really liked on a warm-ish Summer's night. The menu definitely consists of a lot of steaks of various cuts and types. Seeing as it was their speciality, we both decided to go for steaks as our mains. I ordered a Rib Eye medium, while Sari got the New York well done. I glared at him and asked if he was sure he wanted it well done. He said he didn't like blood in his meat, which is fair enough. We're been constantly taught by chefs and restaurants that steaks and fish must not be fully cooked and that would be deemed a failure but what if you really like your meat well done? Who gets to be the arbitrator of how we eat things? Anyway I digress, that topic is for another blog post.


For our entrees, we decided to try the African Boerwers Sausages and just some garlic bread. The African sausages tasted good initially, but then started to taste quite bad the more I ate. There was a totally overpowering herb that I couldn't identify. I also found the polenta cakes that were served with them quite stodgy. Our mains of Steak though, were very good. My rib eye was cooked perfectly and was beautifully tender. It already had a glaze on it, but they still offer you the choice of a side (chips, vegetables, salad) and a sauce. The sauce was good but I didn't feel the steak needed it, as it was very juicy, tender, and flavoursome as it was. Sari's well done steak was still soft despite my fears.


For desserts, I got the Chocolate Fondant, while Sari got the Banoffee Pie. The fondant was ok, undercooked in the centre and a bit dry on the outside. I liked the flavour combination of the tart but as I already knew, it was super sweet and rich. I mean, you can't really combine tonnes of caramel, whippped cream, caramelised banana in a pastry shell and not get a super rich dessert.



Service was very good, with our waitress being friendly and efficient. I liked the vibe sitting in the outdoor area and seeing the passerbys and the Yarra. Something about dining al fresco really captures me. The entrees and desserts were borderline passable, but the steaks were very good. I would come back and try some different entrees and desserts with the steak, or maybe just skip those and order the steak alone.

Overall Rating: 13/20, Steaks are very good.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.