THE MEAT & WINE CO

3 Queensbridge St, Southbank - ph: (03) 9696 5333

http://themeatandwineco.com

The name says it all - you come here for meat (enormous pieces of it) and wine (quite comprehensive list for a steak restaurant).

The Meat & Wine Co. is an international chain of steakhouses. They have restaurants in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In Australia, the Meat & Wine Co. is in Melbourne and Sydney.

I'm normally not a fan of restaurant chains, specially American-style, huge-serving-sizes, greasy ones. On Southbank. So I had pretty low expectations about this dinner...

The restaurant's location is quite nice, with a large al fresco area facing the Yarra. Our table was right at the front and it was really nice to get a cool breeze on such a hot summer night.

Now, to the food. I ordered steak (their specialty; there are a few cuts, types and sizes to choose from), served with a side chips and pepper sauce.

I wasn't sure which cut of meat to go with, so asked the waiter for his suggestion. I was looking for something lean and not too big. He recommended the 'New Yorker' (Monte Gold, 120 days grain fed, 300g) and I went for it.

The 'New Yorker' (Monte Gold, 120 days grain fed, 300g) served with fat chips and pepper sauce ($34)

The meat was well cooked (medium rare), but way to fatty for my liking - given that I had specifically asked for a lean cut. I ended up leaving quite a lot of it on the plate, but the lean part that I did it was quite nice. The pepper sauce tasted very commercial - basically cream mixed with stock. Chips tasted alright.

Hubby went for the gigantic portion of pork ribs served with chips.

Pork ribs: full rack - 1kg ($52)

The ribs looked impressive when they were served. Obviously a lot of the 1kg was bones, but it was still a pretty big serve. I tried some of it and all I could taste was the really sweet and artificial sauce / glazing they used to make the ribs look so pink and glossy. It was hard to taste the actual meat underneath all that flavouring.

We also ordered some sharing plates for the table.

The mushrooms stuffed with fetta were probably the best dish of the night for me. I liked the crispy baked fetta and the fresh thyme leaves.

Stuffed mushrooms with fetta cheese ($8)

Onion rings were as greasy as they looked. I didn't try them.

Onion rings ($5)

Overall, I liked the ambiance of this restaurant and the service (surprising!). The food was probably in line with what I expected. In my opinion, you can get better value - and less GSM - elsewhere. I didn't hate it, but will not be rushing back either.