Vegetarians, avert your eyes. Actually, just close this page immediately…
Have you done it yet?
Come on now.
No, really.
…
..
Well if you haven’t, it’s your own fault.
This is all about MEAT, GLORIOUS MEAT.
When I received the invite to The Butcher Shop and Grill, I had to play it cool. But inside I was all: WOOHOOOOOO! YEAH OH YEAH, I AM ON MY WAY! I AM GOING TO LIVE IN THIS RESTAURANT FOREVER!
Walking in, I was astounded by how big the place is. A fully functioning butchery, where you can choose your own cut of meat to eat there and then (or buy for home), plus a whopping 250 seater restaurant, and a 40 seater private dining room. The decor is contemporary and sophisticated, with some eclectic and quirky touches, such as wooden fans that are all joined together by a pulley system. Hard to explain, go see it.
The menu is extensive, which made me a bit anxious. Signature meat dishes (duh), signature mains, chicken, seafood, pork, lamb, and the list goes on. While I hear that their seafood is incredible quality, one does not just walk into a steakhouse and order fish. So, here we go…
The Butcher Shop and Grill Review
Starters
Chicken Liver // 72
Whenever I order chicken livers, I expect them to be spicy, and when they aren’t I am always disappointed. Except this time. These delicate, tender chicken livers, in a spinach cream sauce with brandy and chilli were divine. The brandy gave it the kick it needed to stop it from being too rich. And the hint of chilli was perfect for most of society, although I could do with a little more.
Prawn and Avo // 104
After giving Marvin a stern talking-to about not eating seafood in a steakhouse, I was still sorry to say “I told you so” when this dish wasn’t the greatest. Whilst very pretty, this avo, prawn, red and yellow pepper and cocktail sauce combo, lacked some flavour ‘ooomph’ and the prawns were tough. It had all the right components, but just didn’t hit the mark.
Oysters // SQ
Three words: fresh, fat, perfect.
Mains
With our mains we decided to go for some simple sides – mash, a sweet potato, and Morogo, which is a bitter wild African spinach that’s cooked with spring onion. You also receive a delish trio of mustard, BBQ sauce and pickled chilli with your meal.
Steak Tartare // 184
Steak tartare is my happy place. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I ordered the most incredible main on this planet, I would’ve been a very jealous human. Once you’ve had tartare of his quality, you will never go back. You can tell the standard of the meat when it comes to tartare, as there is nothing to hide its imperfections. Like a world without photoshop. Served with traditional toppings, this hunk of meat was an absolute treat. Egg yolk, spring onion, parsley, paprika, pepper, salt, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, cognac, pickles and more – each mouthful was unique.
Wagyu Beef // SQ
I’d never tried Wagyu beef properly before, except for this one time I had a slice of it on a canape at a launch – it had been massacred. This was a whole different story. This Kobe-style, Australian Wagyu was everything I had dreamed of and more. The animals are cared for and fed so well, that instead of having fat around each cut of meat, it is engrained throughout. It quite literally tasted like someone had mated a cow with a tub of butter. Somehow. Ok, I am sorry, that was a horrible description. Anyway, the meat was buttery goodness, it was tender, succulent and flavourful and certainly didn’t need the blue cheese sauce I ordered on the side.
Dessert
Cheesecake // 65
Depending when you go, you may have different flavour options. On this day, it was berry and it was ok. Creamy, light with a nice acidic kick from the topping, but nothing really to write home about (especially since my mom makes the BEST cheesecake in the world).
Malva Pudding // 58
On the other end of the spectrum, this was the MOST delicious malva pudding that I have ever had – and I have eaten a lot of malva pudding. It was rich, decadently rich, without being too sweet. I am holding myself back from driving there right now and ordering one. The custard was light, and didn’t distract from the taste of the apricot jam in the pud itself. It was truly phenomenal.
We went for Sunday lunch and The Butcher Shop and Grill was packed for the full 4 hours that we were there, vegetating between courses. It’s not a cheap meal out, but you don’t get quality and service like that for nothing. While we had two slight misses (well, Marvin did, all my choices were amazing), the deliciousness of the hits outweighed them significantly. My main issue, is that I am never going to be able to eat malva pudding anywhere else, ever again. Oh well.
