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Steak and chips seems to be on every menu right now – and not just at the pub. What’s behind it, and where can you find the best deals?
Call it a recession indicator, or perhaps we’re sick of endless share plate menus, but the bistro classic of steak frites is having a moment. The city is sizzling with special steak nights offering elevated versions of meat and potatoes.
Hunter St. Hospitality, owners of powerhouse steakhouse Rockpool Bar & Grill, doubled down on the popularity of the dish when it opened 7 Alfred last spring with a concise menu serving a single main: steak frites. It’s been a hit, with an average of 1600 portions coming out of the kitchen each week.
There’s just one cut of steak (a scotch fillet from Gippsland’s O’Connor Beef), cooked medium or well done, with four sauce options for a fixed price of $48. The average wait time from ordering to eating, according to the venue, is nine minutes – perfect for a quick business lunch or pre-theatre feed.
“We always think we have to reinvent the next big thing or the trend, but I think people want simplicity,” says Hunter St. CEO Frank Tucker. “At other restaurants you have to think, is there going to be a starter, are we going to share, are there any dietaries? But every once in a while you just want to sit down and eat.”
A steak frites-focused restaurant is hardly groundbreaking, with Paris bistro Le Relais de l’Entrecote offering a similar model to hungry queues since 1959. The streamlined concept made its way to Melbourne 11 years ago via restaurateur Jason Jones, who runs a local interpretation of Entrecote on Greville Street, Prahran. “Places like France-Soir and Bistro Thierry have also been doing steak frites for years,” says Jones. “But it accounts for about 70 per cent of our main courses and we’re selling about 600 kilos of porterhouse a week.”
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Jones puts its popularity down to our taste for quality local beef. “It fits the Australian lifestyle, like bangers and mash or fish and chips,” he says. “Everyone loves a good steak and chips, and I think it’s here to stay. There’s just more people doing it [now] and better options out there.”
It’s a moment Heather-Rain O’Neill and Maddi Lloyd saw coming when they ditched their jobs in the corporate world three years ago to start Steakbabes, a website rating the best steak specials around town. “We were already going to a lot of steak nights and thought this could be a get-rich-quick idea,” says O’Neill.
The friends started reviewing their favourite spots and are now regularly paid by venues to review the dish with a rating out of five.
“Everyone and anyone is doing a steak night right now,” says Lloyd. “Venues often throw the ‘steak frites’ label onto it, but it’s not necessarily French at all.”
Their current favourite is found at the Doutta Galla Hotel in Kensington, from the team behind Cinder and Pincho Disco, which offers a 250-gram porterhouse for $25 on Tuesday nights.
“When we started it was common for a steak night to be on a Thursday night, but now places offer it multiple nights a week,” says Lloyd. “Who wants to cook on a Monday night? Why not go and have a cheap steak?”
Seven days of steak specials (that aren’t at the pub)
Monday – Common Cuts, $28.50
The steak-focused restaurant at the base of a city hostel is shifting up to 450 serves of steak frites a week. The $28.50 daily special offers a 220-gram wagyu flank or 300-gram Angus roastbiff, a lean cut from the centre of the rump. “Steak frites is one of those rare dishes that feels both indulgent and approachable at the same time,” explains owner Reki Reinantha. “Guests don’t necessarily want 10 different elements on a plate; they want quality beef, properly cooked, with great fries and a good sauce.”
380 Russell Street, Melbourne, commoncuts.com.au
Tuesday – HER, $28
This steak night was so popular it’s now also available at lunch, with bookings made up to six weeks in advance for the $28 O’Connor Beef black angus sirloin with pepper or bearnaise sauce, fries and a cos salad. “It’s a beautiful 250-gram cut of meat, cooked well and paired with simple sides,” says head chef Nada Thomas. Group executive chef Paul Dunlop says they ensure the steak is a premium cut, even at a discount. “Its popularity speaks for itself,” he says. “We typically serve over 300 every Tuesday. Which for a smaller, 60 or so seater restaurant, is a lot!”
270 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, her.melbourne
Wednesday – Maison Batard, $39.50
Each week, this high-end French brasserie sells around 250 portions of its Monday to Friday lunch special: a 200-gram Riverine sirloin, MB2+, with hand-cut frites for $39.50. Chris Lucas’s other city steakhouse, Grill Americano, offers the same weekday lunch deal. “There’s something reassuring about a great steak frites,” says Batard executive chef Adam Sanderson. “It doesn’t need reinventing, it just needs to be done properly, and we’re not cutting any corners.”
23 Bourke Street, Melbourne, maisonbatard.com.au
Thursday – Wally’s, $35
This cosy wine bar boosts winter trade with a weeknight steak special featuring steak with frites, salad and a choice of sauce for $35. Owner Baxter Pickard champions the casual meal as an easy midweek dinner option. “Steak frites is one of those timeless dishes that never goes out of style,” he says. “We’re showcasing a range of different cuts from supplier Gamekeepers, offering guests the chance to experience something different with each visit.”
67 Cardigan Place, Albert Park, wallysalbertpark.com.au
Friday – Marmelo, $45
The explosion in steak specials extends to regional variations on the theme such as Marmelo’s Bife a Portuguesa, available for $45 at lunchtime Tuesday to Friday. Served with a side of thin-cut potato crisps instead of frites, it stars a wood-grilled O’Connor eye fillet finished with anchovy butter and a puffy fried egg. “I think people are looking for dishes that feel familiar, comforting and offer genuine value. A great steak has always had that appeal,” says owner-chef Ross Lusted.
130 Russell Street, Melbourne, marmelorestaurant.com.au
Saturday – No Biggie, $30
Two words: bottomless chippies. This is the drawcard attracting crowds at the nighttime offering of daytime cafe Operator Diner, alongside a 250-gram Flinders + Co angus steak for $30, Wednesday to Saturday from 5.30pm. “The pub has always had steak nights, but this seems to have caught new followers due to the cost of living,” says owner Randy Dhamanhuri. “People want an affordable option, because as much as you want to cook every night, it does your head in washing dishes.”
2/130 Lonsdale Street, city, instagram.com/nobiggie.melb
Sunday – Babines, $30
Sunday is, surprisingly, one of the busiest nights of the week at this cocktail bar. It’s all because of a 250-gram pasture-fed black angus steak served alongside house-made fries, a calvados and miso demi-glace and seasonal leaves for $30 (down from $36 at other times). “I think it’s the great Aussie comfort food,” says co-owner Julien Wurtlin. “It speaks to everyone. Australian beef is the best in the world and it’s one of those items where you get your money’s worth.”
108 Smith Street, Collingwood, babines.com.au
