Where to Find the Best Steak in Melbourne
You don't win friends with salad. But you will fall in love with the steaks at these Melbourne restaurants.
Where to Find the Best Steak in Melbourne
You don't win friends with salad. But you will fall in love with the steaks at these Melbourne restaurants.
The best steaks in Melbourne aren't only found in luxury steakhouses. French bistros cook up a mean steak frites. Argentinian grills know exactly how to treat all kinds of cuts before throwing them on the flames. And there are some great gastropubs serving up affordable steaks that rival many a fine-diner in the city.
That being said, when you want to try the best steak in Melbourne, you should expect to pay handsomely for it. Many of these joints source only the best (and most expensive) cuts of meat from around Australia and abroad. Top-grade wagyu makes it onto a few Melbourne steak menus, perfectly marbled and cooked with love. Pair it all with the right wine (sommeliers abound at these steak restaurants, too) or change it up with sake and tequila instead. Whatever the best steak in Melbourne looks like to you, these spots will have you sorted.
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The Arcadia Hotel on the corner of Punt and Toorak Road in South Yarra has been serving up cold ones since before the American Civil War. And it’s no surprise it’s a survivor. The Arcadia crew has adapted to the times over and over again. It’s had a fresh refurb, hosts live music nights, plays the most popular sports matches and has a pool table for laidback hangs with mates
But the steak menu is what we’re talking about now. And it is leaps and bounds above other Melbourne pub offerings. The Southern Range scotch fillet has a MB4 rating and comes with a punchy chimichurri sauce. It’s also not as expensive as equally high-quality meats found at other Melbourne steak joints, coming in at $42. The similarly priced eye filet is also incredibly tender, served on a celeriac and artichoke puree and a cheesy potato gratin. Treat yourself without breaking the bank here.
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Mesa Verde in Curtin House (also home to The Toff, Cookie, and Metropolis Bookshop) is known for being one of the best Mexican restaurants in Melbourne. But it also has one of the best steaks in Melbourne. There’s only one on the menu, but that’s all you need when it’s this good.
The 450-gram Cape Grim Beef rib eye comes doused in guajillo chilli butter with a side of house-made chimichurri. Either order this beast on its own, or add it to the table when feasting on all manners of Mexican eats. And why not pair it with some of Mesa Verde’s specialty tequilas for an extra unique dining experience?
Image: Natalie Jurrjens.
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Beautifully restored back in 2021, the 150-year-old Orrong Hotel — an art deco gem in Armadale — is the kind of pub you keep returning to once you discover it. The interior itself is stunning, with a curved wooden bar, polished floorboards, ornate ceilings and tiled features throughout — you can tell no expense was spared on the restoration.
Plenty of attention has also been given to the food, especially the steaks. Served with thick-cut chips and your choice of sauce, cuts include a 300-gram Thousand Guineas scotch fillet and a 300-gram Jack’s Creek porterhouse. And if you’re on a budget, hit up the Orrong Hotel on Thursday for steak night. These guys pump out rump steaks with chips for a mere $24. That’s pretty damn hard to beat.
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L’Hotel Gitan fuses classy French fare with a casual pub buzz in Prahran — a combo that makes it incredibly popular with locals. And as it is with any good French restaurant, the red meat here is top quality and treated very simply. When you have a great cut of steak, you don’t need to mess around with it. Just cook it right and season it generously. A side of French fries never goes astray, either.
And here, you’ve got stacks to choose from. There’s scotch filet, eye filet, porterhouse and a massive 1kg bavette that best be shared with a couple of mates. These aren’t the cheapest steaks in Melbourne, but they won’t totally destroy the bank account. After all, you are in a pub. It’s not full fine dining.
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The Railway Club Hotel is a true Melbourne institution — with a happening bar at the front and an elegant dining room upstairs, it caters for all diners looking for a great host of experiences. You can get heaps of quality seafood dishes and your pub classics, however, most people heading to The Railway are looking for something from the chargrill.
It features cuts such as a Gippsland pure Lackland porterhouse and a Cape Grim scotch fillet. Other steak specialties include a fillet mignon wrapped in bacon and served with hand-cut chips and mushroom sauce as well as the the reef and beef with grilled tiger prawns and bearnaise sauce. Select your cut from a display fridge and sit back, knowing the chefs are going to grill up one of the best steaks in Melbourne.
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‘Beautiful’ is probably not the first word you’d pick to describe your local butcher shop. But then again, Victor Churchill isn’t your average meat store. It’s an undeniably dapper space, clad in warm timber, green marble floors, and chic copper accents, with dry-aging meat hung theatrically as if in a gallery.
Within this space, you’ll also find a specialty charcuterie counter, wine bar, grocery corner, retail booze offering and lunch counter, along with its premium curation of meat products. To try some of the best steaks in Melbourne, hit up the 12-seat wine bar for dinner. Here, a Josper charcoal-fuelled rotisserie, charcoal oven and basque grill guide a menu filled with top-notch steaks, charcuterie and seafood. It is a haven for meat lovers.
Image: Pete Dillon.
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Greville Street has itself a dapper meat destination in Angus & Bon, a New York-inspired steakhouse that set up shop in the former Prahran Post Office. The brainchild of Liam Ganley (who brought you Lemon Middle and Orange, Freddie Wimpoles and The Bay Hotel), the offering here is all about heroing the kitchen’s woodfire grill.
It’s used across an unpretentious menu of veggie, fish and meat dishes, though the steak selection is the indisputable star of the show. Choose from quality cuts like a 300-gram porterhouse, or a grain-fed scotch fillet, teamed with a range of classic sauces and sides. The wine list proves a worthy match, with plenty of choices by the glass and a special focus on local pinot noir varieties.
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Designed to look like a traditional Japanese tea house, Marble Yakiniku is the best place to be in Melbourne if you’re after authentic Japanese cuisine prepared with locally sourced wagyu cuts (plus some hailing from Japan). The tableside barbecuing — from which it’s taken its name, Yakiniku — is also one of the highlights of the whole experience.
With this in mind, it is clear to see why steaks are king here. The extensive menu includes Mayura M9 wagyu with cuts including tri-tip, oyster blade and short ribs, and Japanese A5 options such as rib-eye and sirloins. Lost with this steak jargon? The front-of-house team know what they’re talking about, so let them guide you before they barbecue your meat right in front of you. And no matter what you choose, you’ll definitely be cutting into one of the best steaks in Melbourne.
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After a cocktail next door, don’t be surprised if you find yourself on the doorstep of San Telmo, succumbing to the enticing pull of the Argentinean grill. Inside, carnivores congregate around the Parilla (the imported Argentine charcoal grill, pronounced par-ee-sha) — feasting on slabs of tender, smokey charred meat.
Order O’Connor beef from South Gippsland by cut — short ribs, flank, rib eye and all the steaks of rump are on offer here — and a heap of your own sides. Chargrilled carrots, roast potatoes, pan-fired brussels sprouts, charcoal-roasted cabbage and seasonal salads are all available. Plus, wines are given just about as much love as the meat. There are heaps to choose from, but when at an Argentinian restaurant, just go for the malbec and call it a day. You won’t be disappointed.
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A true legend of the game, France-Soir has been dishing up French-accented goodness from its charming Toorak brasserie since 1986. Many consider it a go-to for those timeless, simple French classics, thanks to its menu of expertly executed fare. From escargots and white wine mussels to steak frites and duck a l’orange, it’s a study of essential Euro flavours done well but without unnecessary fanfare.
That’s why there’s only one steak on the menu — a scotch fillet covered in black pepper sauce. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but it is doing a classic French steak total justice. Throw in an extensive, internationally recognised wine list featuring hundreds of French labels, et voila — it’s not hard to see how France-Soir keeps its loyal regulars coming back again and again.
Image: Brook James.
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This grand Flinders Lane restaurant from Melbourne hospitality stalwart Chris Lucas (Chin Chin, Yakimono, Society, Kisume) is quite the showstopper. From the entrance, the lofty 145-seat space sets out to envelop you, presenting a plush vision of rich blue banquettes and waitstaff clad in white jackets. It’s a study in modern elegance, with a steakhouse-style offering of Northern Italian flavours.
Between the custom-built woodfired oven imported from Naples and the Josper charcoal grill, you know the steaks will be bloody good here. Each is traditionally finished with a lick of olive oil, lemon and rosemary and is generally kept simple. It is the Italian way. The best steak on its menu? A hefty 1.2-kilogram Bistecca alla Fiorentina t-bone that might just change your life.
Image: Adrian Landers.
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We are spoilt for choice when it comes to fabulous Japanese restaurants in the city, but Yakikami is the only one that serves up a lavish wagyu beef degustation experience. It’s also the only Japanese restaurant in the state that’s certified to serve Kobe wagyu beef — for those wanting the best of the best steaks in Melbourne.
The menu here is rich, packed with flavour and brimming with clever techniques. And the latter is even more impressive as you see it deftly executed by the team in front of your eyes while head chef Hirokazu Sasaki explains various elements and charmingly chats diners through the premium meat cuts. It’s an unforgettable experience that will amaze any true steak lover.
Image: Griffin Simm.
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When it comes to creating smash-hit venues, legendary chef Andrew McConnell knows what’s what. He’s the mind behind favourites like Cumulus Inc, Cutler & Co, Supernormal and Marion, to name a few. In July 2020, Melbourne scored another McConnell original when he opened Gimlet — a cocktail bar and restaurant in the CBD’s 1920s heritage building Cavendish House. We named it the best restaurant in Melbourne, but it is also home to some of the city’s finest steaks.
Truly treat yourself with one of the two dry-aged steaks, cooked over coals and served with a bordelaise sauce or your choice of condiments. The 200-gram Blackmore wagyu sirloin with a 9+ marble score is also next-level delicious. It is so close to being the very best steak in Melbourne, and you best prepare to pay a hefty sum for it. Perhaps save this one for a really special occasion.
Image: Earl Carter.
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On one of Jason Jones’ trips to Paris, he stumbled upon three rules of Parisian dining worth abiding by. Keep it simple. Serve it till late. And never shirk on the fries. Thus, Entrecôte was born — Jones’ famed French restaurant modelled closely on the Parisian restaurant L’Entrecôte.
The signature dish, steak frites, hasn’t lost any of its lustre over the years. Steak and fries with a side of salad in vinaigrette may not seem like the most complex of meals, but good quality products will get you pretty far in this world, and Entrecôte ensures that you’re getting high-quality sirloin worthy of the concept. It’s easily one of the best steaks in Melbourne.
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With an opulent interior of floor-to-ceiling curtains and immaculately presented dining tables, you know from the moment you enter the Steer Dining Room that you are in for an extra special dining experience. The vibe here is New York meets Asia with a menu highlighting a spectacular variety of beef cuts.
These bad boys are all of the wagyu variety, split into two sections — classic grain-fed and dry-aged. These are some of the best steaks in Melbourne and don’t come cheap. But god are they worth it. There’s even a meat-filled degustation that includes oysters, three wagyu beef starters, a trio of steaks and a seasonal dessert. Still not good enough for you? Add wine pairings to the whole affair — from $130 to $400 per person depending on the calibre of vino you’re after. And there you have it. The ultimate Melbourne steak dining experience.
Top images: Grill Americano.
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