Rare Steakhouse - Midtown
12 Goldie Place
Melbourne CBD
Nestled amongst Jazz Bars in Goldie Place is where you'll find Rare Steakhouse Midtown. Only a short walk from Melbourne's iconic Hardware Lane, there's plenty of atmosphere and that nostalgic Melbourne laneway city feel.
Set in a refurbished warehouse of yesteryear, the wooden furnishings and rustic exposed red brick provided a lovely warm feel - very welcoming on a cool Melbourne Winter's night.
The Baron and Baroness were warmly greeted by Kate our host for the evening. It was quite busy for a Wednesday evening. We were shown to our cosy table for two near the bar and kitchen providing us glimpses of front and back end operations. It soon became obvious why this establishment runs like a well oiled machine!
We were presented with a comprehensive drinks menu - something for everyone! From cocktails, to local and imported beers and wines for all tastes! The Baron is impartial to local beers and decided to try Mountain Goat Pale Ale brewed in nearby Richmond. The Baroness sought recommendations from Kate (who knows a thing or two about wine).
Kate talked us through the specials and regular menu. Knowing we'd be having steak for mains we opted for seafood entrees. The Baroness couldn't go past one of the day's specials - crispy soft shell crab served with crunchy Asian slaw and chilli salt! A delicate and beautifully presented dish. Every bite light and crunchy in texture but punchy in flavour. Michael our waiter brought over a lovely crisp Riesling to compliment the dish.
The Baron opted for the salt and pepper calamari. A generous serve that came with house made sweet chilli sauce. The calamari was tender and lightly dusted in salt and pepper seasoning. Both dishes were delicious.
Being named Rare Steakhouse, we were keen to try the steak options. The steaks are basted (GF) and char-grilled and served with choice of chips, creamy mash or garden salad. Baroness opted to try the Angus Eye Fillet (200 gram), cooked medium and served with a Red Wine Jus. The steak was cooked to perfection and while the Jus was a perfect accompaniment, the steak could well be served on its own! Kate recommended the Aramis, Cabernet Sauvignon from the McLaren Vale region in South Australia. It was lovely.
The Baron chose the Angus Porterhouse (350 gram) cooked medium and served with a Black Pepper sauce. Once again cooked to perfection - tender, juicy quality steak.
We both opted for the salad with our steak and ordered the Thick-cut Steakhouse chips as a side. Now those chips. What makes a good chip you might ask? Well these chips were so good that's exactly what we did. We got to talking to Simon the chef. He happily shared that the chips are double fried in regularly cleaned cottonseed oil and they were spot on!
We were warned to leave room for dessert! Well of course there's always room for the sweet stuff. And we're so glad we did. The Warm Flourless Chocolate cake came highly recommended. And we also ordered the Citrus Almond Pannacotta.
Whilst chocolate cake would not ordinarily be a first choice, we felt compelled to try after such strong recommendation. Honestly it was outstanding and we both agreed it was THE BEST chocolate cake dessert we've had. The cake was served with vanilla bean ice cream over a chocolate biscuit crumble topped with a sweet and salty toffee. It also came with a warm mars bar chocolate pouring sauce. The cake was soft and gooey and all the bits and pieces went perfectly together.
The Pannacotta was lovely, light and bursting with flavours of citrus, almond, cinnamon and spice and drizzled with an almond and orange marmalade sauce.
The Baron sampled a lovely port which matched the dessert perfectly.
After an espresso and macchiato Simon and Kate took us on a tour upstairs, explaining the history of the restaurant and building! It's always very personable to get such insight. It was surprising to see how spacious the upstairs dining was.
We imagine that upstairs would be great for a large group booking or I'd consider holding a function there too.
We absolutely loved our dining experience at Rare Steakhouse. The food was lovely, the ambience warm and welcoming and friendly attentive service! The steak was fantastic but if that's not your thing there are plenty options for you to try!
The Baron and Baroness dined as guests of Rare Steakhouse. Big thanks to Kate for looking after us on the night and to Chef Simon for chatting with us. Special thanks to Chrissy Symeonakis from Creative Little Soul for arranging this visit.