Northern Git

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757 High Street, Thornbury, 9484 6389

My score: 3.5/5

It was the name that grabbed my attention first, ‘northern git’ being a charming sobriquet that can be hurled at an Englishman hailing from the grittier parts of Empire. But having learned that chef and owner Michael Slade was born in ‘alifax (“that’s with an ‘H’,” he explained), Yorkshire, and noting that this restaurant is in the upper reaches of High Street, Hipsterville, it all started to make sense. Northern Git is without airs and graces but with a strong sense of hospitality: you’ll be well fed and watered and feel relaxed the whole time.

The large dining room is overlooked by a spraypaint mural of a brooding streetscape (Cam Scael on the cans). Slade is a meat-lover (he was head chef at Carlton’s carnivorous La Luna) but Thornbury flesheaters tend to have vegetarian friends so there’s big love for vegetables too. That’s exemplified by the farro, a nutty grain cooked in vegan stock with mustard seeds and smoked paprika then assembled into a pretty pile with herbed yoghurt, roasted mushrooms, watercress and cheesy crisps.

I think we’re all used to shared dishes these days but steak is often a stumbling block. Slade sorts that out by offering his grass-fed, aged-here beef in 100-gram increments and serving it in deliciously pink, juicy slices with proper red wine jus. On Sundays there’s a roast dinner, served in single portions or family-style; a recent version featured Yorkshire pudding and rosemary potatoes along with the beef. I love the pork schnitzel that’s on the pubby classics section of the menu. Hot English mustard is slathered on the pork before it’s coated in a parmesan and parsley crumb and fried to a crunchy, golden crisp. English beer is another special topic, as is offal, and I reckon you’ve got to love a git who makes it as easy to try tripe as to feast on farro.

More beef:

Caboose Canteen, 4 City Square, Melbourne, 9663 4448
There’s a practical ‘workers’ canteen’ approach here and three types of steak frites on offer every evening (only $20 on Monday nights). Porterhouse or Scotch fillet are standards, but there’s also the chef’s choice secondary cut served with Cafe de Paris butter.

Steer Bar and Grill, 637 Chapel Street, South Yarra, 9040 1188
If you’ve got a preference for breed, feed, cut or size, you can probably have your red-blooded beefy urge satisfied at this premium steak restaurants. Wagyu fans might like to consider a special dinner on September 2 that showcases different cuts and cooking methods.

Hare and Grace, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne, 9629 6755
At the base of the Rialto, this modern pub is probably best known for Raymond Capaldi’s creative food. There’s also a charcoal grill and a good range of aged beef, including a 400-gram grass-fed rib eye. All are served with fries and your choice of sauce: pepper, red wine, chimichurri or herb butter.

First published in The Age, August 24, 2014.