Steak Ministry – Dani Valent

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39-51 Kingsway Parade, Glen Waverley, 9560 1818

My Score: 3.5/5

Sit in the window of Steak Ministry and Glen Waverley can look as busy as Bourke Street. Ambling walkers do their passeggiata (evening stroll), cars hang hopeful laps of the crammed carpark and trains frequently disgorge yet more people coming home or just hanging out.

Steak Ministry is a large year-old restaurant in this happening hub. It’s decked out with recycled timber, industrial fittings and clubby furniture to create a square-jawed and attractive steakhouse. As you’d expect, the offering is very meaty but it’s not all beef, and I love the fact that halal and Mandarin menus are on hand. The charcuterie board is classy with duck parfait and beef bresaola the highlights. An unusual bitter coffee paste cut through the richness. Ribs are a focus so I felt compelled to try lamb, pork and beef, all tasty and cooked with patience so they slipped easily from the bone. The steak selection is great, especially if your tastes lean towards grain-fed wagyu. Our waiter did a lovely show-and-tell, staggering under the weight of an epic tomahawk, a massive rib-eye that would feed a footy team. We marvelled but scaled back to dry-aged grass-fed New York strip (bone-in porterhouse) that was good and grain-fed wagyu rump that was outstandingly delicious. Both were cooked to order and rested with respect.

Service was eager and efficient though there was an awkward ’80s moment when my champagne glass arrived with a strawberry spread-eagled on the rim. I’m not sure how much of a celebrity the ‘amazing famous bomb’ is, but it’s definitely a showstopping dessert, featuring chocolate in many forms wreathed in dry ice. It’s another indication of Steak Ministry’s attempt to over-deliver in a neighbourhood that has heaps of restaurants but not a surfeit of choice when it comes to high quality meat.

See their website.

More beef:

Easeys, 48 Easey Street, Collingwood, 9079 5942.
The beef burgers are towering, tender and tasty but the real attraction is the setting: a train carriage on the rooftop with views of the city skyline.

Entrecote, 131-133 Domain Road, South Yarra, 9804 5468.
As Parisian as it’s possible to be in South Yarra, Entrecote serves porterhouse smothered in herby butter sauce with frites and soft dressed leaves.

Royal Mail Hotel, 98 Parker Street, Dunkeld, 5577 2241.
Both the relaxed bistro menu and the chef’s tasting menu are likely to include high quality Hopkins River Beef, raised on nearby pastureland.

First published in The Age, July 5, 2015.

2018-05-04T16:07:52+10:00

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