FOOD-OUT: Rockpool Bar & Grill, Southbank (VIC)

I must admit, I was feeling apprehensive about our visit to Rockpool. The Bar Menu seems to get great reviews, but opinions about the restaurant itself seem to be quite polarised, and I generally feel a wee bit apprehensive about 'chain' restaurants. Wanting to make the most of our visit, I spent a good few days perusing the menu and blog posts.

It was relatively quiet when we got there at 6.15pm, but it filled up very quickly. We were soon joined by our friends and were ready to order.

Hand-cut Linguini with with Spanner Crab and Spicy Prawn Oil ($30.0)

Bloggers had talked about this dish, and their other pastas favourably, so we decided to give it a go. The crab and linguini were both extremely fresh and delicious, but it tasted tomyum. This was very unexpected; I had tried to steer away from anything Asian-inspired. Hmm, unfortunately as much as I loved the way the linguini and crab were cooked, I could not help but imagine that if Rockpool had a "spicy prawn oil" disaster, they could have subsituted it with the flavouring packet from this:

 

MAMA's tomyum-flavoured instant noodles

As much as I loved the linguini and crab, needless to say I wouldn't be ordering it again; certainly not for $30 a plate.

Cape Grim dry-aged 36 month old, grass-fed,
Rib-Eye on the Bone, 350g, 65 days ($60.0)

We'll begin with the steaks. My online research indicated that the Cape Grim Rib-eye would be a good one. I was not let down. Although I've eaten nicer textured steak elsewhere, this steak is amongst the most flavoursome I have ever eaten. It must've been the wood-fire that really adds the flavour. The steak, with the tiniest bit of harissa, was ultra-flavourful. Yum yumm yummos.

J and K ordered the Cape Grim dry-aged 36 month old, grass-fed, Fillet 250g ($55.0) - J ordered his rare, which came out fine. K on the other hand, had asked for medium-rare, but felt it was more medium to medium-well. This was slightly contentious, so it wasn't sent back, as the steak was cut into 3 pieces- the middle piece was certainly medium-rare, but the other two were indeed more medium to medium-well. M ordered the Cape Grim dry-aged 36 month old, grass-fed, Scotch Fillet 220g 4+ Marble Score ($49.0). Being Asians, we were happy to share food all around, and the general consensus was that the steaks were incredibly flavoursome. But I was extremely satisfied with the rib-eye.

Grilled Rock Flathead Fillets
with Wood Fire Grilled Vegetables and Olive & Caper Salsa ($49.0)

Being incredibly bossy, I made The Husband order a non-steak dish, just so we could go halfies and try something different. We both enjoyed the fish, together with the salsa.

SPECIAL: King George Whiting with rocket, chilli and something salad

S opted for the special - and he did enjoy it. I had a taste, and remembered that the fish was tasty, but nothing too remarkable. Personally, at fancy restaurants, I don't like seeing fins and tails on the plate.

Side Order of Onion Rings ($9.0)

This was another dish I read online that we had to get. They were seriously crunchy and yummy! They COULD have drain it for longer though; the last onion ring at the bottom of the bowl was sitting in a small pool of oil (which was kinda yuck, but I still had no trouble smacking it on my (by-then) empty plate a few times just to shake off some oil before shoving it into my mouth)

Side Order of Potato and Cabbage Gratin (S $9.0/ L $12.0)

OMG - this was 'eye-rolling'-ly good. I would have used my spoon and scraped the sides and licked it clean if I had been at home. So creamy, so flavourful - my-oh-my!

Caught a quick snap on the way out. Chef on the left: "Whatchu lookin' at?"

After dinner, I uhmmed and aahed over my overall opinion about our visit. It was enjoyable, and the food, especially my steak, were super-flavoursome, but I wasn't too sure about how I felt about the whole experience. Until I woke up this morning and kept thinking about the flavour of my rib-eye steak with the harrissa. 

Overall, the Cape Grim dry-aged 36 month old, grass-fed, Rib-Eye on the Bone, 350g, 65 days steak with side orders of Onion Rings and Potato and Cabbage Gratin are absolutely worth the visit.

The food was good, but the company even better. A special shout out to the wonderful, M and S, one of the fantastic-est couples I know, who shouted all of us dinner on this very special night out! THANK YOU and MUAKSMUAKSMUAKS!!!