Best of the Gold Coast 2018: Top 10 best steaks
ATTENTION meat eaters! There’s been some changes to the best 10 steakhouses on the Gold Coast with some new arrivals making the list. Can Harry’s Steak Bistro and Bar take out the top crown again after winning in 2017?
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ATTENTION meat eaters!
There’s been some changes to the best 10 steakhouses on the Gold Coast with some new arrivals making the list.
Can Harry’s Steak Bistro and Bar take out the top crown again after winning in 2017?
Read on!
ULTIMATE EATING GUIDE TO THE GOLD COAST
10. Sopo Dining Room
Shop 19, Australia Fair Metro, Young Street, Southport
Smack-bang in the centre of Southport’s China Town sits a restaurant that boasts comfort food with a twist, using local ingredients and fresh produce to create a modern Australian menu.
“In Southport there’s a lack of quality steaks,” Sopo Dining Room head chef Julie Rogers said.
“When they (diners) come to us, they are surprised to find we’re a modern Australian restaurant and we’re all about the food.”
Julie says its Monday drawcard has the locals biting every week.
“We do a rump night on Monday nights. It’s a beautiful cut of meat, every Monday is $15 for a piece of grass-fed steak. Super good value for money.”
Julie says Sopo’s regular steak favourite is the sirloin.
“Our superstar would be our sirloin, 350g of steak. We serve it and cut it on the table.”
9. Black Angus Bar and Grill
46 The Promenade, Hope Island
Black Angus serves its steaks on the rocks — searing hot rocks, that is.
Bar and restaurant owner Joffrey Hagop believes its this unique cook-it-yourself option that separates his steakhouse from the rest.
“It’s what made us really popular. It’s our own signature dish. It’s a social dining experience, it adds value. It’s something they’ve never done before.”
Joffrey says diners travel hundreds of kilometres to experience the extreme barbecue, which brings out your choice of steak on a 440 degree granite-carved plate.
Keeping up with the new wave of responsible consumerism, Black Angus outlines each steak’s journey from pasture to plate, including its place of origin, lifespan, length of time it was grain fed for and marbling grade.
8. Gotham Grill and Rooftop Bar
6 Bayview Street, Runaway Bay
Gotham’s rooftop bar is a casual food and drink experience, but the grill restaurant is where the business happens.
It offers four breeds of beef and eight steaks, ranging from New Zealand-sourced scotch fillet to a Gina Rineheart full-blood wagyu.
“Gina Rineheart, who pretty much has the monopoly on the cattle, she’s done a collaboration with her daughter,” Gotham owner and executive chef Daniel Ridgeway says.
“With that we do the Gotham strip — that’s a 300g strip, we charge $120 for it. When we ordered it, we had to drive down to Brisbane, we had to look at it, touch it, and we got an allocation of it.”
Daniel says telling each steak’s backstory allows diners to taste the difference, like a fine wine.
“We give them a bit of history on each one.”
7. Nineteen at The Star
Level 19, The Darling at The Star Gold Coast
Casino Drive, Broadbeach
Simon Gloftis admits he doesn’t make much profit from the $240 steak that’s on swish bar and restaurant Nineteen’s menu, but the exclusivity of being the only restaurant in Australia to offer it is worth more than money.
“It’s one of the best (steaks) in the world,” he says.
“We’re buying it from Sydney, they’re supplying it exclusively to Nineteen. It’s beautiful.”
The kiwami Wagyu beef has a marbling rating of 12 — smashing the Australian marbling benchmark which usually only reaches nine.
“The people who buy it are already expecting the quality, and it’s there,” Simon says.
“It’s simple cooking — we char grill it, and the flavours come it on their own. We’ve sold hundreds. People were obviously ready for it.”
6. Outback Steakhouse
Pacific Fair, Hooker Boulevard, Broadeach
Colonel Sanders isn’t the only guy with a secret recipe.
Outback Steakhouse at Pacific Fair uses not 11, but 17 secret herbs and spices to season its variety of cuts, with almost all steaks cut in-house.
Originally an Australian-themed restaurant in the US in 1988, Outback Steakhouse has expanded with hundreds of eateries in 22 countries, including the Gold Coast opening last year.
The added tastiness comes from its business model of supporting the communities where its restaurants are located.
“We did a big fundraiser for Christmas,” managing partner Mark Peterson said.
“We’re hoping to do more every month or two.”
5. Glenelg Public House
Corner Glenelg Aveunue, 2460 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach
There was a time when this much-loved local’s haunt served only beef.
Glenelg’s menu is a little more eclectic these days but beef remains the star of the show and the commitment to the perfect steak is undiminished.
Prime, export-quality beef is sourced from premium Australian and New Zealand producers, hand-selected for taste and the portions butchered on the premises.
Owner Aaron Smith says when you start out with the best, minimal intervention is key.
“We keep it simple,” he says.
“We let the quality speak for itself.”
As well as the usual prime cuts, Glenelg’s kitchen ensures nothing is wasted with roast bone marrow, oyster nose, flat iron and hanger cuts featuring on the menu.
4. Cav’s Steakhouse
30 Frank Street, Labrador
This Gold Coast icon, famous for its all-weather cows grazing out front, has been serving prime steak for 34 years.
Owner Richard Cavill says that longevity is down to consistency.
Cav’s sources its meat from around Australia using its own ratings program to buy the best then ages the beef portions on premises for six to eight weeks.
“This develops the flavour and breaks down the enzymes, making the meat super tender,” Richard says.
To meet demand for a Cav’s quality steak, Richard ended up opening his own butchery, allowing punters to try to replicate the Cav’s experience at home.
There are plenty having a crack — the butchery currently sells about 1000kg of meat a week, as well as Cav’s house potatoes, salads and sauces.
3. Shannon’s Steak and Seafood
Level 1, 941 Harbour Village Parade, Coomera
It’s hard to beat Shannon’s river view — and the steak is pretty good too.
Shannon’s prime steaks are sourced from around Australia with every effort made to keep the quality high and the price reasonable.
Owner Shannon O’Malley says he doesn’t believe in paying for side dishes, so when you order one of his steaks everything is included in the price.
“You don’t need to be a chef to read the menu,” Shannon says.
“It’s simple food done right.”
It’s a formula that’s served him well over the years.
He’s been serving quality steak and seafood for 18 years and has built a loyal following of locals and not-so-locals who’re happy to drive for a good steak.
2. Moo Moo Bar and Grill Broadbeach
Mantra Broadbeach on the Park
2685 Gold Coast Highway, Broadbeach
Moo Moo’s owner Steve Adams is a stickler for getting the best quality on the plate.
Steve scours the country for the best prime beef, carrying mostly pasture-fed meat although you’ll find grain-fed, wagyu, angus and natural/organic cuts in the Moo Moo cabinets.
Moo Moo’s signature 50 day dry aged steak is a guaranteed winner, along with Jack’s Creek beef which won the prestigious World’s Best Steak Producer Award two years in a row.
Gina Rinehart’s 2GR premium wagyu is coming soon to the menu.
Steve says tomahawk cuts have been increasingly popular of late. Coming in a 1.2 to 2kg a steak, they’re not for the faint hearted.
“We had one customer here on business who came in for one four days in a row,” Steve says.
1. Harry’s Steakhouse
1744 Gold Coast Highway, Burleigh Heads
When you almost solely serve steak, you need to make it perfect.
Harry’s founder Adam Haralampou says that’s the secret behind Harry’s success.
Harry’s sources its tender cuts from up to 10 suppliers, choosing mostly Australian grass-fed beef but also prime New Zealand meat.
“That’s half the job,” Adam says.
The rest, of course, is in the prep and cooking.
There’s been much experimenting to get the house seasoning just so, a high-powered char grill locks in the flavour and each prime cut is accompanied by Harry’s famous unlimited frites, herbed butter, bread and salad.
Harry’s next quest is to go completely paddock to plate, in the spirit of Adam’s late Greek grandfather Harry, a passionate steak lover who grew all the family’s produce.
“We’ve purchased a farm in the hinterland and we’ve started a herd, planted our lettuce and chilli, beetroot went in not long ago,” Adam says.
“As well as quality, we’re committed to the local, sustainable model. It’s the right thing to do.”
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