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Rockpool Bar and Grill

It might’ve lost some of its Big Night Out Appeal to Melbourne’s newer players, but Neil Perry’s classically good-looking Rockpool remains a reliable go-to when you need to impress a date, your boss or your better half.

Mac and cheese.
Mac and cheese.

Crown Complex, Southbank

(03) 8648 1900

rockpoolbarandgrill.com.au

It might’ve lost some of its Big Night Out Appeal to Melbourne’s newer players, but Neil Perry’s classically good-looking Rockpool remains a reliable go-to when you need to impress a date, your boss or your better half.

Service is a highlight – attentive, welcoming and knowledgeable – and you’ll need their help navigating a huge menu that still has steaks at its heart but equally impresses with seafood, salad and sides.

The steak.
The steak.
The dining room.
The dining room.

That includes brilliant burrata on bruschetta, the creamy curds teamed with slivers of wood-grilled, herb-crusted pumpkin to winning effect, and textural octopus with tomatoes and olives at once salty and sweet.

Tender calamari comes teamed with chorizo and hummus for a trio of easy pleasing tastes, while mac and cheese on the side does creamy carb loading with a school’s worth of class.

Impeccable produce – David Blackmore’s wagyu in steak and sausage form; confit Great Ocean duck; Eugowra quail; grilled rock flathead – is treated with respect, and while the wine list is as extensive as it is expensive, it’s filled with delicious drinking.

Must eat dish: Eugowra quail with smoked tomatoes and olives

Cuisine: Contemporary

Chefs: Neil Perry and Chris Budicin

Price: $$$

Bookings: Yes

BYO: No

Open: Lunch Sun-Fri, dinner daily

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/delicious-100/rockpool-bar-and-grill/news-story/b3fceb6d6ff070423f6d461b7d2fadb1