Ivanhoe Tavern in Ivanhoe, VIC

IVANHOE Tavern has been grilling meat over hot coals since men chased mammoths with clubs.

ivanhoe tavern

IVANHOE Tavern has been grilling meat over hot coals since men chased mammoths with clubs.

Its "new" owner has been there almost six years. Its clientele is much more established.

Following the tradition of Balkan peninsula steakhouses, the tavern's barbecued meat is fabulous, accompaniments not as good. The wine list is clever, short and cheap, the service genial but lacking finesse.

On the plus side, the place itself is about to be made over. (It closes for renovations for three weeks from Sunday, September 25.)

FOOD

My traditional complaint about Melbourne's Balkan steakhouses is that they need to do more than serve great tight cevapcici (skinless beef sausages) and aged steak. Something like a house sauce - as well as commercial mustards - would fit the bill.

In New York recently I went "back" to Le Relais de Venise. We used to queue in the snow (no reservations) in Paris decades ago to eat great steak and its secret house sauce - a terrific balance of stock, butter, mustard and tarragon. The owners' granddaughter has set up three Relais outside the French capital, and the NYC one is just as good as home base used to be.

Ivanhoe Tavern offers something in the sauce department - a gravy-thick brown pepper concoction of nice bite, balance and spiciness, and warm melted butter infused with chopped garlic. The latter is flecked sparsely with parsley. And commercial mustards. You pay an extra $2 for each house-made sauce.

Eight cuts of steak, a shashlik, rissoles, "chevaps" and a mixed grill are offered separately or as the significant hypotenuse of the standard triangular menu entree, main course and dessert. Indeed, the cevapcicis, grilled chicken spare ribs, bruschetta, minestrone soup and falafel that make up starters are unpriced.

Servings are copious, but you pay dearly.

Three fairly big cevapcicis make up an entree, and they were typically tight, tasty and delightfully perfumed. A mound of coleslaw dressed too tartly accompanied.

Five chicken "spare ribs" make a starter, and they also arrive with coleslaw. Cooked through, they had a pleasant light sweetness. (I'm no anatomist, but I reckon the bone beneath the meat is equivalent to our clavicle.)

Our steaks were brilliant and perfectly cooked. A rib eye ($55, or $65 with entree and dessert) weighed in at around 800g, and an eye fillet ($53, $63) at around 400g. They're said to be aged for eight weeks - I can believe it. They come with an OK mashed potato, thin lozenges of raw vegetables such as carrot, fennel, sweet parsnip and turnip dressed with an olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey reduction, and either coleslaw (again) or a "garden" salad of tomatoes, thin cucumber Ds, pink onion Cs and oak-leaf lettuce. The latter's dressing was far too acidic.

Two orbs of a brought-in lemon gelati were smoother than your financial adviser, and a single crepe enfolded a few poached berries - rasps, strawbs and blues.

STAFF

It's legitimate to ask if your steak has been done to your liking. But we were asked our view of the food several times, which is unnecessary. The waitress also covered our bottle's label with her hand and didn't know to offer a tasting.

DRINK

Here's another restaurant offering a friendly - if limited - wine list as well as BYO at $6 corkage a bottle. Four white table wines are offered, two by glass, carafe (500ml) and bottle, and nine reds, all by glass, carafe and bottle. Bottle prices range from $27-$49, and several are in the $20s. A 2006 Angel Peak shiraz came in at $32. Only big commercial brewers may be bought.

X FACTOR

Ivanhoe Tavern was to be made over within weeks, the owner assured me.

It didn't especially need it, but I got an assurance from him that fabric would replace the paper napkins.

When I was there, tables were very close, which won't change, I suspect, and draped in material. The dining chairs were upholstered in honey-coloured vinyl.

VALUE

Value here depends on how fond you are of the Balkans barbecue tradition. These places could do more, and they charge like wounded bulls for wounded - and subsequently dismembered - once-were bulls. And sometime cows.

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HOW IT RATED: IVANHOE TAVERN

Food 14/20

Staff 6/10

Drink 3/5

X-factor 3/5

Value 6/10

Total score 32/50

Address: 250 Upper Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe; ph 9497 2325

Food: Mallee-root barbecued meats

Drink: Licensed (BYO, $6 corkage a bottle)

Hours: noon-3pm Fri; 5.30pm-late Tue-Sun (closed Sept 25 to Oct 13 for renovations)

Chef/Owner: Emilio Zenelovski

Wheelchair access: No

Parking: In street

Green guide: Export quality beef

Snapshot: Old-style Balkans barbecue about to be redecorated