Bob's Steak & Chop House

National Foods Centre,
737 Bourke Street
Docklands, VIC 3008

Let's be honest, Docklands is not high on the list of foodie destinations. In fact there are very few reasons to go there, between the run of the mill cafés and restaurants that look like they were built and are still hoping they come there is not a lot to excite.

A more recent arrival to try and buck this wasteland trend is Bob's Steak & Chop House which opened about 10 months ago as the first "Bob's" outside of the USA.

Inside it is quite pleasant, very open and hits the mark of capturing the feel of an American steak house, the uniformed staff remind me of the Shula's steak house and seemed polite and very attentive. To the average Melbournian it is probably a bit uptight, especially to the northern set where sleeves generally refers to tattoo's, but this what they have set out to emulate and is an accurate reflection.

Enough about the decor, let's get on to the food. Sharing the mains was a good opportunity to see what Bob's can do outside of just steak

Epic Win - Bob's Spicy Sausages  (spicy prime beef sausages with caramelised onion & whole grain mustard)
The Squires Loft Boerswars is possibly the benchmark entrée sausage in town and Bob's does a great job of matching and possibly exceeding the famous South African snag. Spicy, juicy with a great beefy texture they are delicious and a clear epic win.


Middle of the road - Crispy Pork Belly (with spiced apple purée & red vinegar reduction)
This was a bit of a dissapointment, the pork belly was crispy but somehow seemed a bit dry and underdone. I like my pork belly to be fork soft and moist with fattiness and this was unfortunately neither. The sauce was good but not enough to recover this



Win - Onion Rings (lightly seasoned & fried crisp)
Coming out the size of a Krispy Kreme doughnut, these were the biggest onion rings I think I have ever laid eyes on. Crispy thin batter crunches through to a perfectly cooked ring of onion, best onion rings I have had in Australia - period.



Win - New York Striploin
Let's face it, no matter how good the entrée's are, a steak and chop house is only as good as its meat. The striploin served medium rare as ordered was pure meat perfection, I also loved the grated horseradish, our table went through 3 serves as it was so good. The only thing holding it back from epic win was the skillet potatoes which were in my opinion a bit underdone.


So despite the fact the fitout may make some uncomfortable, Bob's Steak & Chop House hits the mark with attentive service and some spectacular meat

Bob's Steak & Chop House - Winning