North Hobart's former Onba has been under renovations for some time and if you're anything like the Two Girls, you've been keen to see what would be revealed.
Welcome to the Roaring Grill.
Meat has come to North Hobart and lots of it. Well it is a Grill, so they're allowed to be unashamedly carnivore.
Roaring Grill opened last week. It's the effort of Tony from La Porchetta a little further along Elizabeth Street.
The lovely Jeremy at your service.
The new space sits within Onba's footprint; although at this stage it is provided on the ground floor. Upstairs dining will come later, including Roaring Grill's addition of an outdoor space opening in summer. It is a restaurant of clean, neat lines; cows; and an exposed brick feature wall which echoes through the restaurant's visual identity. You'll find it stencilled on the windows and menu. It's novel, if nothing else.
Roaring Grill is sourcing their Wagyu from Robbins Island and other cuts from the Roland Range.
You won't find the CarpetBag Steak from the seventies on the menu, it's steak standards and contemporary fare:
Eaglehawk Neck Seafood Chowder, $15
House made sausage, $14
Vegetable Aficionado, flame-grilled skewers with sweet pepper, zucchini, marinated mushroom and haloumi, $25
What the Lovely Deputy and I ate:
Combination Ribs and Wings, $22, a combination of two plates you can also order separately:
BBQ glaze pork spare ribs slow cooked in BBQ sauce, $15 and
Sticky chicken wings, roasted chicken wings marinated in a sweet tamarind sauce, $14.
Combination Ribs and Wings
Scotch fillet, 300 g, served with Tasmanian champ potatoes and chopped house salad, $33 with the Huon Valley mushroom sauce, $3.50.
Scotch fillet
Two little burgers and hand cut chips, Wagyu burger with iceberg lettuce, cheese, tomato and relish, and the Rissole burger with bacon, confit onion and house made smokey BBQ sauce, $25.
Two little burgers
Today's chocolate creation, a baked chocolate fondant crowned with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a smear of pear purée, enough to share, $15.
Parting is such sweet sorrow - Today's chocolate creation
There is absolutely no doubt that they are at the high end of presentation: cutlery, crockery and plating up is quality and lovely. Everything that came out of the kitchen was gorgeously presented and the service was friendly and attentive.
The food tried hard to reach the same bar but it is not there yet.
Ribs and Wings glaze was uninspiring, the burgers were drastically seasoned, and the steak was pretty pedestrian and a bit closer to medium than rare. This Girl isn't the steak eater in the relationship but it didn't keep up with appearances, which is sort of important for a Grill. Having said that, the table staff asked what we thought of the meals and my feedback on the over-seasoned burgers was taken graciously, an interest and skill often lacking in restaurants.
The dessert was the highlight of the meal, but a baked fondant is more about the wow factor when the uncooked innards ooze out, than it is a clever or inspiring dessert.
On our visit they hadn't quite got their climate control under control as evidenced by the table next to us who kept their winter coats on over dinner. Hint hint.
Roaring Grill will come on line shortly. In the meantime, check out their menu here.
I’m not sure This Girl would make a beeline back there but to be fair, I’m not huge on meat. If I’m there again it will be on someone else’s invitation.
The Roaring Grill is a very attractive restaurant and it probably promises a good night out for lots of people. You should try it and let us know what you thought. You'll find them on the corner of Elizabeth and Burnett Streets, North Hobart. They do get a huge tick for giving it their very best shot, but there are better places to get a great steak in Hobart.
