I want Roaring Grill to blow me away, I really do. I want them to exceed expectations and I've given them two shots at this before writing, as I prefer to give a second opportunity to a poor to middling first experience before I commit words to a review, but round two was last night and was still just OK.
My first RG experience was with a girlfriend who is a big fan. We were there on a Saturday night, so it was very busy and the place was booked out. We'd called up only a day or so early and had a late booking (for 8pm), but called that night to say "hey guys, if you have any earlier cancellations, feel free to give us a call because we're literally around the corner". Perhaps this was a bit of an alien notion to them because they came back defensively regarding being busy and reserved tables and so on... it's ok guys. It's ok. Having said that, they then called back fifteen minutes later to say we could come in an hour earlier. Ok... good.
Onto the food. She got an eye fillet which was on the rare side of medium. I got a scotch which was on the medium side of medium rare. Different cuts, different cooking times, sure. A lot of steaks at a lot of places come out less than perfect. But at a steak restaurant, you can't help but hope they'll have it pretty bang on. Never mind, the steak was still tasty (and the champ potato mash was crazy good). The apple fritters for dessert blew our minds. An evened-out OK experience.
My second RG experience was just last night: a Monday night, with a visiting friend from interstate. Monday night aka "hospo weekend" can be tough to find somewhere great to eat, but we were both feeling it and called forward just to make sure they could fit us in. They definitely could--there were maybe two other parties when we arrived, and by 8pm we were the lonely last diners. We were seated in the back dining area (I think it may have been the exact same table I was at last time) and I'll say it was to our misfortune, because being right near the open kitchen we could hear the staff discussing closing up, who'd go home first, hear them cleaning grills etc. In their business to do this they weren't too bothered with topping up our water glasses or even checking if we wanted anything else to drink.
For the food: her pork ribs were falling off the bone--they looked delicious. My sliders were tasty, but messy--the bottoms of both buns disintegrated as I picked them up. The chips were top notch. We got apple fritters to share and the apple centres were undercooked and disappointing compared to the first time I'd tried them.
Actually, having written all this out, I'm dropping my original three stars to two. I can't say it was OK--I've clearly been disappointed. Highs and lows to be had here! I'm sure being seated in the front dining room or upstairs would have made last night's atmosphere better. Having said all that, I'd like to try another steak here one day, and hopefully add another star or two. read more
