The Meat & Wine Co Steakhouse Restaurant, Elder House Adelaide, South Australia

My partner, Enigma, and I were gifted a voucher at Christmas to The Meat & Wine Co Steakhouse Restaurant Located in the historic Elder House, 39 Currie Street Adelaide CBD. For us, this kind of premium restaurant is not something we'd ever really contemplate going to because the pricing is it bit more 'posh' than we're usually prepared to spend on a meal.

Despite that, the Afro-centric inspired theme of the restaurant, while still emanating a premium experience, felt very welcoming and homely. Its wooden table tops, African patterns, and rope stylings (that made me think someone must be very much into giant macrame) made for a very unique setting.

Our wait staff were very helpful, friendly and accommodating, answering any questions we had.

Not unexpectedly the food was some of the best we've ever eaten. Though we like a good steak we did notice that there is quite a range of vegan options if that's your dietary preference.

For entree we had the Garlic Bread (Buttermilk buns, garlic butter, Parmesan and garlic crisps), and I believe we were recommended the Pork Belly (Sticky chilli glaze, cabbage slaw, Japanese sesame dressing) as being quite popular. 

The garlic bread was very nice, served as four small buns. The Pork Belly was a little on the spicy hot side - I think maybe we'd missed that 'chilli glaze' part with it being recommended - but it wasn't excessive and still enjoyable.

For our mains Enigma had the Shorthorn Rib-Eye (Marble Score 2+) 350g steak with Barbeque Relish, and I had the Shorthorn Fillet (Marble Score 2+) 300g steak, with mushroom sauce, both served with salad. We added and extra side order of Crunchy Chips, and some kind of green bean salad that was nice but I can't pin down on their online menu.

We both very much enjoyed the main course. Definitely some of the best steaks we've ever had.While there was certainly plenty of food on our plates, it always makes me wonder why, when you pay more for a meal, the amount on the plate always looks less? As opposed to your average pub/hotel meal where they seem to really fill your plate as a way of suggesting you get so much more for the price?

For desert we still had quite a bit left on the voucher so we went all out on the 'The Grand Finale' which is basically one of each of the other four desserts on the menu (so we had two deserts each) including:

'The Grand Finale'

Apple & Rhubarb Crumble

Chocolate & Hazelnut Fondant

Crème Brûlée

Biscoff Sticky Date

(Look up the menu to see details of each)

They were all extremely nice and we managed to nearly get through all of them. Certainly wasn't that much left over! Enigma's favorite was the Apple & Rhubarb crumble, while mine was the Chocolate & Hazelnut Fondant.

You may have noticed I haven't mentioned the Wine. That's because neither of us are really wine drinkers. This particular night Enigma was on a total alcohol ban for dietary reasons, while I'm never sure how wine is going to react with my fruit adverse stomach, given it's basically grape juice.

We did get a bottle of white, from which I drank maybe a half a glass, but it wouldn't be fair to give any kind of review. We were allowed to take the unfinished bottle with us. I'll probably drink it a bit more to see how I fare.

Overall it was a good night. While, generally, The Meat & Wine Co  is a little more than we like to spend it's certainly not beyond those used to more of a pub/hotel budget. Definitely a great venue and food if you're looking to have a bit more of a special night out than you would usually have eating out.