Address: 102 Ipswich Rd, Woolloongabba QLDTel: (07) 3391 5022
Website: www.normanhotel.com.au (picture above from website)
Lunch available from 12noon to 2.30pm daily
(and 3pm on Friday and Sunday).
Dinner available from 5.30pm to 9pm daily (and 9.30pm on Friday and Saturday).
All Brisbane locals will advise that The Norman Hotel will serve you the best steak in the area - and for 30 odd dollars, this is not such a bad deal.
I am not going to concede that this is the best steak I have ever tasted, but it was certainly worth my while. And here's why:
Pictured below is the Midi Eye Fillet - a small in diameter, but large in width cut of (I believe) the best cut of steak. At The Norman Hotel, carnivorism is heightened by your choice of raw cut prior to the ordering process. Amongst some of the other classics (rump, t-bone etc etc), I chose eye fillet to be safe, as I was sure they could not dry it out completely into a charred mess, much to my disappointment. I wasn't happy that the steak stood almost as tall as my fist (my personal preference is flat, thinner steaks) so I was trying my luck here.
Cooked medium, with the steak leaning slightly more towards medium rare due to the thickness, the pepper sauce offset the steak off quite nicely. The salad is dressed with a mustard vinegrette, and that baked potato with 'bacon sauce' was actually the best baked spud I had ever eaten. Pepper sauce + baked potato + bacon sauce (more like shredded, marinated bacon) was just a true bloke's dream.
Pictured below: Baby back ribs - the meat was quite tender and the rib sauce unique in its own way - was more deep in its 'green herb' flavour, thicker and saucier. It did leave me thinking about BBQ ribs for the rest of the week...
I give Norman Hotel a thumbs up for a reasonably priced meal - their steak is passable but it is the sauces and accompaniments which really seal the deal for me. Kudos for having an exposed kitchen that details their cooking process (which seems to consist of a grill and some strategic steak baking ovens).
