Does Rockpool still sizzle? Good Food revisits the riverside steak stalwart 20 years on

It is hard to overstate the frenzy that the arrival of Rockpool Bar & Grill generated in Melbourne 20 years ago. With the possible exception of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, Neil Perry’s seafood and steak palace at Crown received more attention, more press and more excitement than anything else had or would upon opening in 2006, despite the fact it was an offshoot of a then 17-year-old Sydney restaurant.

Gingerboy and George Calombaris’ Press Club also lit up Melbourne that year, but Perry was an unparalleled star, and the thought – and cash – that went into the endeavour was staggering. I was not here to experience the results at the time, but according to just about everyone who was there, the hype was justified.

Two decades later, much has changed. Perry is no longer involved, having sold Rockpool and the group that housed it in 2016. These days it lives under the management of Hunter Street Hospitality, which owns and operates more than 40 venues across Australia. The food is overseen by the group’s culinary director Santiago Aristizabal, and onsite executive chef Rodney Mom.

Rockpool probably no longer holds the crown for Melbourne’s go-to special occasion restaurant, but it is still massively popular as a provider of the impressive business lunch, and it is still crammed on weekend nights, its giant room humming with frenetic energy, bolstered by the panoramic view of the river and the city beyond.

In some ways, this restaurant is like a diner for the 1 per cent, a place where you can get just about anything your heart desires (if you have the cash). The kitchen does a truly impressive job with consistency, managing this juggernaut of a menu with very few missteps. It also nails the brief in terms of presenting lots of dishes with influences from all over the globe, without ever veering into anything that might be too challenging for an audience that probably doesn’t want to be challenged.

Dairy with lightly sweet accompaniments is a strong point, exemplified by house-made halloumi, more mellow and less salty than its commercial brethren, topped with fresh grapes and verjuice.

Most dishes are mild, in a pleasant and well-seasoned way, even down to a green gazpacho on a raw trout entree, or a salsa macha on a wagyu brisket with pickled green tomato. (That brisket presented one rare instance of cooking gone wrong, its fall-apart tenderness giving way to dry, almost desiccated meat.)

If you’re here for luxury ingredients done right, you will almost certainly be happy. The quality of the product is undeniable, from ultra-fresh Merimbula oysters (shucked to order but not completely freed from their shells; adductor muscles were still in place) to whole grilled Hervey Bay prawns, fat and juicy and flavoured (lightly!) with curry leaves and Kampot pepper.

And the steaks? They are maybe a tad over-charred for my tastes, especially when you’re paying as much as $490 for the quality of the meat. But there are many fine cuts to choose from, and they get the interior temperature exactly right every time.

Many of the desserts are still of the sculptural, old-fashioned-fancy variety, such as chocolate mousse encased in tempered chocolate. The most impressive thing the pastry department is doing here is a variety of ice-creams that feature native Australian ingredients. That’s a supermarket line I’d love to see.

There was a long period of time in which the training a waiter might receive on Rockpool’s floor was unparalleled. Perry’s well-earned reputation globally hinges partly on the style of service practiced here: detail oriented, professional, but without the stiffness long associated with fine dining. Some people will claim that Rockpool – in Sydney but also in Melbourne – invented the style of friendly, welcoming but exacting service for which Australia is now known.

So it’s sad to report that, across multiple meals during lunch and dinner, on busy and slow days, Rockpool’s service is far from what it used to be. I am not usually one for Michelin-inspector-style tests of propriety, but part of the point of paying $69 for half a chicken is that your napkin will be refolded when you go to the bathroom, that your wine order won’t be completely forgotten, that you won’t go for long stretches with empty cocktail glasses on your table.

When I explained everything that went wrong to a friend who used to work on the floor in Melbourne, she was baffled: according to her there used to be strict systems in place to avoid everything I was describing. Bring them back, I say.

Steaks are maybe a tad over-charred for my tastes, but they get the interior temperature exactly right every time.

The heyday of Rockpool will likely never come back entirely, and it will be interesting to see what happens when Victor Churchill opens its own huge steak palace in Crown next year. But I’d be lying if I said I could think of another restaurant in town with such a massive menu, and therefore such wide appeal, that is doing it better.

That may not be what many of us in Melbourne want any more – these days we increasingly appreciate specificity, oddity, personality. Does Rockpool still have a place in our dining landscape? Almost certainly. For the business lunch, absolutely. To impress your mum if she’s not an adventurous eater but revels in luxury, definitely.

To just have a reliably good steak and martini and not have to think too much? Well, there are certainly other options these days, but this isn’t a bad one, not by a mile.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.