.I get excited when I meet people with a strong passion for what they do. Restaurateurs are some of the most passionate people I’ve had the pleasure to encounter. Every ounce of creativity and drive goes into transforming the seed of their idea and vision into a memorable experience for their patrons. They want you to enjoy your experience. Kingsley’s is no different. They strive for excellence and have a team of competent and ambitious people to steer it in the right direction.
CHECK OUT THE COMPETITION AT THE END OF THIS ARTICLE!!
Situated right on the river on Eagle St, the restaurant has an opulent outlook across the water to the Storey Bridge. The fitout has a slight art-deco feel with low pendant lights and train-carriage style booths in one corner, a semi-private dining room, and large indoor and outdoor dining areas. This is a perfect place for a business lunch or a fairly formal dinner with friends.
Matt Yurko, Head Chef, is celebrity chef material. Unfortunately, another chef has already trademarked the first name and haircut! To quote their website “Matt brings to Kingsleys an old school style of cheffing, combining discipline, technique and tradition…” and this was simply quite noticeable by seeing him speak.
The entree was a selection of bites from their menu.
Clockwise from top left:
Steak Tartare - my first taste of tartare. It was buttery and tender. A nicely balanced dressing accompanied it
A prawn dish with scheschwan salt – smoky and delicious with the accompanying wine
Kingfish sashimi with blood orange – a big nugget of dense flesh, zesty and fresh
Natural oyster – need I say more.
Bloody Mary oyster shot – I could have a dozen of these.
Tempura oyster with wakami and roe – Julia very much enjoyed this one
It was all balanced on moistened salt and a cucumber slice to stop it from teetering on the plate - I’ll definitely try this technique at home!
We were asked what our favourite was – and we simply couldn’t choose. It was all very well excecuted.
Next up were the Alaskan King Crab Legs with mayonnaise and a lemon wedge
Before and after.
Fresh, sweet, salty. Naturally a stringy meat but very tender. It tasted pure, and the mayonnaise was very light and not at all cloying.
Well, since I put Julia’s mug in there I better put mine in too!
Main. A choice between T-Bone, Rib eye and Striploin. I chose the rib-eye and it was nice and tender. All steaks were served with a red wine jus, on a bare plate….
…with sides to share. This concept always makes me enjoy eating with friends more. Blanched beans served with toasted flaked almonds, brocollini, a salad of baby spinach, beetroot and fetta and thick cut chips.
And sir, madam, would you like some mustard with your steak? The horseradish made my eyes water!
Cheese time – and it was probably time for me to make more effort with my photos! A few good wines will do that to you. The blue cheese was my favourite by far (which surprises me everytime!) and the gooey, inhouse-made quince paste was a perfect match with the soft cheese.
Kingsley’s Steak and Crabhouse knows their stuff. They know what they want and they’re going for it. Belinda, our host for the evening, welcomed our group, a tableful of food writers and bloggers, by sincerely telling us why she invited us. To engage not just the traditional media, but to start to use social networking and engage the new media. Word of mouth is, afterall, one of the best marketing strategies. Belinda and the whole team have a strong passion for what they do and what they want to acheive.
Something I’ve started to notice at these blogger dinners is the food and service we recieve is impeccable, which is understandable given they hope we will write lovely things about them. But sometimes that standard is not always acheived for other patrons, and there will always be a few nasty ranting reviews online somewhere about even the best restaurants. I think it’s important to remember that most restaurants strive for a high standard, but may not get there because they’re just SO busy that night, or other factors. To reach the quality we experienced this night, most restaurants want feedback, not nasty rude rants anonymously online, they want constructive criticism – how else will they ever improve? This is something Kingsley’s asked for on the night, but it was hard to fault them.
At the end of the night Kingsley’s provided us all with a goodie bag full of delicious treats, including A summit “The Pinnacle” White wine, which proudly displays Matt Yurko’s recipe for Mooloolaba Prawns with Scheswan Salt. I’ll have a go at cooking that recipe soon and having the matched wine with it. Also included in the pack was a 700g aged rib steak, elegantly packaged in a box displaying comic-strip style drawings that my Dad would happily have a chuckle at. I half-near killed the damn thing by cooking it for a little too long and it was still deliciously tender. And there is nothing better than that caremelised flavour of seared beef fat on a good steak.
We served it with a Raspberry Jus - Recipe as follows:
Rest the steak in alfoil once you’ve cooked it in a pan, and save the juice from the steak, but pour some of the oil away. In the dirty steak pan drop in a good teaspoon of raspberry jam and stir it around over a medium heat. Add the pan juices to deglaze the pan and a good crack of pepper. No need for any salt as there will be enough in the steak juices from when you seasoned the steak. Strain the raspberry seeds out and serve with the steak.
Well, enough of this teasing… One lucky reader will WIN not one, but 2 x Rib on the Bone steaks, a bottle of The Pinnacle white wine (with that fancy prawn recipe emblazoned on the back) and a very sturdy waiter’s friend corkscrew!
Kingsley’s was very generous and is sponsoring this competition – Thank you!
The competition will be open to Brisbane residents (or people looking for a sunshine-filled Queensland holiday – what a great excuse huh!) and of course you must be aged 18 or above. The prize is to be picked up from Kingsley’s direct.
So, please tell us, What is your favourite accompaniment with steak?
We’d love to know – tell us a good story (we love a good yarn!) and the best comment wins! The comp will run until Friday the 24th September, and you can comment on any post.
Remember to leave your email address when you add the comment, and add the words “I LIKE STEAK” in the comment field - so we know you want the steak!
www.kingsleys.com.au 71 Eagle St, Riverina Place Brisbane 4000
I’m sorry I missed the night. The food looks excellent. Well done with the photos.
The Universe is filled with many puzzling things and there are always questions to be asked. You can contemplate the meaning of life or wonder on the mechanics of Quantum Physics or you could consider something truly amazing and difficult to work out. One such question that has puzzled man (and woman for that matter) since the invention of the bovine is, “What is your favourite accompaniment to steak”? I LIKE STEAK and as a result of this puzzling question, I have spent a lifetime interviewing steaks of various descriptions.
So I began my interviews at an early age with a steak my mother prepared.
“Hello Steak, I was wondering, what would be a good accompaniment to you”? This particular steak was dealing with an adolescent and it simply answered, “Tomato Sauce you idiot”! Well I thought that was rather rude and decided to drown the offending steak in sauce and ate it. I don’t remember to much about the taste of the steak but the sauce flavour has always stayed strong in my mind.
As I grew older and my investigative skills improved, I managed to corner a steak at a BBQ. I thought to myself, “Self, you need to ask this steak the question”, so I did. “Hey Steak, I was wondering what would be a good accompaniment to you?” I think the steaks must be rather annoyed that their previous owners, the Bovines, had to die so they could be prepared and served up. This steak was just as rude as the one I encountered several years earlier and it replied, “BBQ Sauce you idiot”! As you can see, the attitude of steaks has not improved much over the years and I of course drown the offending steak in BBQ Sauce and ate it. Can’t seem to remember the taste of that steak either but the sauce really sticks in my mind. Maybe I should ease up on the sauce?
So a few years later I was in a restaurant and steak was on the menu. I went over to the counter and picked out a steak to which the waiter inquired into how I would like it prepared. I asked if I could have a moment alone with the steak and went over to ask the question. “Hey Steak, I was wondering, what would be a good accompaniment for you”? Again with the attitude, this steak simply replied, “Steak Dianne Sauce you idiot”! I guess I had to expect some sort of attitude from the steak and it didn’t disappoint me. So I ordered the Steak Dianne Sauce for this fractional bovine remnant and ate it. I must admit, the Steak Dianne Sauce did not overwhelm the flavour of the steak like the tomato sauce and BBQ sauce did.
So basically after a lifetime of steak interviews I have not really found the favourite accompaniment for steaks. Having said that, I did happen to find on a recent occasion that a steak I prepared and placed on a plate with some vegetables, was lacking in any available sauce or gravy. Frankly, interviewing these rather arrogant steaks over the years has left me with a distaste for interviewing steaks but I decided to give it another go. “Hello Steak, I was just wondering, there does not seem to be anything in the house to accompany you tonight other than these vegetables. I was wondering what you could suggest as an accompaniment to you. The steak looked at me and sighed, “A knife and fork you idiot”!
Eureka ! After all these years of interviews and insults from steaks I finally have found my favourite accompaniment to go with a steak. The humble knife and fork!
Did I happen to mention that I LIKE STEAK ?
Who doesn’t love a good stake? well, unless one was a vegetarian
I am very traditional with my accompaniment with stake, steamed vegetables and a baked potato do the trick for me, but I am always open to try new things.
so yes I LIKE STEAK
Hmmmm…..
I LIKE STEAK
My choice of condiment…..
Homemade Polish Horseradish with Beetroot is the best accompaniment – called BURACZKI (boo-RAHCH-kee) or CWIKLA (CHFEEK-wah)
As to Kingsleys however, these restaurants seem to be an offshoot of
http://www.kingsleysauststeak.com.au/
Their FIRST steak house was in King St Sydney – It has a Fabulous Cigar Bar downstairs.
Ate there 100 times – all fabulous!!!
RodC
Hi Guys
Great review as usual, but I have to say I’ve had a very different experience.
On a recent quiet Sunday afternoon with enough people in the restaurant to have gotten the kitchen going properly, my partner’s steak came out overcooked and chewy and my fish dish was actually too salty to eat, and the flesh was dry. The service was also terrible, with two forgetful and unengaging waiters changing spots half way through the meal. Such a shame, because our entrees were simple but delicious so we had high hopes for the experience!
For what we paid and the fact that the restaurant was NOT busy, I would honestly expect better. I suppose my constructive feedback is pay as much attention to your weekend daytime diners as you do at other times!
Rod, Thank you. You are exactly right our first steakhouse was Kingsleys King St which we established in 1994 and it did have a great cigar lounge. Unfortunately we sold King St in 1999 but have had the pleasure of subsequently opening new venues in Woolloomooloo, Brisbane and Canberra. We are always looking for new accompaniments to be served with our steaks and would love the recipe for Burackzi if it is something that you are willing to share with us.
Thank you Sarah and Julia for your kind words about our dinner.
Great images and review…..booking the next night out at Kingsley’s for sure
I tried for years to perfect cooking a steak. My late uncle was the one to teach me how to do it properly in the end. True Steak and Veg man, none of this Quiche stuff for him
now my little tasty accompaniment is a dash of Wild lime,Ginger and Chilli sauce..yumo 
Yep I like Steak.
I like my Steak well done, but juicy and tender, and in true Aussie fashion with chips, fried onions and salad
I LIKE STEAK!!
Hmm… the perfect accompaniment for steak depends on my mood. But usually I lean towards steamed green beans and thickly cut potato wedges as a side, and on the steak some Dijon mustard with just a little barbecue cause. And ofcourse, a big glass of red!!
Perfect.
Once upon a time there was a lovely, somewhat balding husband who liked to cook. In the beginning, he wasn’t very good at it, but after lots of encouragement and perseverance (despite one particularly unpalatable stir fry of cauliflower and anchovy) he became quite competent in the kitchen. Last birthday a friend gave him a rather beautiful little red hard-cover recipe book entitled ‘Classic Spanish Cooking’, knowing that the lovely, somewhat balding husband liked old- fashioned notions like classic cooking styles, and little red volumes resembling hymn books. Soon after he made the most delicious recipe from page 234 of the little red recipe book – ‘Grilled steaks on the bone with hazelnut salsa’. Everybody agreed the hazelnut salsa was a perfect, if uncommon, accompaniment to steak. The wife of the lovely, somewhat balding husband writes this post in the hope that the appearance of two rib on the bone steaks from Kingsley’s would prompt a repeat appearance of the hazelnut salsa dish. I really like steak.
Once upon a time there was a lovely, somewhat balding husband who decided to try his hand at cooking. At first he was not very good at it, but after some encouragement, and perseverance (and an especially unpalatable stir-fry of cauliflower and anchovy) there was a marked improvement. For his birthday this year a friend gave the lovely, somewhat balding husband a quaint little hard-covered recipe book entitled ‘Classic Spanish Cooking’, knowing he had a fondness for old-fashioned notions like classic cooking, and little red volumes resembling hymn books. From page 234 of the little red recipe book he made ‘grilled steaks on the bone with hazelnut salsa’ and everyone at the table agreed the hazelnut salsa was the most delicious accompaniment to steak they’d ever tasted! The wife of the lovely, somewhat balding husband has often lamented “I really like steak” and wishes the lovely, somwhat balding husband would make the recipe again. She is quietly confident that the appearance of a pair of Kingsley’s steaks might just make that salsa reappear.
Last night ( 23/09/2010) my beautiful partner booked a table for dinner at Kingsley’s. We also invited our friends who were celebrating their Marriage anniversary. Wow ! The Service could not be faulted and the food was simply put – delicious
The steaks were cooked to perfection and the desserts were simply fantastic. My mouth is watering just thinking about it again
Thank You for making our evening memorable and congratulations on your fantastic service ( with a smile.
We will see you again.
Taj, Jimmy, Sambo and Drew !!
Who won??????