Ball & Chain Grill - Salamanca

Had a fantastic meal. Scallops were delicious. Main of 300g dry aged scotch fillet was cooked to perfection and the sides of potato flan, pickled cabbage, carrot and broccolini were great. The Korean beef on a cucumber salad was one of the best things I have ever eaten! The beef itself was tender, juicy and creamy. So glad I changed my order at the last minute. Desserts were also good! Service was excellent from all staff and the venue and atmosphere were amazing. Highly recommend you give Ball and Chain a visit.

Came with group of 16, pre-ordered a 2 course dinner. Beef vegetable soup arrived for all of us with good temperature. Soup was a bit on the salty side. The main course was a Huge chunk of pork. Grilled to perfection moist and tender. The rind was very flavorful. The gravy with the good balance of tart and sweetness yet not over powering the meat. Waiters were very attentive and took time to answer any questions.

EXCELLENT STEAK RESTAURANT IN HOBART CBD Ball and Chain is a very good steakhouse on Salamanca Place. It's located in an historic convict-built venue in Battery Point. Huge range of steaks of all cuts .. including some amazing aged meats. Staff are friendly and attentive. A selection of regular tables plus booth seating along one wall. Extensive menu running the full gamut from starters to dessert. Steaks come with sides of vegetables and yiu can also order extra sides. I choose the 300g porterhouse medium rare with mushroom sauce for my main.. tender and delicious. Wine by the glass or bottle at reasonable prices. Wander around to see the chefs at work, display cabinets of aged meats and the amazing building that has preserved the original structure. People with mobility issues will be fine here as it's all on one floor. Taxis / users can drop you right at the door as it fronts onto Salamanca Place. From our hotel (Grand Chancellor) it was an easy 10 minute walk.

Ball & Chain – A Hobart Institution Coasting on Reputation Ball & Chain trades heavily on its reputation as a Hobart institution, but what we experienced felt like a venue coasting on past glory rather than earning it. To be clear, the servers were excellent—professional, apologetic, and clearly doing damage control for a kitchen that was failing them. We were told 20–25 minutes for food. It arrived after 50 minutes, with no proactive update or explanation. The Korean beef was not “charred.” It was charcoal—burnt, bitter, and dry. When this was raised, the manager responded with a patronising lecture about fatty cuts, sugars, and caramelisation instead of acknowledging the simple fact that the dish was badly overcooked. The Korean beef was removed from the bill, not “comped,” and it was never redone. A remake was offered, but after waiting nearly an hour and witnessing the kitchen’s standards firsthand, we preferred to leave the venue rather than endure another round of knife-happy guesswork on the grill. What we could see of the kitchen was alarming. Steaks were repeatedly cut open to check doneness, destroying the product in the process. What happened to using touch, or a probe thermometer? This is basic professional cooking, not a backyard barbecue. Hygiene was equally concerning. Raw and ready-to-serve steaks were handled with the same hand. Gloves were worn but never changed—rendering them meaningless and representing a clear breach of food safety standards. At the bar, staff were observed eating while pouring drinks. Hospitality 101. Has no one here completed a Food Handling course? For a venue that calls itself a Hobart institution, this level of complacency is unacceptable. • Excellent servers • Poor kitchen execution • Defensive, dismissive management • Questionable food safety practices A reputation built years ago does not excuse what’s happening now. This institution needs a serious wake-up call.

A very disappointing meal. We were extremely hungry after hiking and had planned to dine at Landscape or Astor, but couldn't get a reservation, so we ended up here. We still had some hope based on Gemini's recommendation. We waited for nearly forty minutes, and all the starters and steaks were served at the same time, leaving us in a rush to taste them all. The aged steak had no aged flavor at all. When we asked the waiter, she said it wasn't cooked wrongly (I even thought it was a fresh T-bone by mistake). Maybe it was because the beef was too lean? We spent 200 for two people. Compared to Porteño, Gidley in sydney is much cheaper, but you've got the wrong reference. This is just the level of a pub steak!

A good spot for dinner and a nice wholesome and generous meal. We shared an entree and had a main each and were so full we struggled to finish our mains. Steak was cooked to order request and food came seamlessly. Wine was generous and beautiful.

My partner and I had a stunning meal here, went on a Monday night with no booking and the place was packed, we got a table after about 10 minutes of waiting. But during this wait we could watch the chef's prepare the steaks. We had scallops to start and then both had the lamb (I know it's a steak restaurant but we seen this leave the kitchen and couldn't focus on anything else) it was the right decision 😋 I also enjoyed the Pina colada to drink.

The Good: - Relatively affordable for a steakhouse. - Great cut of meat and the service was great - They also have dry aged, tomahawks and wagyus - They let us dine in the private dining room because of our large group - We ordered: 1. Kids Meal’s Steak & Chips - Delicious 100 gr Rump Steak for $15 2. Lamb Shank - Cooked very well and flavorful 3. Dry Aged Steak - One of our orders came out with the wrong doneness (see “The Bad” below) but the one that came out right were cooked beautifully 4. Rump Steak - Juicy, tender and charred so beautifully. The Bad: - Had to wait 25 minutes for all our food to come out I had ordered the Dry Aged Scotch Filet Rare but it came out a Hard Medium (very slight pink in the middle). I asked one of the servers to confirm for me whether that was correct and he insisted that at worst it was a Medium - Rare, but it was a definite rare. I pointed out that I am the only one who ordered rare on the table but mine came out cooked more than everyone else’s. Either my order came out wrong or everyone else’s is wrong. He again insisted mine was rare and since everybody was tired, we didn’t press the issue. But, this is what made me give it a 4 stars instead of a 5.

Stopped in the other day as it came recommended by the concierge. It was great to see an American as the bar tender. Decided in the scallops and the calamari for appetizers. AMAZING! Perfectly seasoned and not chewy. The service was also impeccable. The owner was actually serving tables as well. I was excited to get the steak as I am a steak lover. I was dissatisfied and disappointed. The steak was NOT seasoned at all. No salt, no pepper no nothing. I got the blue cheese sauce and it was just weird. As you can see from the picture, my steak was not 400g... The beer wasn't any better. I have never not finished my beer. I will probably not go back. The most exciting part of dinner was learning about the heritag

Our tour guide recommended for us to eat here. I'm so glad he recommended this restaurant because the food was delicious. The bartender finally made us a really good margarita. We are from America, he was also from America so he knew exactly how we wanted our margarita. I would recommend coming here.

Once upon a time, you didn't have to make a reservation here, and there was a salad bar that rivalled any buffet salad bar in this hemisphere. Times change, but the one constant here is the dark, outdated interior and meat-centric menu. Yes, it is a steakhouse but almost every other place at least had a few options not involving seared flesh. The menu has shrunk considerably, the grilled fish is only available with a Parmesan crust (not ideal if you don't care for Parmesan) and salmon. The steaks are available on 3 sizes, all come with vegetables. BUT... they charge you for sauce! Seems a bit stingy to charge $50+ for a nice steak and $3.50 for pepper sauce. The steak was fine, overcooked but definitely edible. The veggies? 2 steamed potatoes, a carrot peeled to a millimeter of its life, and one floret of broccoli. Add in an entree of "crusty sourdough bread" that was 2 cold slices and a side of cold butter (for $8). I luckily also ordered an entree of grilled prawns, which were quite nice and cooked soooo well. Perhaps the most egregious part of the meal was the lack of the salad bar! Like the Tazzie winter: Shoved off to the side, cold and dark. Save yourself some $$ and get a steak from someplace else. Plenty of other places do a better meal for a whole lot less. They're just coasting on reputation post Covid it seems.

Absolutely incredible from start to finish. Alicia was a fabulous waitress, and the food was exceptional. The beet salad and the espresso martinis almost stole the spotlight from the peppercorn crusted stake. If you are looking for a great meal with a nice atmosphere, definitely check this place out.

Came here for a special dinner, specifically ooking for steak. To our surprise they had a salad bar for everyone who orders something from the grill menu (the grill is why you would think to come here). The salad bar is a nice option as we haven't seen ond around for some time now, my favourite option at the sakad bar was actually the vermicelli noodles (have they got an asian chef?), i could've had just that as my meal and walked away satisfied. I ordered a scotch fillet, medium sized and cooked medium, it was tasty and a good size (actually too much after i had over did it at the salad bar) but was unfortunately unevenly cooked. I had small portions of it that were rare, this was a little disappointing for a grill place, the other steak at the table was a medium well rump which was cooked perfectly.

This was an overall disappointing visit. We were excited to check this place out given the reviews and promise of great steak. But the steak was undercooked (even the waitress agreed), under seasoned, and was filled with stringy tendons. When we asked about it they told us they don't season the steaks at all prior to cooking or serving (!!). The potatoes served on the side were equally bland, and seemed like they went from a pot of boiling water straight to the plate. Not worth the money, the food was mediocre at best and tasteless if I'm being honest, and the service was just ok. It wasn't the near the quality advertised.

I had my birthday party upstairs - my 38 guests and I were well looked after and the food was lovely. I witnessed friends having the oysters and just loving them, a lot of people had steak and there was no complaining (would they ? yes they would) and the children's meals were well quickly served and very nice apparently. I would like to say I saw the salad bar but I was so busy I only noticed my steak long enough to quickly eat it (eye fillet - medium) yummo - and the CAKE was delicious - people are still raving about it. Thank you Ball & Chain, don't change a thing.

Food is of a decent standard but compared to other grill venues it is probably time the ball and chain refreshed the way they operate. The key ingredients are v good, tasty oysters, Tassie fish and steaks but the salad bar thing is very hokey. It gives the venue a family restaurant feel. They could redo the interior and maintain the olde English hunting Lodge vibe as prices for food are at tjr higher end for Hobart. There is stiff competition for dining esp in salamanca

An old school kind of steakhouse with a self-serve salad bar and some really beautiful cuts of meat. My eye fillet was perfectly rare and one of the loveliest pieces of beef I've had in a long time. Food is expensive for the overall vibe of the place, but if you like a good steak and not leaving hungry, you'll appreciate it.

Food was very good, good quality of beef prepared perfectly. Roasted potatoes that come with the beef meals were excellent. Salad bar is well stocked with fresh vegetables and several selections of pasta salad as well - didn't care for the broccoli & cauliflower offering it tasted weird. Service on the other hand was crap. Took about 5 minutes to be greeted, was seated and drink orders taken (Jeremy) and delivered (someone else) in a reasonable time. Waited about 15 minutes to place our food order and then flagged down another server to be able to order. Food came out in a appropriate time. Prices a little high - maybe 5-10% considering salad came with meal. Jeremy server of record on the ticket. Menu selection varied and sufficient that anyone should be able to find something they would like.

We recently had the pleasure of visiting this place and we highly recommend it to other visitors. We tried the porter house steak which had a bit of fat left on it and it was cooked to perfection. The waiting staff here is just so good, we had a wonderful time here and the food was just absolutely delicious.

Ball and Chain was one of the first meal stops we made on this trip, we felt like a good steak meal, with complimentary salad bar with all meals you shouldn't have a problem feeling well fed when leaving here. Like most establishments on Salamanca Place there is a good range of drinks offered and service is of a good standard, places with poor service in such a premium area would not last long before fixing the problem. If you are after steak this is one of several options in the area, you will be satisfied but if you are after a higher-end option, Rockwell is next-door.

Nice meal. A little bit dark inside. An historic building and the service was good. A little pricey but was enjoyable

Love the ball and chain. The steaks were just a smidge under, but they fixed it quickly. The salad bar was great, but could use a freshen up, the iceberg salad was pretty brown. All you can eat salad and flame grilled steak! Yummy!

Very ordinary and overpriced. My girlfriend ordered the salmon and it was smothered in a thick 1970's style inedible bright yellow sauce. The salmon itself was tasteless. I ordered the eye filet - great cut of meat but also tasteless. Salad bar was straight out of an 80's Sizzler. This meal plumbed the depths of our entire relationship. The actual restaurant decor and ambience retains its 1970's essence in its entirety and I would guess that the patrons in general have been frequenting this place ever since. To be fair though, after complaining to the waitress about the ordinariness and blandness of the food, especially considering the prices, they did comp us the salmon.

Just had one of the worst meals for some time. Disappointed because a friend had given my daughter 2x $100 gold gift coins to use there. We were looking forward to a high quality meal. What we got was a tasteless seafood platter entree. The fries were inedible, so full of fat - it's over an hour since we left and I still can't get the taste out of my mouth. I ordered eye-fillet rare, which was well over-cooked (this is meant to be a steak specialty restaurant). Daughter had eye-fillet with pepper sauce which was so strong, forget about tasting anything else. Wife had a scotch fillet which was full of gristle - remember this is a quality steak restaurant! Bill for 3 was $253. We informed them how bad the meal was and how disappointed we were. Just said next time we come it would be better -but we won't be back.

Seriously old school Steak house. I enjoyed two meals here, one the eye fillet, perfectly cooked mid rare, and the ocean trout, Possibly better! A great example of a traditional steak and seafood restaurant that is some what stuck in a time warp. The menu hasn't changed much since the 70s but then again the quality is still right up there! I would still recommend it but with the 'old school' tag attached.

Can I leave a lower rate than 1 star? I'll be brutally honest. The wait staff were friendly and professional but this was the best part of this restaurant...and the wine. I really wanted to like this place and was in the mood for a good steak, but left disappointed. Entree~ My oysters kilpatrick were drowned in bbq sauce, couldn't taste anything else... My wife's prawns were ok, probably the best dish we ordered, but still nothing to write home about. Mains~ 500g Rib eye on the bone served rare, was more blue than rare. That didn't bother me as much as half the steak being fat! This was an awful cut of beef that was at least 50% fat, and at $40+ was a fat rip off! Jamaican chicken was marinated in rum, but tasted more like it had been fed rum it's whole life and then drowned in rum. Overpowering alcohol taste that didn't work on the plate. The last time I saw a salad bar was a Sizzler! As if your not paying enough for this, you have the added bonus of being your own wait staff and getting it yourself, which was ok for Sizzler but not what I expected at a decent restaurant. Didn't bother with dessert. Wine was reasonably priced and was the best thing we ordered the whole meal. I don't usually savage a restaurant but felt pretty pissed off with the quality of the food here. If your wondering why this review is so long, it because I've been sitting on the toilet the whole time writing it.

We ate here in September 2012 and had a quality dinner. It's hard to walk away from this place unsatisfied, as a "salad bar" was included with the meal. This was not simply an array of greens and dressings, but included prepared salads as well as plenty of other side-dish options. Everything tasted fresh and was well prepared. For the main course, I chose the lamb shank and have no complaints. It swam in a rich sauce, falling apart at the mere hint of fork, and was served with mashed potatoes. Partner had wallaby sausage, which resembled a somewhat richer version of beef sausage. Further, got to top this off with local brews. The atmosphere is dark, but not uninviting and service was perfectly on point. Prices were generally moderate and in line with other options in the Salamanca district.

Bit expensive but super delicious and super friendly, very impressed with the wine pairing knowledge. I had the prawns for entree, possibly the best prawns I've had.

It took one hour to serve - for the grilled beef. How long can that get prepared? No apology, not a single sign of saying sorry. A medium size mug of beer costs AUD 10. The quality is just so so. Not recommended at all! So disappointed.

The concept of the restaurant is good, the salad bar is a nice touch. But all the food lacked seasoning (especially salt!) I have never used my salt shaker so much! Disappointing cause otherwise everything was great