Mark G.
Yelp
This is for the restaurant section upstairs, not the bar (which also looked nice).
I went to the Mitre Tavern for dinner last night and had a great time.
Atmosphere: The dining room was fairly busy for a Wednesday night at 9:00pm, which was a good sign. The atmosphere was great, upscale but not in such a way that discourages you from eating or talking, there was good buzz in the room. I enjoyed the old English architecture and style.
On to the food: I arrived knowing I wanted a steak, so I had a glass of Shiraz upon arrival. the St. Hallet Butchers. It was good and paired well with the meat. As I was alone, I didn't want to go crazy on the ordering, so when I ordered my steak I had the Pear & Walnut salad as my starter. This salad was wonderful, I would not hesitate to order it again. The table bread and butter was also fresh and tasty, which with the salad was enough before the main meal.
I ordered the CAAB (Certified Australian Angus Beef) Porterhouse (400/g), cooked medium-rare. This is a mix of grass fed and grain fed beef. Upon arrival the steak was cooked as requested, with a warm-pink interior and lots of juices. While they do offer sauces, I prefer the taste of the meat and did not order any sauce. It was very good and I finished the entire steak (I had had a light day of food, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).
After this I was quite full, so no dessert, however I did order a cappuccino that was made excellently. My real dessert was a drink of Lagavulin 16 scotch, to which I must say was brilliant.
The services: It was good, not excellent but above average for sure. I did keep having to ask for more water, however I don't feel that my waiter was inattentive. He was also very good at answering questions on the menu, about the styles of meat, etc. which was good. Because I had gotten there late in the evening, and like to take my time eating, I was there when they started to close. They in no way made me feel the need to hurry and were content to let me finish in my own time. This ended up garnering them a tip at the end of the night (tipping is non-customary in Australia).
Price: The meal was reasonably priced, however I do feel the steak, for the cost/quality, was a little high. I say this as I have had steaks at this cost that were nearly life-changing. Everything else however was either fairly priced or even a little lower than expected, so all in all it evened out for me.
I would recommend a visit to the Mitre Tavern, you'll have a good time. I'd add this as a place I'd return ton on another visit to Melbourne.