The Scarborough foreshore has been experiencing a revival of late. Peters by the Sea, Ocean One Bar and the Wild Fig have had the run of the place. New arrival The Local Shack is (hopefully) the vanguard of many new restaurants competing for the hearts and tastebuds of beachgoers, surfers and strollers. We came on this particular occasion to celebrate my old housemate's birthday with a large group of people that was easily catered for.
The Local Shack, like its CBD counterpart, has a variety of foods available, as long as you are after a burger, pizza or salad. Unusually, they have two steak sangas available: The Shack Steak, containing eye fillet, bacon, tasty cheese, salad and dijon mustard, and the Raging Bull, with eye fillet, brie cheese, egg, balsamic onion jam, salad, and herbed aioli. I felt for the sake of standardisation, I should have gotten the Shack Steak, my greed overcame me and I ended up going for the Raging Bull. Same price, so much extra cholesterol! I also ordered a side of chips ($4.50) and aioli ($1) and a beer (Coopers Pale Ale, $7) because greed knows no bounds.
The restaurant was cranking on a Friday night so I was pleasantly surprised when the burger came out quickly (within 15 minutes). From the initial angle, the burger looked excellent, though from another angle you could see that the stick was functional as well as decorative.
The steak was excellent. I didn't get to choose its level of doneness but it was cooked perfectly medium rare and was an excellent cut. Thick and tender with no sinew to saw through, it was an absolute delight. By comparison the bread was an utter disappointment. It was a multigrain bread roll which failed to keep the juices in and squashed flat as I made my way through the sanga. By the end I was left with a thumbprint sized piece of bread on the bottom-- one of my pet hates. The salad was fair-- the variety of lettuce was good, but the single slice of tomato was not. The condiments which also held so much promise just didn't really work-- the egg and brie, which I love separately, did not bond well. They melded together in a mishmash of richness which the balsamic onion jam tried to round out, but couldn't.
In short, the steak was amazing; the sanga, less so. The Shack Steak might improve on the condiments but there were some fundamental issues with the bread and salad that can't be solved with bacon.
I liked the ambiance of the beach shack. It's good for a large group, or a small group, or any size in-between, for a casual meal after the beach or a simple night out. It's loud in there-- but it might just have been our group. The Local Shack is certainly worth visiting-- but I'd consider having an ordinary burger, or one of their pizzas instead.
Steak: 5 / 5
Bread: 1 / 5
Salad: 2 / 5
Condiments: 2 / 5
Surroundings: 3 / 5
Steak Sanga Score: 52%
Price: $17 (sanga only; chips extra)
The Local Shack, like its CBD counterpart, has a variety of foods available, as long as you are after a burger, pizza or salad. Unusually, they have two steak sangas available: The Shack Steak, containing eye fillet, bacon, tasty cheese, salad and dijon mustard, and the Raging Bull, with eye fillet, brie cheese, egg, balsamic onion jam, salad, and herbed aioli. I felt for the sake of standardisation, I should have gotten the Shack Steak, my greed overcame me and I ended up going for the Raging Bull. Same price, so much extra cholesterol! I also ordered a side of chips ($4.50) and aioli ($1) and a beer (Coopers Pale Ale, $7) because greed knows no bounds.
 |
| The Raging Bull |
The restaurant was cranking on a Friday night so I was pleasantly surprised when the burger came out quickly (within 15 minutes). From the initial angle, the burger looked excellent, though from another angle you could see that the stick was functional as well as decorative.
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| The Leaning Tower |
The steak was excellent. I didn't get to choose its level of doneness but it was cooked perfectly medium rare and was an excellent cut. Thick and tender with no sinew to saw through, it was an absolute delight. By comparison the bread was an utter disappointment. It was a multigrain bread roll which failed to keep the juices in and squashed flat as I made my way through the sanga. By the end I was left with a thumbprint sized piece of bread on the bottom-- one of my pet hates. The salad was fair-- the variety of lettuce was good, but the single slice of tomato was not. The condiments which also held so much promise just didn't really work-- the egg and brie, which I love separately, did not bond well. They melded together in a mishmash of richness which the balsamic onion jam tried to round out, but couldn't.
In short, the steak was amazing; the sanga, less so. The Shack Steak might improve on the condiments but there were some fundamental issues with the bread and salad that can't be solved with bacon.
I liked the ambiance of the beach shack. It's good for a large group, or a small group, or any size in-between, for a casual meal after the beach or a simple night out. It's loud in there-- but it might just have been our group. The Local Shack is certainly worth visiting-- but I'd consider having an ordinary burger, or one of their pizzas instead.
Steak: 5 / 5
Bread: 1 / 5
Salad: 2 / 5
Condiments: 2 / 5
Surroundings: 3 / 5
Steak Sanga Score: 52%
Price: $17 (sanga only; chips extra)
