“A princely lunch”
Sitting rather inconspicuously at the exit of 313, Bedrock has always been one of Seth’s favorite restaurants for steak. Seemingly overshadowed by its ‘louder’ competition of Brotzeit, Ben & Jerry’s and such, one visit to Bedrock and it will leave you wondering why you never went in all this while.
The service here is impeccable, where you can be prepared to be treated like royalty amidst the flavourful aromas of freshly baked bread and a soft, cosy interior with a comfortably posh setting.
Starting each of their diners off with this amazingly divine serving of flatbread, Bedrock pampers everyone with a mouthful of fluffy, soft and yet rather chewy delight. Top it off with their roasted garlic and butter to complete the entire experience.
We were here to try their revamped set lunch menu, including new options to spruce up the section and offer an extended variety. Patrons can choose a starter, main and dessert for just a price of $38 (seafood & poultry) or $58 (steaks). The lunch set is a lot more affordable than their usual a la carte selections at night.
It is admittedly, an extremely valued choice for a treat, especially if you’re around town. Bedrock offers a more value-for-money option to such great quality western cuisine, and its amazing value for their generous portions is exactly what will make you come back for more.
Choose from 3 different starters: The classic lobster bisque, house cured salmon or char-grilled baby gem.
Classic Lobster Bisque. Topped with chive cream, we could taste a flavourful, rich body characterised by simmering lobster shells for hours on an end to create a strong, robust stock. The chive cream further intensified the consistency of the stock, allowing it to be thicker and creamier.
Char-grilled Baby Gem. Tossed with bacon, heirloom tomatoes and parmesan, Bedrock managed to achieve a delicate balance between savoury and refreshing, which I really appreciated. As per starters go, this introduced interesting touches of savouriness, with the char-grilled baby gem lettuce drizzled with a sweeter sauce, and adding a hint of saltiness with the bacon, but still manage to wrap it up rather refreshingly.
House cured salmon, topped off with caperberries, sour cream and pickled radish. The toppings managed to add different dimensions of taste and textures into the mix, complete with an semi-intense smoked flavour.
Next, diners can then choose their choice of mains from 6 different options, the wagyu minute steak (all-time favourite), grilled hamburger steak, woodfire-grilled striploin, woodfire-grilled veal chop, confit cornfed chicken and baked barramundi fillet.
One of the new items being introduced, the woodfire-grilled veal chop was set up to impress. Served with asparagus pesto, fries and roasted vine ripened tomatoes, it featured a thick cut of veal, tender with sealed in juices.
The veal chop was seasoned well, with the marinade set in the meat, sealing in the flavour. The pesto was on the light side, adding just a slightly subtle tangy touch to the meat to cover up any overly gamey taste left.
Confit cornfed chicken, served with roasted swede & beetroot hash, and a sunny egg on the side. The chicken was really tender, soft but still retaining a firm bite. It was still pretty tasty throughout the whole dish, testimony of a good brine marinade. It went well with the slightly sweet beetroot mash, which complimented and downplayed the richness of the savoury chicken meat.
A really thick and generous cut of striploin, meat-lovers rejoice. Served with bone marrow mashed potatoes and topped off with béarnaise sauce, it gave an interesting twist to the classic and already-oh-so-delicious striploin steak.
Béarnaise sauce is a sauce made of clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks and white wine vinegar and flavored with herbs. It added a creamy texture and layers of flavour to the steak, and complimented its meaty bite.
You should be already thoroughly stuffed and satiated here, but make some space for their gorgeous dessert selection of sticky stout & toffee pudding, sour cherry chocolate tart or raspberry & white chocolate eclair.
Sticky stout & toffee pudding. Not sure if the stout is too subtle or my taste buds were already in frenzy from all that flavours beforehand, but I couldn’t really taste much other than an intense salted caramel flavour. The berries added a refreshing tang to the dessert, but it was still a little sweet for me. The cake was moist but was a tad too soft and collapsed quite easily.
Sour cherry chocolate tart. The cherries integrated into the semi-cake-tart brought a refreshing twist to the sweet chocolate, allowing it to counteract the richness of the chocolate filling. The cake-crust was bordering on the dry side, and it wasn’t as smooth as I expected it to be.
Raspberry & white chocolate eclair. Well, this eclair was a hit considering how the other desserts went for me. It was a good balance between sweet and tangy, with the white chocolate adding a slightly sweetened base, and complimented with sour raspberries and a cold, light ice cream filling.
Amidst our course, we also tried one of the most amazing mac and cheese ever. Bedrock’s truffle mac & cheese ($20) seriously deserves more recognition, for the heavenly, decadent delight that it is. Seth has raved about it in his previous review as well.
Made from 4 different types of cheese (including blue cheese), its creamy, cheesy consistency is both refined and rich. Complimented by a thinner maccheroni pasta for a smoother texture and drizzled with truffle oil for that distinct yet subtle flavour, this crisp, cheesy indulgence is literally so good you must try it for yourself.
Overall, Bedrock would definitely be a must-try location that I would recommend to everyone. Especially their steaks and mac & cheese. I could honestly live on their mac & cheese for obvious reasons.
Although they had a few misses with their dessert, they still present a satisfying selection for their 3-course lunch set and I really loved the whole atmosphere there. The service was attentive yet not intrusive, where the place exuded a vibe of regal class. I guess you get what you pay for, and in Bedrock’s case, you get more than what you pay for. What are you waiting for?
Related Guide: Bedrock Bar and Grill Restaurant Review
Expected Damage: Set lunch at $38++ or $58++ for steaks
