7 Alfred

7 Alfred Place
Melbourne, VIC 3000
https://7alfred.com.au

For the indecisive, 7 Alfred is the holy grail. A bold venture from the Rockpool Group, 7 Alfred is about doing one thing, and doing it well: steak frites. With just one cut (medium or well-done), 4 sauces, and a single side of green salad, all the decisions are practically made. And so, there’s very little to say other than 7 Alfred achieves their goal marvellously. If a high-quality, no-frills steak dinner without breaking the bank is what’s on the cards, then you can hardly do better than this old-school, energetic dining room.

Rating: 15/20 – perfected classics.
Suggestion: it would be great if they offered extra fries as an option – you get plenty with the steak, but they really are very good.
ADDIT: fyi this is a peter recommendation and i have been forced into calling this out.

The 220g O’Connor Superior Grass Fed Scotch Fillet ($48) is an all-rounder cut. It strikes the perfect balance between hearty beefy flavours, and melt-in the mouth tenderness. It is cooked to a heavy, smoky char, served with your choice of mustard and sauces. My pick is Dijon mustard and a smooth peppercorn gravy, though I also liked the freshness of the chimichurri.

The accompaniments to the steak are equally well done. The beef tallow shoestring fries are everything you want Maccas fries to be (but never are). Each individual fry was cooked to golden perfection, staying crisp throughout the entire meal. And despite the rich flavour from frying in beef tallow, the overall taste was clean and very moreish. On the lighter side, there’s a Green Leaf Salad ($8), dressed with a shallot vinaigrette.

For sweets, the options are New York Cheesecake, or Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce ($8). This was simple but good, a smooth vanilla ice cream with a generous amount of airy chocolate sauce that had the consistency of mousse, but still delivers a strong hit of quality cocoa.