Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow

I’ll say it plainly. This is my favorite steak place in the world.

Not my favorite in Melbourne. Not my favorite in Australia. In the world. I’ve eaten steak in a lot of countries, and I keep coming back to the same table beside the water at Docklands. Melbourne has no shortage of great restaurants, which probably makes my loyalty to this one even more telling.

I’ve been eating at Squires Loft for at least eight years. Every time I’m in Melbourne, I go. It isn’t a debate or a maybe. It’s the first booking I make.

Let’s not waste time. Here’s why.

The Steak

Squires Loft takes its beef seriously. The cuts come from across Australia. Some are dry-aged, some fresh, some grass-fed. The menu reads like a map of the country’s paddocks.

For years, my order never changed. The 460-day grass-fed beef from Gippsland. Long-fed, lean, deep in flavor. It was the steak I measured every other steak against.

It’s gone now. The menu changed recently, and Gippsland didn’t make the cut.

I miss it. I’ll be honest about that. When you’ve ordered the same thing for years, you don’t just lose a dish. You lose a small ritual.

But this is the part that matters. The steak I had this time was still very good.

The char was perfect. A dark, even crust, with that slight bitterness at the edge that tells you the grill was properly hot and the cook was paying attention. The sauce they grill the beef with soaks into the surface. It doesn’t sit on top. It becomes part of the crust. I’ve had some excellent grilled beef in Melbourne, including at Ember on Toorak. But there’s something about the way Squires Loft handles its steak that keeps it at the top of my list.

Then the bite.

This isn’t the ultra-tender kind of steak. It doesn’t give way before your teeth get there. It asks you to chew, and it rewards you for doing it. The beef flavor builds as you go. Real, meaty, clean.

And there was no off smell. None.

I dislike steak that tastes like a wet towel. You know the one. That damp, dull note underneath, the sign of beef that’s been handled carelessly or aged badly. Plenty of expensive steaks carry it. This had none of that. Just beef, fire, and salt.

Clean flavors. Clear intention.

Why Lean Matters to Me

I used to chase wagyu like everyone else. The marbling, the richness, the way it coats your mouth.

I’ve started to dislike it.

Too much fat and the steak stops tasting like steak. It tastes like fat with a little beef attached. Two bites in, I’m done. The richness takes over and the meat disappears.

The beef here is leaner. You taste the animal, not just the marbling. You can finish the whole plate and want a little more instead of needing to lie down.

That, to me, is the perfect steak. Not the softest. Not the fattiest. The most honest.

The Prawns

You can top up your steak with chargrilled prawns. Do it.

This is my favorite add-on, every visit. The prawns come off the grill with a light char on the shell and sweet, firm flesh inside. They snap when you bite. The smoke from the grill sits on them gently, never heavily.

Next to the steak, they make sense. Land and sea, both cooked over the same fire, both treated with the same care.

The Greek Salad

I always start with the Greek salad. It’s one of my favorites here.

The vegetables are crunchy and cold. There’s lemon zest running through it, bright and sharp, waking up the palate before the beef arrives. The cheese brings salt and a soft, creamy weight against all that crunch.

A simple salad. Done right. It sets up the meal the way a good opening line sets up a story.

The Grilled Pumpkin

The grilled pumpkin was sweet and tender. Soft enough to cut with a fork, with a little caramel at the edges from the grill. A quiet side that does its job and asks for nothing more.

What’s Missing

The lobster tail is no longer on the menu.

I’m genuinely sad about this. It was my favorite thing here after the steak. Grilled, sweet, rich without being heavy. It sat on the plate beside the beef, and I always ordered it.

Menus change. Kitchens move on. I understand that. But between the Gippsland beef and the lobster tail, two of the dishes I loved most are gone. You notice those absences when you’ve been coming back for this long.

The food that remains is still strong enough to bring me back. That says something.

The Setting

Squires Loft sits right beside the dock. The water is there through the windows, and in the evening the light settles over it quietly.

It’s a good room to eat in. But the part I look forward to just as much comes after. A slow walk around the dock once the plates are cleared. The air cooler, the boats still, the meal settling.

It’s romantic without trying. Easy. The kind of walk that lets a good dinner stay with you a little longer.

One Honest Note

I’ll keep this short, because the food deserves more of my words than this does.

Over the years, I’ve noticed the service feels different for Asian customers, Chinese customers especially. The warmth I see at other tables doesn’t always reach ours. It’s not loud. It’s not dramatic. It’s just there, and I’ve felt it more than once.

I’m not writing this to start a fight. I’m writing it because it’s true to my experience, and an honest review includes the parts you’d rather leave out.

Would I Return

Yes. Every time.

The service is the one thing I’d change. The lost Gippsland beef and lobster tail still sting. But none of that touches what’s on the plate.

The steak is still the best I’ve had anywhere. The char is still right. The beef still tastes like beef. The prawns still snap. The salad still opens the meal the way it should.

Eight years in, I still book this place before I book anything else in Melbourne. That’s the truest review I can give.

If you’re in Docklands, order the steak. Add the prawns. Take the walk after.

Some places you visit. This one, I return to.

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