Oscars, Pyrmont

400gm Rib eye on the Bone $30
100 days grain fed Certified Angus served with
garlic chat potatoes and market vegetables

Oh the misery of an overcooked steak.

The signs were promising. Rib eye on the bone is usually a fool-proof cut of meat. A perfect harmony of tender flesh still married to the bone. Thick and hearty, it's perfect for the ravenous carnivore. But with the first incision, it became clear my protein lunch was not going to be medium rare but more like well done - and decidedly chewy as well.


500gm chargrilled T-bone $25
100 days grain fed served with chips and salad

It had been over a year since I last visited Oscars at Pyrmont. Sadly, the steaks weren't as I remembered. The Extra's 500gram T-bone suffered a similar fate. A hunk of well cooked steak arrived on our table when it was ordered medium rare. We chewed our way through with grit and determination. I may have cried a little on the inside, particularly given my steak cost $30.


Lamb shanks $18
served with garlic chat potatoes and market vegetables

Geet did enjoy her lamb shanks, its flesh tender and fall-off-the-bone.


Beer battered flathead fillets $16
Three prime beer-battered flathead fillets
served with steak cut chips and coriander & lime aioli

The deep-fried offerings are reasonably well received. Beer-battered flathead, a seafood basket and the chicken schnitzel are all predictable hues of golden brown. I'm probably most fascinated with the seafood basket vessel itself, which is not made of wicker but plastic made to look like wicker.


Oscars Seafood Basket $16
Beer battered flathead fillets, crumbed prawns, salt & pepper squid,
crumbed calamari rings and steak cut chips
served with salad and tartare sauce


Chicken schnitzel $15
Golden crumbed chicken schnitzel with steak cut chips
served with a mixed leaf salad

The Extra and I find room to share the cheese platter, a wedge of brie, camembert and an unidentified blue vying for space on an overcrowded plate piled with crispbreads, apple slices, raisins and strawberry halves. It's fair but not terribly exciting. The fruit is more interesting than the under-ripe cheeses.

It's as shame too that table service seems to have been abandoned, particularly since we're a group of 12 and we all have to queue up at the bar to place our orders. No Academy Award for this performance, I'm afraid.


Cheese plate $12


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Oscars
84 Union Street, Pyrmont, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9660 5933

Monday - Saturday: Midday til late
Sunday: Midday til 10pm

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Oscars, October 2007
Oscars, October 2006
and its sister restaurant Southern Cross Hotel, St Peters

Pyrmont - Astral
Pyrmont - Blue Eyed Dragon
Pyrmont - Doyles
Pyrmont - Little Snail
Pyrmont - Sydney Fish Markets
Pyrmont -Viva Goa
Pyrmont -Yots