Steak Restaurant Sandringham

The end of the line, and what that means for dinner

Sandringham sits at the terminus of its own railway line, which gives the suburb a pleasant sense of being slightly apart from everything and makes getting anywhere else marginally more effort than it looks on a map.

Moorabbin is on the Frankston line, so there is no direct train between the two. By car it is around eleven minutes inland, which is the practical route and the one most people take.

Bay Road eats well in summer

The strip around Bay Road and the foreshore is built for the months when the weather cooperates. Cafés, casual dining, places with outdoor tables and a view of the water — Sandringham does that as well as anywhere on the bay.

Winter is a different question. When it is nine degrees and blowing off the water, a wood fire and something that has been in a smoker since the previous evening make considerably more sense than a table with a sea view.

Our quietest, easiest bookings run from June through August, which is also when the food is at its most appropriate. A Wednesday table in the middle of winter is the simplest reservation of the year.

Clubs, groups and the yacht club crowd

Sandringham has a strong club culture — sailing, sporting, community — and club dinners are a recurring booking from this direction.

They suit the room well. Long tables, shared smokehouse boards down the middle, speeches that do not have to compete with another party three metres away, and nobody being moved along because the table is needed at nine.

For anything above twenty, the entire venue is available Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Free parking for every guest, which for a club function of sixty removes a genuine logistical problem.

Menus are built around the group rather than chosen from a tier, and presentations, awards or speeches can run whenever the evening is ready for them rather than when a floor manager needs the space back.

The two fires

The grill burns timber. Porterhouse with the fat cap rendered over flame, scotch fillet, eye fillet, and Sher Wagyu from a Victorian full-blood producer, served in a smaller portion because the marbling means it eats larger than it looks.

The smoker runs the opposite way — low temperature, twelve hours, brisket going in the night before and coming out when the collagen finally gives up. Pork ribs, smoked lamb and duck alongside it, all in finite quantities.

A short wine list weighted toward reds with enough tannin to survive a wood-fire crust, Pilsner Urquell on tap, poured properly, and a proper non-alcoholic option for whoever is driving back to the bay rather than the same choices offered to a twelve-year-old.

Sides run sharp and green rather than rich, because a rendered fat cap and twelve hours of smoke already bring plenty of weight to a plate. Order one more than seems sensible and skip the second creamy one.

Getting here

Inland from Sandringham, roughly eleven minutes by car. Tabbita Street runs off the main road and is easy to miss at night — the building is lit and signed.

Free off-street parking outside the door, no meters, no limits. If you would rather not drive, a rideshare inland is short and inexpensive — and considerably cheaper than the equivalent trip into the city.

What to order

Porterhouse if you are ordering one thing. It is the cut that shows most clearly what a timber fire does, and the fat cap rendered over open flame is the whole argument in a single mouthful.

Then a smokehouse board across the middle before the steaks land. Brisket and a rib, something to pick at while the grill works.

Hours

Lunch Wednesday to Friday, 10:30am to 2:30pm. Dinner Wednesday to Saturday, 5:00pm to 11:00pm. No Saturday lunch, and closed to the public Sunday to Tuesday.

Book Friday and Saturday on 0477 099 177. Winter midweek is the easiest table in the calendar.

See our wood-fired steakhouse and the smokehouse, or browse the wine list. For a club or group booking, exclusive venue hire runs Sunday to Tuesday. Nearby, there is also diners from Beaumaris and diners from Hampton.

FAQ

Where is the nearest steak restaurant to Sandringham?

Wood & Bone at 4 Tabbita Street, Moorabbin, about eleven minutes inland, cooking over a wood fire with a smokehouse alongside.

Is there a train from Sandringham to Moorabbin?

No direct train. Sandringham is the terminus of the Sandringham line and Moorabbin is on the Frankston line. Driving takes around eleven minutes.

How far is Wood & Bone from Sandringham?

Roughly eleven minutes by car, inland from the bay.

When is the quietest time to book?

Midweek through winter, June to August, is the easiest booking of the year and arguably when the food suits the weather best.

Do you host club dinners?

Yes. Long tables with shared smokehouse boards suit club and community group dinners, and the full venue is available Sunday to Tuesday.

Is there parking for a large group?

Yes, free off-street parking on site, which removes the parking problem for larger functions.