Cha Cha Char

Cha Cha Char has built a reputation as a popular destination for business lunchers and graziers doing city business. When feedback suggested their non-steak menu was, by their own admission 'pub-like', chef Patrick Carlos responded. He beefed up the quality and diversity of offerings (pardon the pun), brought in suckling pig, braised some venison, pureed parsnip and marinated Moreton Bay bug, albeit not for the same dish. Steak, however, remains the raison d'etre of this riverside stalwart and what most diners come for. Full disclosure of origin, age, breed or feed leaves little doubt about quality of the extensive menu, which ranges vastly in price, from a simple chimichurri fillet with prawns, to a full blood wagyu sirloin, which the menu claims as 'the most silken, rich steak available'. The wagyu tataki with capers, shallots and garlic is almost obligatory as an entree. On a warmer day, watermelon, haloumi and mint salad cuts through the richness of roasted duck. Top it off with a 'Mexican dream' panna cotta with fresh fruit and freeze-dried lychees.