Come for flank, denver and other lesser-seen butcher’s cuts and stay for street-smart
snacks, greats drinks plus other examples of how to build a destination restaurant in
suburbia.
Steakhouse$$
Elliott Sawiris is so hot right now.
You would be too if your evenings were spent tending the searing grill that beats at the heart of Nextdoor – a poised, quietly assured 120-seat dining room in suburban South Perth. Fuelled by slow-burning, high-temperature jarrah timber, the hearth at Next Door is also hot. Hot enough, at least, that diners perched at the counter ringing the restaurant’s open kitchen will no doubt feel the fire’s intense scowl. It’s also hot enough to give carefully handled proteins every opportunity to attain barbecued greatness. Flames bob and weave. Coals glow in shades of tangerine, pumpkin and marigold. Cooks dart back and forth, raising and lowering each of the twin grills, sliding things in and out the charcoal oven and shepherding meats as they gradually go from raw to ready.
Although steak is a key part of Nextdoor’s DNA, the room’s exposed brick, low lumen count and smart-casual furnishings don’t quite conjure the same sense of occasion that one might associate with alpha steakhouses such as 6Heads and Rockpool Bar & Grill – the casino fine diner where Sawiris learned to cook. But high-end beef of provenance – arguably the most important quality for any serious steakhouse – is something Nextdoor has lots of.
You want grass-fed Cape Grim angus? You want an insanely marbled rib-eye from a full-blood Wagyu? You want meat that includes weight details and a focus on bloodlines not seen since Westeros’ bloody Game of Thrones era? Nextdoor’s constantly changing steak menu has it all including, at times, big price tags. (The asking price for that show-stopping 750gram rib-eye from Stoneaxe? A cool $410.)
While ostentatious dining and wining are part of steakhouse culture, it’s Nextdoor’s focus on lesser-seen and undervalued cuts that signify its status as a restaurant of interest. Cuts such as skirt, a (relatively) affordable bit of cow that, despite featuring a little more chew than some steaks, rewards diners with mouthfuls of serious beefiness. Or the denver, a juicy, ultra-marbled steak cut from the chuck.
Considering that Nextdoor is owned by Gavin Olsen of Olsens Butchers next door – ah! So that’s where the name comes from! – this focus on “butcher’s cuts” and dry-aged steak isn’t surprising. But while diners can order whatever they like, the kitchen will grill and cut it as it sees fit: a show of, to quote Sawiris, “arrogance” that may infuriate some. But if the juiciness of well rested Wagyu-Angus flank steak and outrageously fatty bone-in Barnsley chops from Kinross Station (a brand of lamb exclusive to Nextdoor that showcases meat whose fat structure gives it an opulence reminiscent of good Wagyu) are any indications of the kitchen’s ability, such arrogance isn’t misguided.
Nextdoor is also equally shaped by the barbecue and the butcher. Smoked bone marrow becomes a mayonnaise-like accent for sirloin steak tartare. Thick wedges of raw kingfish are crowned with dabs of toasted nori: an analogue of Japan’s yuzukosho condiment. (It’s a shame, though, that on one visit a broken grill rendered my goldband snapper dry, tough and soggy-skinned.)
Service led by Laurie Eaton, previously of Will Street, is driven by warmth rather than any sort of fire in the belly. Bartender Charlie Coates knows how to make cocktails that bang, and yet non-alcoholic creations in the vein of the Fistful of Flowers – an invigorating, grapefruit-enriched soda – suggest he doesn’t need firewater to leave an impression.
Sawiris isn’t the only boy Nextdoor that delights in feeding others. Sous chef Sam Eng is responsible for the bitey Singaporean chilli crab toast, a street smart remake of the ubiquitous prawn toast. Pastry chef Dan McCarthy keeps the good times going until the finish by playing the earthy bitterness of coffee against the fruity decadence of passionfruit curd: a clever dessert pairing that’s both genius yet understated.
Despite this review’s opening sentence, Sawiris knows Nextdoor is a team effort. Diners, too, are best served by taking a similar all-in approach: pool your dollars, split a fancy steak or two and use your combined buying power to get the most out of Ruth Hall’s interest-packed wine list. You don’t need to be a full-time food writer to know that cooking over fire is all the rage. So much so that this newfound interest in history’s oldest cooking method has led to the creation of lists such as World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants. A list featuring Australian dining powerhouses such as Margaret, Firedoor and Gimlet, yet no restaurants outside of Sydney and Melbourne.
I’ve been fortunate to dine at places on this list and sure, the beef was, mostly,
exemplary, yet so is what’s on offer at Nextdoor. While it’s important to take such lists with a grain of salt, it’s also important to ask questions. Why couldn’t there be space on such lists for a WA restaurant? Why couldn’t such a restaurant be an earnest family-owned place that cares about the meat but serves it without pomp, frippery or bells and whistles?
Why couldn’t such a restaurant be somewhere like Nextdoor?
The low-down
Atmosphere: a neighbourhood steakhouse slinging world-class steak
Go-to dishes: chilli crab toast, lamb loin
Drinks: an interest-packed selection of wines alongside some sharp cocktails from a bar team to watch closely
Cost: about $240 for two people, excluding drinks or baller Wagyu rib-eye
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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Max Veenhuyzen is a journalist and photographer who has been writing about food, drink and travel for national and international publications for more than 20 years. He reviews restaurants for the Good Food Guide.
