The Inn takes its steaks very seriously. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The Inn is the stylish older sibling of Canberra icon Edgar’s Inn at Ainslie shops. Heading upstairs you can turn right towards intimate venue Wakefield’s Bar & Wine, or left to The Inn, a cosy dining room with an open kitchen.
The menu offers either a la carte or two Feed Me options: one at $89 per head and one at $120 per head. Both will get you the same number of courses, but the higher price point unlocks a few of the menu’s more premium options, like oysters, seafood and steak.
Having glimpsed the impressive Asado Grill in the kitchen (apparently the only one in Canberra), I’m in the mood for steak, so we decide to go for the more expensive choice. But first, drinks.
The Mr Ruby house cocktail catches my eye: rhubarb aperitif with gin, lillet blanc and lemon. The pretty-in-pink cocktail smells bubblegum sweet, but when I take a sip, it is well-balanced with a sour citrus kick.
Mezcal and oysters are a surprisingly good combination. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
First up are Sydney Rock Oysters with a smoky mezcal dressing. It’s an unusual combination, but we enjoy the contrasting flavours. Next is a dish of raw snapper dressed in coconut with pickled radish. Executive Chef Wayne Alger tells us this is one of his favourites and it’s easy to see why. The Asian-inspired flavours are absolutely spot on, and the pickled radish adds a subtle textural counterpoint to the soft fish.
For a while, there was a trend in Canberra restaurants of serving ‘hot takes’ on traditional beef tartare, but at The Inn, they’ve kept things simple: mustard, cornichons, quail’s egg yolk, good quality meat and croutons to mop it all up. It’s a classic for a reason, and it’s always satisfying when done well.
Beef tartare at The Inn is old-school bistro dining at its best. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Flavours switch back to Asian-inspired as I enjoy pumpkin and tofu dumplings in a delicious curry sauce, and my dining partner has a mushroom skewer in ‘mouth-watering sauce’. Wayne explains that this dish was a happy accident when leftover mushrooms were combined with a Szechuan chilli dressing (aka, mouth-watering sauce) for a staff meal, and they realised they had a hit! Both dishes are moreish, and the mushrooms, in particular, have benefited from the chargrill: my friend is already plotting how to recreate the flavours at home.
Duck skewers with caramelised mandarin is a cute play on duck a l’orange, and while tasty, I would have liked something crunchy to go with them. Our last ‘small’ dish is a pair of grilled prawns in a Goan sauce with crispy curry leaves. We make a delicious mess as we attack with our fingers.
The snapper in coconut shows off the range of the menu. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Our main dish is the very impressive grass-fed T-bone steak, served with pomme frites and a crisp salad of butter lettuce, bitter radicchio and an eschalot vinaigrette. I have old-school Cafe de Paris butter, and my friend has a pepper sauce made in-house with beef jus infused with a serious amount of peppercorns. The meat is tender, the sauces are delicious, the salad and fries are perfect.
Did we enjoy it? I’ll let the following photo of me gnawing on the bone answer that question …
Lucy eating steak at The Inn. Photo: Region.
The drinks shortlist is wide-ranging, with local and international drops, and there’s an even more extensive list available by the bottle. I chose a glass of Ravensworth Estate Gamay, and my friend has the Collector ‘Lamp Lit’ Marsanne Roussanne Viognier.
We share a pumpkin pie with spiced ice cream and a pecan crumble for dessert, which is very tasty and, incidentally, vegan.
Service throughout the meal is attentive and professional. There were two minor mishaps with dietary requirements, but they were smoothly resolved and didn’t impact our enjoyment of the meal.
The Inn is a suburban gem that should be on your radar for your next meal out.
The Inn is located upstairs from Edgar’s Inn at Edgar Street, Ainslie. They are open from 5 pm until late, Tuesday to Saturday. Follow The Inn on Instagram, and make a booking on their website, where you can also find more details about their winter program of special dining events.
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