Outraged patrons have blasted a suburban pub for charging close to $100 for a simple steak.
The Peakhurst, in Sydney’s St George area, is charging $90 for its ‘chef’s special’ prime cut which is a 350 gram piece of Scotch Fillet.
Diners have alleged the pub is ‘taking the p*ss’ with the meal price as it is more expensive than some domestic flights.
Flights from Sydney to Melbourne are $15 cheaper than the steak, though it does have a Marble Score of 4+.
This score indicates it is a high-quality grade of beef, but that has not won the pub any brownie points with its customers.
Despite the steak being served alongside mashed potato, roasted root vegetables and Cafe de Paris butter one patron took to social media to call The Peakhurst out.
‘At my local, 90 bucks for a steak, not even a ”recommended for two” type thing,’ the amateur food critic said.
‘I don’t mind paying a bit of coin at a hatted restaurant where you’re getting the service and the ambience, but this is beyond taking the p*ss.’
The pub is described on its webpage as a local premium bar and bistro with its other menu items the usual pub fare such as a buttermilk fried chicken burger with fries and chicken schnitzel parmigiana.
One Reddit commenter researched how much the piece of steak would have cost the pub to see if the price could be justified.
‘A MB4+ Ribeye Grass Fed Scotch Fillet is $72.99kg or about $25 for 350g and all you need is a cast iron skillet and a bit of salt and butter to make it at home,’ they wrote.
‘At what point do we say that you’re really not offering me anything here but a cut of meat and some mash?’
To add insult to injury the pub even requires patrons to get their own cutlery rather than having the tables set by wait staff.
Many people who came across the post similarly took aim at The Peakhurst in the comment section.
‘RIP affordable pubs,’ one person wrote.
‘Pubs are getting pretty out there with prices, especially when you consider most of it is just meat/veg/veg,’ a second said.
‘The funny thing is, people will buy food less and less and management will go ”Oh no, people aren’t buying out food. We have to put prices up to make up the difference”,’ a third added.
A spokesperson for The Peakhurst however, said its pricing was fair because the animals were sourced from a boutique farm.
‘The producer of this cut of beef, Little Joe’s, is a small farm, the animals are extremely well cared for, they have an extremely high marble score, and have won numerous awards for being some of the best beef in the world,’ the pub said.
‘We can’t give away a product at less than the margins we need to keep our business open.
‘If customers don’t want a prime cut of beef, they can make a decision based on their own affordability.’
Even with this explanation the steak remains one of Sydney’s most expensive.
Bistecca, in the city’s CBD, charges $21 per 100 grams of steak which means a 350g piece would only cost $73.50.
The Peakhurst’s other four steaks cost around $45 each and are still some of the most expensive in the area.
Daily Mail has contacted The Peakhurst for further comment.