Review: The Overlanders Steakhouse, Alice Springs

On our second evening in Alice Springs, Nick and I were lying on our motel room bed after spending the day getting a temporary campervan hired; trying our first Hungry Jacks (spoiler alert, it just tastes like Burger King) and setting up an Australian phone number. I turned to him and asked what he wanted to do for dinner. Whilst I Googled “Best places to eat in Alice Springs”, Nick flicked through the recommendations in the Lonely Planet’s guide to Australia. As he was doing so, he came across the following entry:

Overlanders Steakhouse

The place for steaks, big succulent cuts of beef – and crocodile, camel, kangaroo or emu. Amid the cattle station décor you can try Stuart’s Tucker Bag: a combo of croc, kangaroo, emu and camel.

The ‘Drovers Blowout’ set menu will satisfy your need to eat as many local animals as possible in one go, it features all of the meats and you’ll never want to eat meat again.

I thought it sounded amazing and it was only a two minute walk around the corner from where we were staying, so we quickly spruced ourselves up and headed out. The experience was so good that I thought it deserved a blog post all to itself. That’s right, four posts in and I’m already branching out into food blogging – look at me go.

We entered the foyer to be greeted by a very friendly woman who took our names and nationality. The reason they ask for your nationality is so as they can place your country’s flag on your table. This is so that you can easily identify if someone else from your country is eating in the restaurant and it can act as a conversation starter. I think it’s a great idea!

As we entered the restaurant, I was blown away by how cool it looked! Lit by lanterns, it had a very outback air about it, with vintage photography and posters, cattle paraphernalia and Australian cricket memorabilia lining the walls. Being a big lover of all things rustic and themed, I was in my element.

Whilst I have a very small appetite and went for the ribs (they were so delicious and melted in your mouth!) Nick decided to go for The Famous ‘Drovers Blowout’. This set menu costs $85 and consists of the following:

Soup with Damper

The waitress explained to us that Damper is a type of traditional Australian bread made from flour, salt and water, historically eaten by drovers and travellers across Australia, who would cook it in a campfire. For saying that it only contains flour, salt and water, both Nick and I thought it tasted very sweet.

The soup that day was Cream of Vegetable. It was brought out shortly after the Damper in a silver campfire pan and poured directly into Nick’s bowl, which I thought was an excellent touch and made the restaurant seem at once classy and homely.

Platter consisting of: Crocodile Pattie, Kangaroo Fillet, Buffalo Chipolata and Camel Fillet (pictured left to right)

This is the course that Nick and I were the most excited about and the reason we had chosen to visit this restaurant in the first place. My verdict on the exotic meats is as follows: I thought the crocodile tasted like something halfway between fish and chicken. It was also quite fatty and chewy. The kangaroo fillet came served rare, which is how I like my meat, in a red wine and mushroom sauce. It was very delicious but I also thought it tasted very similar to a regular steak. The buffalo chipolata tasted like a sausage version of a meat that I distinctly recognised but couldn’t put my finger on. The jury’s still out on that one, I’m afraid. (If you think you know what I mean, please let me know!) The camel fillet was my favourite of the four as it was the most different to any other meat I had tasted before and very delicious!

For the main course, you get to choose between a Barramundi Fillet of Fish or a 200G Ribeye Steak/Scotch Fillet. Not being a fan of seafood, Nick went for the steak, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Pictured below are my ribs – one of the restaurant’s most famous recipes.

For dessert, there is the choice between Traditional Apple Pie or Pavlova. Nick went for the apple pie, which didn’t look at all like a British apple pie but more like the ones you might see in America.

The restaurant is also famous for its wine cellar, which holds an extensive collection of Australian wines. However, having drunk two bottles the night before whilst celebrating Nick’s birthday, we didn’t feel up to indulging in any that day.

When we had finished our meal, we were getting up ready to leave when the woman who had greeted us at the door came over and enthusiastically offered to take our picture. She stood us in front of their brick fireplace and took a few photos for us, before providing us with a scrolled up copy of their menu to take with us as a souvenir. 

We had a really fantastic night at The Overlanders Steakhouse. If you’re ever in Alice Springs and are looking for somewhere to eat that has a really welcoming and authentic Australian atmosphere, exceptional customer service and a delicious menu (with the chance to sample some local Australian cuisine!) I would really recommend it!

Link to their website here: www.overlanders.com.au