Review: The Gem Bar

Walking through the front doors of The Gem Bar, you'd be pleasantly surprised to find a menagerie of couples frantically jumping and jiving on the tightly-packed dance floor, a toe-tapping crowd of onlookers with drinks in hand and a direct-from-the-50s, bad ass rock and roll band. But The Gem Bar is not just a rowdy, rollicking rock and roll bar but also the supplier of the most epic American barbecue in Melbourne- the best of both worlds really.

Whilst we had booked ahead to reserve a table, there was still a bit of a wait to be seated.  The staff were very accomodating though and apologised by shouting our first round of drinks!

The Pit Master's Plate was $45 per head and consisted of a choice of four meats and three sides when we went.  However, I believe it has since been reduced to $35 per head with a choice of three meats and two sides. Regardless, it's a great way to experience a variety of the menu. We went with the Carolina chopped pork shoulder, the Berkshire pork belly, the Texas chook and the Angus beef brisket. Whilst all the meats were melt-in-your-mouth tender, my favourite was the pork belly. It's definitely a unique addition alongside the staple meats of American BBQ.

The meat was teamed with a refreshingly, crisp Carolina Slaw; a large portion of potato n gravy distinguished by a hint of spice and the crowd-pleasing mac n cheese.

I think our eyes were definitely bigger than our bellies that night, because we decided to add on a few snacks as well. Trust me when I say the Pit Master's Plate will be enough per person, but there are just so many seriously awesome dishes on the menu that you'll be tempted to order more. The Texas Fries with pit chilli, chipotle and cheese ($17) are one of those seriously awesome dishes. A mega portion of fries loaded with a combination of earthy chilli and smokey chipotle sauce. We also went with one of the specials for the day, the buffalo wings.  Whilst the wings were super meaty and well-cooked, the buffalo flavour just wasn't strong enough.

The Gem Bar has two dessert options at the moment: the peanut butter and chocolate tart served with a raspberry sorbet ($12) and a sticky bourbon and cola pudding with salted caramel ($12). By this point our whole table was full as a boot, so of course the logical thing to do was to order both desserts.

Although the peanut butter and chocolate tart is quite rich, it is not an overly sweet dish. The chocolate is on the bitter side and the raspberry sorbet has a refreshing tang to cut through the richness of the tart. The pudding was my personal favourite, overflowing with that warm salted caramel sauce. 

If you're looking for a great American BBQ venue in Melbourne, I highly recommend stopping by The Gem Bar. Come for dinner and stay for the lively atmosphere, because who doesn't enjoy a bit of booze at the bar with some straight up rock and roll tunes.