The Coffee Club, West End

On new years eve I decided to go to The Coffee Club where I figured I could get a decent burger or steak to mark the occasion.  When I was seated and had perused the menu, the 200g eye fillet looked the most appealing, so I ordered it rare with mushroom sauce.  It came with chips and a salad, the latter of which I had no intention of eating.  The chips had a nice crispiness to them and were seasoned with barbecue salt, which I appreciated.  However, other than that, they were fairly standard cafe chips.  I could tell right away that the steak I received was not rare.  It was medium-rare to medium.  Moreover it looked to be of low quality, but as I soon learned looks can be deceiving.  The accompanying mushroom sauce was perhaps the most thin that I have encountered, which would not necessarily be a problem but for the fact that it was a little lacking in flavour.  This was a pity because the flavour that was present was quite pleasant.  As a side note, the mushrooms themselves were actually pretty good.  As I bit into my poor looking steak, I received a welcome surprise.  It tasted a lot better than it looked which almost compensated for it not being cooked to my liking.  Similarly, the lack of flavour in the mushroom sauce was almost compensated for by hefty doses of salt and pepper.  There was a little fat in the steak, but its juiciness and taste dominated.  Despite my complaints, this was actually quite a satisfying meal.  However, a stronger mushroom sauce and a less overdone steak would have left me all the more satisfied.  I have certainly had better steaks from places that specialise in them, but for a cafe steak priced around the $20 mark, I don't think you can do much better.