223 Duckworth Street
Ph. 753-8530
In the late seventies I spent a lot of time in Montreal. Like most of my memories of cities I’ve visited, it’s the food of that wonderful place that’s most easily remembered. The restaurants there have improved greatly since those days but one thing I had no trouble finding in the Montreal of my youth was a great steak. Not far from the old Sheraton Mount Royal Hotel was a place called Joe’s Steak House. The unpretentious, no-frills name was perfect for Joe’s. Nobody could be confused about why the place existed. It was there to serve-up steak, period.
Since then, Joe’s - with its dark wooden booths and paneled walls, its frenetic, fiery, smoky, glassed-in grill and its huge salad bar - is the standard by which I compare steak joints.
Peter Belbin’s Steak House - billed as St. John’s first steak house but those who remember the Gentleman Jim’s at The Strand might disagree - reminded me a lot of Joe’s. It had the same dark woods, along with earthy coloured portions of wall. Peter Belbin’s also had six person window booths with slightly tired upholstery, as well as tables situated in the centre of the room. It even had a small salad bar; but unlike Joe’s large salad bar it did not have a prime location in the centre of the restaurant. Peter Belbin’s salad bar was located in a corner next to the kitchen.
For old time’s sake I couldn’t resist the salad bar, which has always been a major part of any steak house experience for me. Unlike some restaurants that allow second trips to the salad bar, Peter Belbin’s made it a point of telling you - as well as having it clearly spelled out on the menu - that seconds were forbidden, interdit, verboten. That was fine with me because their salad plates were large enough to take dinner-sized portions. There was no proscription on the amount one could put on his or her plate for that single visit to the bar.
The salad bar contained mesclun, romaine, potato salad, bruschetta topping, meatballs, coleslaw, cauliflower, broccoli, mussels, cucumber, sliced purple onion, tomato, carrots sticks, croutons, real bacon bits and six types of salad dressing - including Caesar and Greek. I especially liked the meatballs for their leanness and beefy flavour.
My guest had a spinach salad from the menu as his starter. It was a combination of baby spinach, mandarin orange sections and toasted almond slivers garnished with a fluted mushroom, red leaf lettuce and one cherry tomato. The dressing, studded with poppy seeds, tasted a little of sun-dried tomato - a great flavour enhancer for so many recipes.
If you go to a steak house you must order steak. It’s what they specialize in and it’s what they do best. I had a beautiful medium rare New York strip-loin with fried onions and wild mushrooms. Having been persuaded by our server’s sales pitch, I also took a brochette of scallops and shrimp as a side. The seafood was succulent.
Peter Belbin’s entrees came with a platter of root vegetables and cabbage. The turnip was a type of pudding where the vegetable was cooked, mashed with flour, etcetera and baked. The chopped cabbage had been prepared as a casserole as well. I liked both, in addition to the steamed broccoli and carrots.
I recommend Peter Belbin’s twice baked potato. You get a large baked potato that’s been halved, scooped out and had the contents put back in after mixing with cream, onions and spices. Then, after topping with shredded cheddar, the potato is baked again. Mine was cheesy and crunchy on top with deliciously smooth, rich potato underneath. It was the best spud I’ve had in a long time.
My guest was quite thrilled with his steak. It was a medium rare tenderloin. Like mine, his was cooked perfectly. An order of barbecued ribs proved that Peter Belbin’s knows ribs too.
They were tender and wonderfully sticky from a sweet, dark, thick and tangy sauce. I was sure the steak and ribs would have won over the heart of any Texan.
Although I didn’t have room for it, in the interest of fair and accurate reporting I tried one of three desserts that Peter Belbin’s makes on the premises. The server told me the no-bake white chocolate cheesecake with Belgian chocolate liqueur was perfect for a full belly that just craved a soupcon of sweet after a healthy supper. She was right. It was perfect - light, creamy, subtly chocolate and not filling at all. I rolled out of Peter Belbin’s a happy, satisfied customer.
Our steak dinner for two at Peter Belbin’s Steak House - including three glasses of wine and tip - cost $153.59.
The noise level at Peter Belbin’s Steak House with, by the way, some really fabulous blues tracks from the Galaxy Blues channel, was moderate. It was not wheelchair accessible.
Best Points:
Exceptionally good Alberta beef.
Areas for Improvement:
I’d like to see heftier, wide bladed steak knives.
Ratings Category:
Peter Belbin’s gets 8.5 out of 10 points.