Bessie - Christchurch

Excellent service. The oyster and beef tartare entrees were excellent and steak very flavourful. We liked that bone marrow was served with the steak great touch. Unfortunately the desserts were unusual and not very nice which was a bit of a let down after a lovely evening. Excellent wine.

In summary: This is a good steak restaurant that falls a bit short in every aspect. Sourdough for example. It comes out as toast, and was effectively pane di casa more than a sourdough. Given it’s $14 I’d expect it to be the best sourdough I’ve had with a high quality butter. It wasn’t to be. Then with the steaks. They unfortunately didn’t have half of the ones on the menu. Bit of a shame. The steak I did get was the dry aged t-bone. Well cooked with a lovely crust and great seasoning. Quality of the beef was good but certainly not a the top level, mainly due to the texture. The sides (cos salad, croquettes and carrots) were good, but nothing that blew us away. The service was really friendly, but the staff weren’t very attentive. We had a great night, but everything just fell a bit short of expectations.

Nice ambiance, great staff and very good food. We had a dozen of oysters for entrèe and it was so fresh . Had dry aged tbone, rib eye and the normal wagyu for mains. Cooked to perfection would say the best steak I tasted in christchurch. Definitely would come back for more. Not much of a wine guy but the coctails are awesome. Would recomend whiskey sour and their own version of espresso martini. Ending the night with a good serving of desserts which the kids enjoyed. Loved it .

Bessie is a high level restaurant where the dining is an experience and not just a meal. The menu options are appropriate to the focus on aged cuts of meat. There are other non-red meat options too. The service was excellent and our server Oly was amazing and kindly explained how the menu worked. The complimentary flat bread to start was appreciated and delicious. You will need to order at least 2 sides to share to accompy your steak dish. I would have had a dessert, but sadly my appetite was muted after a bout of the flu. Overall, a great dining experience

Good place to have a Ribeye or Tomahawk the preparation takes time but worth it, the oysters are a great option for entrée.