Oscars Bar & Lounge

After much e-mailing and SMSing, Mum decided to celebrate my Dad's birthday at Oscars. Although our reservation was for 7:30pm, when Rob and I arrived at 7:40pm, we were the first ones there. We were clever enough to park at the new Coles carpark next door, which isn't quite finished yet and is therefore free. Free parking in Pyrmont? Well, it's virtually unheard of.

Mum arrived soon after, so we had a leisurely wait over drinks. Unfortunately, Oscars doesn't supply highchairs so there was no way to imprison the baby, whose attention span lasted long enough to pick up random pieces of cutlery and bang them about. Fortunately, we were seated at a long, corner position against the wall (cushioned seats) and next to large windows. This was great as we could then take KB out for a walk when he started feeling antsy and bring him to the window where he could prance around and amuse everyone.

The rest of the family trickled in and by about 8:15pm, we were ready to order.

I didn't even hesitate to place my usual order of baby back ribs. For $17, I really don't think you can get much better value. Some people argue that the sauce is too sweet, but I've never had any problems polishing those babies off. Most of my family agreed with me and ordered the same. The chips were superflous, much to KB's delight. He has a serious love of chips.

Oscars famous baby back pork ribs with tangy hickory sauce $17

Dad ordered the T-bone steak with mushroom sauce. Unfortunately, when you put the steak side-by-side with the ribs, you're bound to feel rather envious. He thought it was okay, but not the best he's ever had. I don't think heaping random greens on top really added much to the flavour, either. Actually, the salads accompanying our dishes looked decidely uncreative. Methinks a luscious tomato wouldn't have gone astray.

Chargrilled T-bone steak (400g) with mushroom sauce, creamy garlic mashed potato and roquette $18

Rob ordered the sirloin steak with mushroom sauce. He likes his steaks dead, which can be tricky as most restaurants either undercook or serve a charred mess, but Rob seemed happy with what he got. Again, the salad was uninspired.

Chargrilled sirloin steak (300g) with mushroom sauce $18

You'd think we'd be content after such big mains, but we persevered and ordered a sticky date pudding and a concorde to share ($10 each). They were average - neither bad nor noteworthy - but the babies went totally nuts. Duke (pictured) could not be pried away from the concorde.

I think Oscars has become my family's favourite dining venue for special occasions when Mum doesn't feel like cooking and cleaning up. It's not hard to see why. Prices are reasonable, servings are usually pretty generous, and while the service can be hit or miss, when it's good the staff is very attentive. I have noticed, though, that the ribs seem to undergo a price increase in the vicinity of $2-5 every time we visit. I dread the day it goes past my price threshold, because I really, really love those ribs!

Oscar's Bar & Restaurant
84 Union St, Pyrmont
02 9660 5933