Bar Romanee, 25 Anderson Street, Yarraville. Phone: 9687 8451

In which we upscale one of our favourite lockdown treats into a real-deal dine-in experience.

Along with park picnics of takeaway food in slightly more far-flung environs of the west, we survived the most recent Melbourne lockdown thanks to several partakings of Bar Romanee’s Monday steak night.

Up to that point, we’d tried Bar Romanee for nothing more than a Cup Day steak sanger, also consumed in a nearby park – it was very good, too.

More in-depth exploration of the swish, clubbish joint being delayed, of course, by circumstances.

But our takeaway Monday steaks?

Hoo boy, they were utterly excellent – we both happily concluded they were the best we’d had from anywhere at any price at any time.

Being eaten on cardboard perhaps even heightening that sense of deluxe, our steaks were joined by good chips and wonderful slaw.

My suspicion that steak – and chips – were not suitable takeaway material was ameliorated by teamwork and the closeness of Bar Romanee to our home.

Park outside, grab the beefy goodies and then swiftly home – in each case, we were dining in style in well under five minutes.

But now things are a bit looser, we’re actually in the house on a Monday night.

What a lovely place this is!

There’s a Yarraville buzz on and there’s a nice crowd in, yet the buzz is not rowdy, noisy or oppressive in any way.

We’re told by our wait person that some Monday punters go with picks from the broader menu, but just about everyone we see around us is steaking it.

So we do, too.

It’s all brilliant – medium rare genius, a rich sauce, chips that are hotter than we’d managed to rush into our living room and superb slaw, studded with cuke and radish slices and scented with dill.

Look, we know there are other steak specials around – we’ve even tried some of them.

And some of them are significantly cheaper than the $30 Romanee price.

But in terms of deliciousness and value for money, Romanee is unbeatable.