Ike’s Rack Shack

If you like ribs, then this place is worth considering. I have been here several times now and I have generally found the meat to be pretty consistent, but the sides a bit of a let down. There are interesting beers on tap and more hipsters than you can poke a stick at, but that kind of goes with the territory. It’s a pretty rustic/​grungy place, so if you want bbq with a dive bar aesthetic, this is your place.

Wow. Great food, awesome service. Average prices. Good booze.
¹⁰⁄₁₀. We had the Prince’s biscuit, baked peppers, pork ribs, cornbread doughnut. Best ribs ever (better than my wife’s). The zombie cocktail is an arse kicking brew. This place has an authentic feel. I can’t endorse this place enough.

Out back at the Beaufort Hotel you will find Ike’s Rack Shack, as their website says.
Great atmosphere, cool décor & lighting, a paint splotched wooden deck & corrugated iron verandah… an outdoor feel on a cold Melbourne winter’s night. It was pretty busy for a Wednesday night with small groups at most tables.
Our table of 3 shared the mouth watering beef ribs, the meat just fell off the bone and was full of smoky flavoured deliciousness. The beef was accompanied by a cabbage slaw and we opted for a side of fries and roasted red peppers with malt vinegar and jalapeño cream. Though the jalapeño cream had a bit too much kick for me I’m sure others would love it.
We each had a delicious dessert afterwards, I think there are about 6 on the menu including our choices of sticky date waffle with custard, a mint icecream & wafer dessert and a banana split with ice cream, cherries & cream.
Can’t wait to come back here to try the lamb and pork ribs, as well as other menu items. Maybe no dessert next time, more ribs instead.
So if you’re a fan of ribs, get on down to Ike’s.

The service here is great and I really love it but the food this time round was a slight let down for me. They had no daily specials so the Brussels sprouts, watermelon salad and corn salad not to mention the bean kimchi accompaniments were all gone. In their place was a potato waffle and chicken gravy which were good but not great and roasted red peppers which I thought was the best thing we ate. Our half pound of pork ribs looked pretty lonely served on some baking paper on a metal lunch tray with some cabbage and I kind of felt a little like I was in jail or a canteen.
Whilst it was a bit more practical space wise it really lost it’s appeal for me. All in all I had difficulty deciding what to eat from the menu because I don’t love the smokiness of ribs and mainly ate the sides which were good just not great.
I’d drop it to a 3.5 stars and not too sure I’d be back but my partner gives it a 4 stars.

Once again we travel on our hunt around the area for Melbourne’s best American BBQ. The last time we did this was to the Melbourne BBQ Festival at the Victoria Markets where we were immensely disappointed. We were determined on this Valentines Day evening for a Melbourne BBQ redemption, and Ike’s did not let us down.
We were seated straight away, and our waitress (I think her name was Katie) was an absolute hoot. She had my wife in stitches with laughter. The jokes were just bouncing back and forth until we eventually ordered.
I ordered a half pound of pork ribs, whereas the other half went the lamb ribs. Between us, we shared home made cornbread & a salsa dish.
I honestly did not have enough time to grab my phone to check in on social media sites, and BANG!!! The food was served. There is no way to describe what sort of party my taste buds were having in my mouth, however this party could have made some serious money on cover charges to this party. The cornbread was nothing like I have tasted before, and after visiting diners in 34 American States which I have visited, this cornbread leaves the rest for dead. The salsa with its secret little ingredients was hard to put down, and then the meat. It just melted in your mouth. When we initially started talking to the waitress she asked if we had been to Le Bön Ton in Richmond as a comparison, where she explained that Ike’s is better. Big shoes to fill but they did not disappoint.