Pinjarra's Exchange Hotel sizzles into steak sanga finals

Perth Now

3 days ago

A Pinjarra pub is raising the stakes with a unique steak sanga offering that's become a juicy contender in WA's premier steak sandwich competition.
The organisers of the Australian Hotels Association (WA) and Little Creatures WA's Best Steak Sandwich contest named The Exchange Hotel as one of the four country WA finalists in this year's event.
The three others were Margaret River's Settlers Tavern, The Miners Rest, and Australind's Treendale Farm Hotel — with Treendale winning last year.
The Exchange Hotel's offering is packed with chargrilled local lamb, a quirky twist on the expected beef cut.
The mouthwatering lamb is then topped by cooked tomato, a capsicum and pomegranate molasses, red onion, sumac and house-made feta mint yoghurt, all served on a garlic butter Turkish roll.
Exchange head chef Chef Dave Brown said the lamb comes from Midway Farm stall down the road and is 'especially nice'.
'It's Middle Eastern style, which I think is what helped us along, because it's a bit different,' he added.
'99 per cent of people love it and all of the feedback I got was about how different and exciting it is compared to normal.
'We're in a position out here where we can get away from a lot of the basic pub stuff, but I don't get too far away from it. '
The Exchange is currently selling more than 100 of the unique lamb sandwiches a week, on top of selling about 250 of the classic beef steak sandwiches.
Four Perth metropolitan finalists were also named — Carrington's Bar & Grill in Hamilton Hill, Print Hall in Perth, The Central in Butler, and The Last Local in Canning Vale.
Carrington's Bar & Grill is the defending metro champion.
The finalists will compete for the titles of country WA champion on June 24 and Perth metro champion on June 25 at the 2025 AHA Hospitality Expo at Crown Perth.
They will present their steak sandwiches to a panel of judges who will assess tenderness, presentation, originality, flavour, chips, sauces and value.
AHA(WA) chief executive Bradley Woods said the standard of entries continued to impress, with more than 70 venues entering and showcasing exceptional levels of flavour, creativity and presentation.
'WA's Best Steak Sandwich is more than just a competition — it's a sizzling showcase of foodie passion and the incredible talent we have in our pubs and hotels across the State,' he said.
'The energy this year has been fantastic. Venues have thrown themselves into it, especially on social media — rallying their communities and bringing some serious steak sandwich spirit to the competition.
'We're looking forward to seeing what the finalists bring to the stage during the live cook-off to determine the winners.'