The Wheelhouse

The best pairings for our hand-cut steak fries

Hand-cut steak fries have earned a permanent place on menus from the Highlands to the harbour towns of New South Wales. At The Wheelhouse, beside the rotating marvel of the Falkirk Wheel, the fries arrive golden, thick, and dusted with sea salt, the kind of plate that demands a drink worth thinking about. The crisp outside, the pillowy middle, and the lingering saltiness create a canvas for almost anything you care to pour alongside.

Falkirk sits in the central belt of Scotland, a stone's throw from Edinburgh and Glasgow, and The Wheelhouse has been quietly building a reputation for pairing honest pub food with considered drinks. Walk in from the canal path and you'll find a bar stocked with single malts, a fridge of small-producer wines, and a cocktail list that takes itself seriously without showing off. The fries, served with garlic aioli or a rich peppercorn sauce, sit at the heart of the kitchen's confidence.

For an Australian traveller planning a trip, or a homesick expat missing the ritual of a long lunch, the questions become familiar: what would I order at my local in Fitzroy or Surry Hills, and how do the answers translate to a Scottish kitchen? Aussies have always had a soft spot for a great plate of chips, whether scooped up at a beachside kiosk in Bondi or as part of a counter meal in Carlton. Pairing them well is a small art form, and it travels surprisingly well across hemispheres.

A glass of whisky, served neat or with a single drop of water

Scotland's national drink meets the steak fry with a kind of inevitability. The smoke and honey of a Speyside malt, the maritime salinity of an Island whisky, or the dried fruit depth of a Highland dram all cut through the richness of a fry in a way that few other drinks manage. At The Wheelhouse, the bar team pour drams that range from gentle introductory malts to peated Islay bombs, and the fries become a natural partner rather than an afterthought.

Australians have developed a serious whisky habit over the past two decades, with distilleries in Hobart and Melbourne producing bottles that now sit on shelves from Sydney to Singapore. Starward, based in Port Melbourne, makes a wine-cask whisky that works beautifully with salty food, while Sullivan's Cove in Tasmania crafts single malts with a richness that rivals anything from the old country. A glass of either alongside a plate of steak fries is a quiet revelation for anyone who assumed great whisky was still a purely Scottish pursuit.

If you are new to the spirit, the bar team at The Wheelhouse have put together a beginner's guide to Scotch whisky tasting that walks you through nosing, sipping, and finding your own palate. The fries become a useful reference point: a little nibble between sips resets the tongue and reveals new layers in the glass, which is half the fun of the exercise.

Red wine, white wine, and a splash of something orange

Wine with fries is often treated as a joke, but it shouldn't be. The salt on hand-cut chips draws out the fruit in a young red and softens the edges of a tannic one. A Barossa shiraz, all blackberry and pepper, turns a simple plate into something resembling a long lunch in the Adelaide Hills. A Margaret River cabernet sauvignon brings structure and a savoury herbaceousness that lingers pleasantly on the finish.

Whites and rosés also have a place at the table. A crisp Hunter Valley semillon, with its lanolin and citrus profile, slices cleanly through a peppercorn sauce, while a Tasmanian pinot noir, served slightly cool, offers red fruit without overwhelming the delicate potato. The Wheelhouse list leans toward smaller producers, including a few bottles from the Yarra Valley and a skin-contact white from the Adelaide Hills that changes the game entirely when matched with a salty fry.

For a cheese-lover's twist, a wedge of blue alongside the fries turns the pairing into something closer to a tasting plate. A premium blue from a New York creamery brings the salt and the funk, and a glass of tawny port or a late-harvest riesling rounds it out. It is the sort of combination that rewards a slow afternoon, particularly if the rain is sheeting down outside the windows along the Union Canal.

Beer, from the tap and the bottle

Australians grow up with beer the way Scots grow up with whisky, and the local craft scene has produced styles that pair brilliantly with fried food. A Coopers pale ale, brewed in Adelaide since 1862, has a fruity yeast character and a soft bitterness that lifts the salt of a fry without fighting it. A James Squire amber ale, or a Little Creatures pale from Fremantle, both bring enough malt body to stand up to a garlic aioli without smothering the potato underneath.

IPAs have their place too, though the choice matters. A juicy, hazy East Coast IPA from a Brunswick brewery will complement rather than overwhelm, while a West Coast version, with its bracing pine and citrus, can tip into a fight with delicate potato. The Wheelhouse bar rotates a few local Scottish craft options, including IPAs from Fyne Ales and ales from the likes of Cairngorm, and the fries meet them halfway without much fuss.

For those curious about how other cultures treat their fried steak, the Southern United States has a long tradition of chicken-fried steak and gravy that shares a similar comfort-food soul. The drink pairings there tend toward ice-cold lager or sweet tea, which translates neatly to a Scottish afternoon, especially when the sun makes a brief appearance over the Forth and Clyde canal.

Cocktails built around the fry

A whisky sour, made the proper way with egg white and a few drops of bitters, brings acidity and a soft froth that mirrors the crunch of a fry. A Negroni, with its bitter edge and ruby brightness, works when the fries arrive with a peppercorn sauce or a strong cheese. Both are steady choices, but the cocktail list at The Wheelhouse is more playful than that and rewards a little experimentation.

An espresso martini, now as common in Brisbane as in London, cuts through grease and resets the palate between bites, and a dark and stormy, with its ginger heat, pairs well with peppery seasonings. The bartenders also mix a few house creations built around Scottish botanicals, including a heather-and-honey highball that has become something of a signature. The drinks menu changes with the season, but the principle stays the same: nothing too sweet, nothing too delicate for the fries to handle.

For a long, lazy session on the terrace, a spritz built with local elderflower and a dry prosecco is hard to beat. It cleanses the palate and slows the pace, and the fries, refilled once or twice, become a side rather than the main event. It is the kind of pairing that turns a quick stop into a proper afternoon, the sort of arvo you remember weeks later when you're back at your desk.

Soft options and the non-drinker at the table

Not everyone at the table wants alcohol, and the best pairing is the one that keeps everyone happy. A sparkling water with a slice of lemon, or a house-made lemonade with mint and ginger, can be every bit as refreshing alongside a plate of fries as any wine. The Wheelhouse kitchen presses its own cordials and keeps a thoughtful list of non-alcoholic cocktails, including a complex bitter-orange spritz that mimics the aperitivo hour without the morning regret.

Coffee, which Australians treat with a seriousness that borders on religion, is another natural partner. A flat white, served after the meal, settles the stomach and finishes the fries in style, particularly if the sauce was rich. The Wheelhouse uses a local roaster and pulls shots that hold their own against anything in Melbourne's laneways, which is no small boast for a Scottish kitchen.

For children, or for anyone driving, a small glass of apple juice, a soda with a twist of lime, or one of the milkshakes from the kids' menu keeps the table inclusive. Pairing is, after all, about shared moments as much as it is about the drink itself, and the fries taste just as good with a juice box as they do with a thirty-year malt.

Pairing suggestions to try on your next visit

Treat yourself, or someone you love, to the full Wheelhouse experience with a gift voucher that covers food, drink, and a table by the window. Book in advance for Friday steak night or Sunday roast, mention any dietary needs when you reserve, and ask the team for the day's off-list specials. The fries will be there either way, and the right drink is closer than you think.