It may be just me, but the idea of a steakhouse feels very ’90s, a time when beef-based franchises fed suburbia with overpriced slabs of mediocre meat. So when a new steakhouse arrives I feel a mix of nostalgia and dread. It turns out there’s no need to worry at 6 Head.

The sprawling venue is housed in the revamped heritage Campbell’s Stores building harbourside at The Rocks. It’s named for the first six head of cattle to arrive in Australia on the First Fleet, also  referenced in the fit-out with wood-carved cow heads, rope works and timber beams set within the stunning sandstone walls. They’ll  need to sell a few steaks to cover this kind of investment. Or a few wines. The list runs deep for those with pockets to match and leans fittingly towards heavy reds, but there’s plenty of affordable labels covering a good cross-section of grapes, too.

While steak is the centrepiece here, chef Sean Hall explores other proteins –  short rib, quail, fish of the day, for instance – and it’s not only down right delicious, but reasonably priced to boot. Tuna tartare, tossed with lemon and basil oil and micro-herbs and dotted with avocado purée, is beautifully seasoned, while lamb tartare tumbled with shallots, capers, dill pickle and egg is absolutely stunning, though I could do without the showiness of its smoked-filled  glass cloche.

The steak selection is bountiful, from Tender Valley fillet to whopping Collinsons & Co dry-aged T-bone and tomahawk weighing in at a kilo. Our Mayura wagyu rump is a blushing medium-rare complexity of buttery joy with a light anchovy hollandaise. At $46 it’s an absolute steal, and a good size so you can sign off with a chocolate ganache and peanut butter torte.

This is a surprisingly great find in an area normally focused on turning over tourists. Perhaps we’ll see Sydneysiders heading to The Rocks, too.