So its been a while since we have seen some awesome schnitty scrutinizing, hopefully this drought is broken.
The Nags or as the locals call it, the nags. is located in Adamstown http://www.thenags.com.au/
Kroony
Chicken Schnitzel With Diane sauce and Chips. A bit over $20
Side – Chips. Pretty average, just chips.
Topping – Dianne. Was almost bolognese in texture (like spaghetti with out the pasta, not like the breed of dog dog) Over all it was quite satisfying but perhaps they could have given me 80% less. Perhaps i should have asked for it on the side. Perhaps.
Schnitzel – Chicken. After a long dry spell any rain is welcome, even if its acidic rain from the local sulfur plant. You run out to dance in the rain with the rest of the towns folk but an hour later while applying burn cream to your face u realize it wasn’t actually that good*. While eating it I was saying “by golly gosh darn skedoo, this is an awesome schnitty” but in hindsight it could have been better. It was just pretty average, the only thing special about it was that i had not had schnitty in a while. This schnitty would have impressed me a lot more if i didn’t pay over $20 for it.
Overall i give this 3 schnittys out of 5
*In no way did the schnitty chemically burn my face or any other part of my person
Amos
They had James Squire Golden Ale on tap for less than five dollars, which both surprised and pleased me, so my first impressions were good. They have this cool waterfall thing at the front entrance. It’s full of swank.
The meals were pretty expensive; I ordered a chicken schnitzel with ‘Mexican topping’ (i.e. cheese, beans, avocado, tomato, sour cream etc) and that was about twenty dollars. My partner ordered bruschetta and ‘beer battered chips with aioli and pesto’, which were about seven dollars each.
Despite ordering later than the rest of the party, all our meals came out quickly and at roughly the same time. The bruschetta was cold, poor quality bread, and over saturated in caramelised balsamic vinegar. The beer battered chips however, were wonderful and the aioli was very flavorful without being overpowering.
The schnitzel was mediocre.
Scott
Coming soon to your local schnitty.com
James
The presentation of the premises was immaculate and I was quit impressed by the amount of space that could be found in what, from the outside, appeared to be a small building. The staff were very polite and also very well presented. Dining in the back room gave the feel of a small hotel restaurant which generated a very nice atmosphere. I was quite surprised how European it looked, which is unusual for Newcastle.
The Shnitty itself was large and looked very nice. It was moist but not wet and the sauce (Standard Hawaiian – Pineapple, cheese and Bacon) was very liberally offered. Some other places I/we have been only offer 2 or 3 pieces of Bacon but here, the entire thing was covered.
The meat was a little bland but had enough taste to stick with it. It was large which made up for it and the topping added to the flavor bring it out about par.
The price was slightly on the expensive side – a shade over $20 for the full thing but it didn’t completely disappoint.
4.5 Schnitties for the premesis,
3 Schnitties for the Schnitty
3 Schnitties for the Price
4 Schnitties over all
The sort of place for a quite meal
Brasserie 88 at Wests Leagues Club
The place
Brasserie 88 is upstairs at the Wests Leagues Club. I have never noticed it before. The place has a good feel with quality surroundings. There are curtains that (at night, anyway) cover the length and breath of the room-wide windows, which was disappointing as we think the view would have been good. This is because the feature wall was red but looked like it was patterned with plywood. The place was almost full. The woman that served us was so polite that I felt we should have apologized to her for not being better dressed…………or resembling Brad Pitt.
The food
There are 3 schnittys on the menu. A carbonara, a seafood one and mine was a tomato salsa affair minus the scoop of guacamole.
My meal consisted of two small but very thick and soft schnittys covered in a tomato paste, chopped red onion and diced tomato.
The red onion had a bit of bite to it but was thankfully cooked, not raw like some places. The salad was a standard combination of different lettuces, more tomato and some very weak dressing. The chips were good and crispy. Due to the number of guests that night, the meals took what felt like 30 mins to arrive. We noted that, had we gone to the “food court” or whatever spin Wests want to put on it, we would have finished our meals by the time we received them at Brasserie 88. The birthday boy claimed his wasn’t as hot as he was expecting. Mine was fine. The damage was $20.
The verdict
The size, softness and thickness of the schnitty was very appealing. In fact the whole meal was brilliant. My complaints lie with the place itself.
The lighting could have been a bit brighter, it would have been nice to have a view instead of looking at curtains that resemble those at your grannies, the meal took ages to arrive, even with good conversation. Oh, nearly forgot, you have to walk over to a separate bar area to see the beer available as it’s not on the wine/other beverage list nor the menu that has height/compensation issues. Seriously, if you’re on a blind date and you don’t like the look of them, take them here and ask to have the menus left on the table. Only, you won’t have anything else to look at.
P.S Our birthday boy had vouchers which gave us a discount of $10 which was nice. Even better that he had 7 of them and we were allowed to use all 7 at once.
“So that’s 3 meals, a beer and two cokes, less $70 discount. That comes to $6.35 please”
“……….”
“Awesome”
4/5
After our lengthy summer break we are back to review some more schnittys
At the end of round one we all selected the Stag and hunter at Mayfield the winner of the Golden Holy Schnitzel Grail
So congrats Stag and hunter.
There is a small back log of Reviews from the start of round 2 which will be posted soon… so stay tuned.
Ben
Having never been to the Gateshead tavern before, I found the venue surprisingly empty. Apart from a few patrons enjoying the cricket, the bar staff, a single kitchen-hand and one man eating a meal, it was just the seven of us who arrived for a banquet of schnitty.
The (already mentioned) solo-waiter slash chef took our orders, but was unable to provide us with vegetables or mushroom sauce. I ordered mine sauce-less and planned to add tomato sauce to the plate later. I am thankful I didn’t have to buy tiny sachets of sauce at 30 cents a pop; there was a hefty and full squirter-bottle of tomato goodness for all to use, next to the little packets of salt and pepper, and cutlery.
Schnitty cost me $13, not bad at all.
Outside was the place to be, it was a warm night but not too warm to warrant the ice-age replicating air conditioners churning in the foodatorium.
The schnittys were cooked in very good time given that it was just the one chap doing all the cooking. We were lucky that we were the only ones ordering at the time, or it may have been an attempt at the 40-hour famine before we were eating. The schnitty was hot and looked delicious. My chips were a bit on the warm side, but not so much so that I would be taking them back. The salad was simple, some green stuff and some red stuff, but tasty nonetheless. I expected a little more chips:salad ratio, however. This plus the schnitty on top will cost half a point.
A schooner of coke from the bar was ice cold, with the perfect amount of ice, and cost only $2.20 – well worth it.
The meal was delightful, however. I was in good company with a good meal for a reasonable price. Given the price and quality of the food, in hindsight I’m surprised that there were not more people around.
As we were leaving the “night club” started, which also forced the other party of patrons to leave as well, which I thought was funny.
4/5 schittys.
Scott
Arriving early, the pub was a bit.. boring, large drinking area and a small pokies area which sucked and if you wanted any money out of the pokies you had to ask a staff member.. lame. Anyway once everyone arrived we set upon the eating area (which.. was a dance floor?) and ordered from a bewildered looking chef. Im guessing they don’t have many customers on Friday nights, as they only hired one person to take care of the kitchen. Well it was a bit slow ordering, but nothing to write home about and the meals were fairly quick.
I tried to have the usual, Pepper sauce schnitty with chips and veges, but he was out of vegetables so I settled for chips and chips. It cost $13ish. The chips were steakhouse style, tasted good and were hot (well mine were..) and there was plenty of them. The schnitty itself was deep fried perfectly, crisp and no detectable hint of fish/other fried goods. Nowhere near enough pepper sauce though but there was ample supply of tomato sauce so no issues there.
For an establishment, on face value having one chef put up with the group of us they get 2/5. The chef himself did a fantastic job in my opinion, and gets 4/5, a point off for no vegetables and not enough sauce. So the outing as a whole, I rate it 3/5.
Ras
As we entered the Gateshead Tavern, we had to wander out in the back to the dining area. This was a dark, freezing air conditioned area where tables are laid out in a 90’s fashioned multi-purpose room (I’d probably rate the eating area 2/5), so we setup in the outside area. There was 1 man cooking & serving the food, I frowned and thought we were going to get a bad meal.
He served us, cooked 7 meals in a reasonable time and managed to keep them hot when they were ready… and the taste… very good!
The schnitzel was cooked well and was thick (4/5)… I was expecting something undercooked or overcooked, the pepper sauce was kind-of gluggy but was still nice/not overdone, the salad was crisp and the chips were much better than some restaurants we have ventured to (without mentioning names hehe). Price was great too being under $14
Even though he did a great job, give that poor guy another staff member! 3/5
Scott
Initial expectations were low.
Me: Hi Id like to order, Im from the table for kroon. *insert order here*
Lady: Hi no worries, what table number will that be?
Me: The table reserved for kroon
Lady: Wheres that?
Me: Um?
Steve: He is with our table, the reservation for kroon
Lady: Oh ok, thats fine.
The tables were blow-moulded cheap style from bunnings. Not kidding. The chairs were hard plastic, worse than what you would find at TAFE. The corner the ‘kroon’ table was in was in the dim-lit corner. There were kids everywhere. There were people everywhere come to think of it, all wanting food and popping out extra kids as the night went on. Table wasnt the cleanest, I say this as there was an unknown substance rolled up in a napkin that rob removed gracefully by smacking it with the table sign.
The wait was pretty normal, about 10-15 minutes. There were quite a number of people so this was understandable. When the food came out first impressions were kinda.. low – The schnitty looked small. It was also on the plate, not piled on the chips which surprised us all. I ordered the schnitty with a ‘Triple Cheese’ topping, pepper sauce (which came in a bowl on the side) chips and veges. The veges were ok, the carrot was chopped up pretty fine though, which made it hard to get on the fork. Corn was fine, beans I skipped and the cauliflower was pretty bang-on. The chips were really nice, top quality with a nice crunchy exterior texture. The pepper sauce tasted like an entire 6L pot of gravy was mixed with one sachet of pepper from mcdonalds, and they decided that that was enough.
Onto the schnitzel itself and it was pretty damn perfect. The cheesy aroma was good, the coverage of the schnitzel was perfect and they didnt skimp on thickness either. It was about as good as cheese toppings can get on a moderately thick perfectly cooked schnitzel. The chicken held together really well and tasted pretty real as far as schnitzels go. The batter was thick and held together like araldite was used as the main constituent and then they covered it with liquid nails just to be sure. Id go as far to say this was a $20 meal. Cost? For me, since I had the pepper sauce side, $12. For everyone else it was only $10. $10! This would have to be one of the best $10 meals you can purchase. Points lost for cheap feel of furniture and minimal lighting however the surprise of a brilliant meal more than makes up for it. Highly recommended, 4.5 out of 5.
Check soon for ‘www.schnitty.com endorsed’ advertisements in the newspapers and large banners over the bar haha.
Amos
Ten dollar schnitzel with a napolitana sauce, cheese, and spinach on top. It generally comes with bacon too, but I had just bought a copy of the Qur’an and didn’t want to be rude. Everything about the food was perfect. I think the corn was cooked in honey or something, or otherwise it was just really nice corn…
The beer was lacking. Nothing decent on tap, so I just drank Tooheys Old. I couldn’t even see any bottles of Coopers anywhere, but they might have just been hidden.
Kroony
Chicken Schnitzel With Diane sauce and Chips $10.00!!!
Staff - The staff were pleasant and welcoming. only complaint is that they took a phone off the table and put it in the rubbish bin by mistake.
Side – Chips. These were some awesome chips. they looked normal and i still cant tell what they did to them but there were very nice.
Topping -Dianne. This was one of the finest dianne sauces i have had. It was thick unlike far too many others. It also used real crushed garlic that you could see.
Schnitzel - Chicken. Keeping in theme with the rest of the plate the schnitty was a delight. The cooks obviously not afraid to leave them cooking just that little bit longer to make sure they are not soggy. the outside was crispy and the inside was juicy. My only complaint was that compared to some others on the table mine was quite small. Shame really cause i was enjoying it so much.
Over all 4.5 schnittys out of 5. For $10 it does not get much better then that.
Scott
Rocked up at the Generals at about the right time, went inside.. sat around on chairs that were a mixture of bouncy and uncomfortable. I didnt have too much of a problem with mine though. Out came the menus, very hard choice for me, Schnitty with veges/chips and pepper sauce. It didnt take them long to refer to our table as ‘The table of Schnitzels’. Costed around $20.
The wait wasnt too bad considering it was a packed friday night. The meal came with plenty of pepper sauce, however the gravy base was cheap and the actual pepper taste wasnt very strong. There was some pink.. 4-leaf clover type.. grass on the top, but that joined the enormous pile of beans on the side of my plate, destined for the bin. I ate a ‘normal’ serving of the beans but there was just too much left over still, and not enough carrot or broccoli. Others had the exact opposite. The corn was a welcome change, however the cobs had been cut short so that they were about 20mm thick which made it hard to eat. If they took the same amount of corn, and left it in one piece it would work for me just that much more. Chips were about average. The schnitty itself was pretty damn fine, thick, juicy, all those wonderful connotations that go with fine food. Probably hard to beat the quality of it.
Last of all, these guys organised some assorted cakes for the birthday boy that was pretty damn fine. Not much to complain about, vegetables, sauce and price were the let downs. 3.5 schnittys.
Ras
I’ve always wanted to go to the General Roberts but now after being there, I don’t want to go back. It’s pretty nice inside but it’s completley let down by the food
The chicken schnitzel was big and wholesome inside, very nice chicken but the crumbing/batter was deep fried in the same oil as the chips, fish and whatever else that was cooking that night. So everything tasted like fish! Not good for people who don’t enjoy eating fish. Good thing the sauce was strong enough to disguise the taste.
The side chips had salt on them so they kind of tasted different, they would of tasted like fish if they didn’t have that salt
The side salad was the worst salad I have ever seen and eaten. When you over toss a salad, the whole salad has this greeny colour to it and tastes the same all the way through, this was that salad. The dressing wasn’t that appealing either, a very strong basil. I couldn’t eat it
So basically I could only taste two things. Strong basil and fish
They were busy but a restaurant under pressure shouldn’t even take shortcuts like this one did
1/5
Scott
The General Roberts had the fancy moves to think you were dining at a special place. I didnt find it too bad at all, however even with a reservation they stood around for 4-5 minutes before acknowledging the group of 7 standing in front of them wanted to order. The wait after ordering was on the long side also, and the atmosphere was warm and not pleasant at all. I ordered the usual, a schnitzel with chips and veges, and pepper sauce. This costs $17.50, and we were advised that we should have gone on the wednesday, which is their cheap night. The sauce was pretty on par with pub pepper sauce, not peppery enough for me but probably adequate enough to differentiate from standard gravy for normal people. The vegetables had an unidentifiable yellow lettuce looking thing with a huge stalk, soggy and wilted – i took a bite and decided rather quickly that it wasnt to my tastes. The beans didnt seem cooked enough, but the carrot and broccoli were good.
The schnitzel itself was a batter similar to kfc’s original chicken, and it was real (not overly processed) chicken which impressed me. It was on the small side, although almost everyone elses seemed a good 20-50% larger – except samiis… she had chicken nuggets haha. The batter tasted ok, but as previous reviews have found, tasted of fish. It also didnt stick very well, but since it seemed to be proper chicken I wont complain about that part.
In all, after careful consideration I will give it a 2.5 / 5. The schnitzel cant make up for the poor service, the hot environment, the same oil being used for fish, weird yellow vegetable and the long waits between arriving, ordering and eating.
Marker
Firstly, Happy Birthday to Steve, Kroony’s father. We went to the General Roberts at New Lampton for the weekly schnitty tastings.
The General Roberts has had the best chicken schnitzel in newcastle, if you take off the batter. The batter tasted like fish. The guess is that it was cooked in the same oil as some fish. The chicken on the inside was supurb, thick and it was exceptionally real tasting chicken. The dianne sauce was fantastic.
The salad seemed old and soggy..and had no dressing on it. Dressing of some sort is something that I have come to expect when we are talking $17.90.
The chips were good.
I had no issues with the service, ther staff were friendly and sometimes having to wait a little bit is acceptable.
The meals were delivered to our table very quickly, this was impressive. After i took a bite and tasted fish..I would have rathered it taken an extra ~10 mins.
Thankyou for reading.
Marker.
Scott
Italy. France. India. Mexico. The Stag. These places all have brilliant food. Friday night, traffics everywhere and the place we were going to cannot fit us in. Last minute changes result in us heading to the stag for what I thought would be standard pub fare, with a poor result. From the outside, its a generic pub sporting alcohol advertising all over it. I went for street parking and walked in, and the atmosphere was friendly, warm and inviting. Up the back was a live singer, who gave a top-notch performance and even spoke to us on occasion about song choices and the like. Meeting with the other schnitzel connoisseurs out the back, we went to order – $17 a schnitzel – this was not what I was expecting. $10-14 was the norm, so $17 was definitely on the expensive end of things. The pepper sauce, chips and veges was the order, which took roughly 20 minutes, not bad considering how busy they were. One of the first things I noticed about all the staff was how friendly and approachable they were, always making time to make sure you were satisfied. Throughout the meal we were even asked if all was going well and if they could improve anything – what pub bothers with that these days??
The schnitzel itself must have just come through a venthole in the earths crust, prepped with 3 metric tonnes of perfectly cooked vegetables and chips, doused in pepper sauce and served. The pepper sauce had that nice pepper zing to it, and somewhat impressed me as most seem to be a gravy with peppercorns and no actual hotness. The vegetables, while not the titanic sized ones the george tavern served up, came in quantity, cooked perfectly – not too soft. The schnitzel remained hot the entire meal, chicken was thick, juicy and the crumbing of a superior texture to any previously encountered – perhaps it was just fried in different oil to normal, Im not a schnitzel technition by any means however it was delicious and surprised me.
Im giving it a well deserved 5 out of 5, and if you give these guys a shot, try (if you have room) the magic cookie cake they have on the counter – it was the perfect end to the meal.
Ras
For a last minute decision, the Stag (aka. Swill & Grill) was a brilliant choice! (thanks Moss). Live performances, nice setup (inside dining and out), close to the eating area bar and a brilliant maplike artwork on the wall defining Newcastle’s history (a lot better than what we saw at the Great Northern, that was a bit freaky)
We just stumbled in, no booking needed. I ordered the Napolitana schnitzel. It was brilliant!
The crumbing outside was great, there’s something unique going on here compared to all the other schnitzel’s i’ve had. The schnitzel inside was cooked to perfection, melted in the mouth-style. The top of the schnitty was covered in a dolmio/herb-like sauce (like a pasta sauce). I was suprised with the sauce, was expecting a bit more flavour but in the end it had a good overall contrast with the meal.
Well worth the $17, 4.5/5
Moss
Five dollar pints of Carlton Black. Meals for the price of a hug. A schnitzel with diane sauce, chips and salad. The diane sauce was like a garlic explosion in my mouth. Even more garlic than Bill’s “creamy garlic” sauce. Strange, and not entirely good. I’m sure it’s good for you, though. I enjoyed the schnitzel itself though, it was moist and tender and easy to eat. Still, the over-saucing really threw me aback.
Three of five: I’d go there again, but I’d definitely choose another sauce.
(Also, who the hell puts anchovies in a sauce. That’s disgusting.)
Umbrella Man
Blackbutt Hotel: The only place I’ve been to so far that served Hawaiian Topping with a side of schnitzel. Not that I’m complaining, that was some damn fine topping, and the atmosphere was marvelous. It wasn’t too loud and the schnitzel was rather tasty. If they fixed their computer systems I probably would have enjoyed it less, but as it stands I enjoyed that evening thoroughly. I’d go back, but probably only with a lady.
Three and a half stars out of five.
Scott
Blackbutt Hotel – Recently revamped, and had a real good atmosphere about the place. The menu seemed expensive, however some shopadockets from http://www.hotdockets.com.au quickly changed every second meal into a $3 fair, which almost halved the total cost. There was a nice large table waiting for us, and plenty of sauces and condiments were made available. I ordered the chicken schnitzel with a ‘Three Cheeses’ topping with chips and vegetables. The wait was quite short relatively, as the place was quite packed and we were a large group. The vegetables were pretty standard fare, although I wasnt a fan of the beans. The schnitzel itself was pretty normal, with as far as I could tell, cheese on top. It tasted fantastic though, and as there was enough flavoured sauces around you couldnt say it was bland by any measure.
4/5
http://www.georgetavern.com.au/
Scott
Apparently the three people who still listen to KOFM voted it the best pub in Newcastle so they were all happy about that. Rest assured, they aren’t.
We had booked the table. We stood in line for 20 minutes. They cant use the cash registers properly and even though someone waves a voucher in their face, they ‘mis-enter’ it and ‘cant undo it’, resulting in one of us paying full price. Customer service apparently goes out the window when a local radio station votes you as the best. Waiting in line for so long would be understandable if there were people in front of our group – but there basically wasn’t. For the first 5 minutes there was, but they were served after having the menu carefully explained to them which just left us waiting.
Bad start to a good meal. I ordered the schnitty with a pepper sauce topping and vegetable/chip sides. Costed $13 when used in conjunction with a voucher, if not it totals around the $19 mark. Once seated the atmosphere was loud and friendly, normal familys having dinner. The footy was on one of their screens, which had the attention of a few people. Meals didnt take too long to cook, and within 15 minutes we were ploughing into them.
Ill describe the plate. Vegetables from the jurassic period. Seriously, the stalk of brocolli when in a garden could have provided shade to an emu. The cauliflower wasnt much smaller. The schnitzel looked .. schnitzelish, and the beer battered chips were under with a pepper sauce covering it. On first bite i got really excited by the ferocity of the sauce – finally a peppery sauce! No. Just that first bite, the rest was the standard pub diluted down gravy with pepper taste. The vegetables went down easy, cooked well for their size and nothing to complain about there. The chips were perfect, if a little squished. The schnitty was crumbed in a thick batter, but the batter itself used tiny crumbing, so it tasted great and held together. I liked this overall, but it looses a point for the initial ‘pretend they dont exist’ poor service. 4 / 5.
Andy
We decided to venture out of the Newcastle region into unchartered territory. Maitland isnt far from my home town of Kurri, so i was quiet happy to give the ‘local grub’ a taste.
Our night started out in a way that can only destroy my hopes of awarding a 5/5. I was first in line, presented my voucher for a $5 second meal with the purchase of one full priced meal…umm’d over the menu for a little while and finally took a pick at a schnitty to my likings. I paid, assuming that the next person in line would only get charged $5…however apparently not! The woman just said “No i cant do that, you’ve already paid. It has to be done together”, and here i was thinking i had done the right thing. After about 5 seconds of disbelief i just took my seat.
But wait, theres more! Before this display of untrained customer service (Or perhaps she just didnt care?) we had been standing in line for a pretty long time. Past experiences at the G&D had a similar smell to this experience…despite there only being one or two people in front of us. we seemed to wait an eternity while the staff fought with their cash register and the individual purchasing had the entire menu explained to them in three different languages (One can only presume english – which they wouldnt understand, Bogan-English – which sinks in a little more, and then a mix of pictures and grunts – which hits the spot!). After an epic wait we were excited to be ordering, by this time normally I’d be excited to be eating.
The meal, great. Cant really complain all that much. The vegetables were good, but again as i’m seeing everywhere the carrot i grated into super thin long strands of hair like food. I’m not a fan of this, i just cant get a grip of it on the fork? Maybe i’m retarded….(or maybe the meal designer is).
The schnitty was well cooked, again the chips (as they are everywhere) were under the schnitty. I suppose they do this because it keeps it warm, but it really screws you up when you try cut the chicken.
I propose an experiment. Next time you order, insist on non grated carrot and chips on top of the chicken.
Pubs in this area remind me of coffee in Tasmania. Every single coffee house in Launceston had a sign “The best coffee sold here!”, either i missed the point and “best coffee” is a brand, or they’re as full of s@#t as pubs in the Hunter Valley are. You see this pub was voted the best in the Hunter Valley by the listeners of KOFM…weird!
I’m only happy to hand over a 2/5. 1 point off for service delays, 1 point for mistakes and another point for false advertising. The meals are nothing special, they’re not bad at all, I’d recommend them, but they are not “The Best”. Oh yeah, obviously this demonstrates that KOFM isnt worth listening too either…
Ras
After being told from KOFM that the George and Dragon tavern had the best Schnitzel in Newcastle, we decided to give this place a shot. For some reason KOFM is calling Maitland a part of Newcastle which isn’t really true. Even the entertainment book had it listed in the Hunter Valley. Just advertising to get people there from Newcastle, I can’t stand KOFM
Don’t bother with Entertainment book coupons here when on the George and Dragon website there is a coupon for buy one main get the next for $5 coupon up to November, really good value considering the meals they have here.
The customer service was awful as told by the previous reviewers. Slow and painful not only because there were some old ladies in front of us who couldn’t decide what to order, it should be table ordering so we don’t have to stand around. I had no idea someone didn’t get to use their voucher too, that’s lame. Andy said they act like it’s a privelage that your at the restaurant and it’s true.
The schnitty came out faster than I expected but after waiting so long to be served initially it wasn’t that great. I had the mexican schnitzel which as usual had the sour cream (a bit too much though), guacamole and chips on top accompanied by some beer battered chips and a colourful salad. It was well cooked, very filling (couldn’t eat the entire salad) and the chips were great
I’ll give it a good 3/5. Not worth going out to Maitland for the schnitty (there were some other interesting meals on the menu though), if your in Maitland it’s good although I haven’t been anywhere else in Maitland to compare it to.
Amos
$5.70 pint of Coopers Pale Ale. It tasted a little bit like ashtray, though. We were standing around at the register for a while, but that just gave me time to get a beer instead of waiting.
The meal seemed to come out relatively quickly, but I wasn’t counting. Great presentation; the entire plate was symmetrical, whatever that matters or means. I had a schnitzel with creamy garlic sauce, salad and chips. The garlic sauce was pretty sparse on the garlic but that’s fine; I’d rather too little than too much.
Chips under schnitzel. I like it. I mean, you really only have two other choices: a huge plate, or chips over schnitzel. Huge plates just won’t work: the entire restaurant culture is far too conducive to claustrophobia to start with, so just try to imagine a banquet-sized plate on your lap and you’ll go red with fury. Chips over schnitzel, then. Sure, but where does the sauce go? On the chips. Soggy chips. No, no, no. Just think, who is more deserving of sauce: the schnitzel or the chips? That’s right. And seriously, a schnitzel is just a piece of dead meat unless you’ve got a good sauce that makes it worth eating.
3.5 of 5
Ben
The George and Dragon looks and feels like a great venue for families and friends to enjoy a meal together. The large rooms, kids corner and almost literally a TV on every wall is a friendly change to the five squared meters of eating area on small round tables and keno cards wherever the eye can see.
Very few venues include enough table space for you to eat your meal without interrupting the person next to you, or in front of you, but the furniture at the George and Dragon was larger than your average bear, which is a plus.
The prices for a simple schnitty, chips and some veg was a bit out of the park, and would have been mitigated if the 2-meals vouchers would have worked for everyone. Mine worked and I ended up paying a little over $10 for my meal. The ordering system really needs some work as well. They have the register, and hense the lines to form in front of it, stretching across the smallest walkthrough in the entire pub! Constantly patrons are being asked to move out of the way by unfriendly kitchen-hands moving to and fro. Not only this, but there must be a rule where only one worker uses the cash register each shift. The lady taking orders took it under her administration to help two ladies identify everything they’ve ever eaten and whether or not it was on the menu, while the rest of us were ready, willing and able to place our orders. Any other staff member could have taken either the role of helping Mrs. Illiterate with the menu or serving the other customers.
My schnitty, with parmigiana topping was of decent size, with delicious beer-battered chips and very nicely cooked vegetables. I particularly liked the melted cheese. The meat was a very good thickness and was cooked very well. With the parmigiana topping and the vegetables it was actually a very filling and tasty meal. The dispensed coke was also nice, with a little more ice than anyone short of a polar bear feeling homesick would enjoy.
I have to re-iterate what was already mentioned about the presentation. Every venue seems to take the “schnitty on top of chips” thing as some cardinal rule. In practice it means that when you look at the dish you instantly know it’s a chicken schnitzel with some vegetables and chips, but that the chips are quickly making the under-side of the schnitty soggy, and will surely be crushed themselves when the schnitty is being cut. The solution for this surely seems to be the schnitty, followed by the sauce/topping and then chips on top. This way you not only still get a flavoursome schnitty, but the chips get a bit of that flavour as well and noone gets squashed or soggy!
Overall it was a good meal, though nothing to blow my tastebuds away. The atmosphere was what one would expect and the service could definitely be improved.
3/5