This week we went to to the “New” Mary Ellen Hotel – At Merewether .

http://maryellen.com.au/

Reviews:

Marker

A turnout of 6 people was good. The atmosphere of the place was awesome. The service was professional and very, very quick.

I was quite happy with my choice. A veil schnitty, with chips and salad.
It cost about $17 for mine, with the Dianne topping.

Planning ahead would have been a good idea, a sign on the wall stated that there cheap schnitty night(s) were Tuesday and Wednesday. We were there on a Thursday.

All up i give it 4 out of 5. I have had better, but this one was pretty good, even with its price tag.

Remember tho that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are they days to go.

Scott

After a frantic rush of collecting people and cars, we got to the Mary Ellen rather late for a schnitty night, 8:40ish. Not to worry though, we all ordered and sat down in a nice atmosphere, inside where it was warm. On ordering, I got a chicken schnitzel with vegetables and chips ($13.90?) and gravy ($1.50) and it was only after paying I saw they had pepper sauce as an item. Bad luck to me part 1. When I ordered, there were two menu choices for the meal, being chips and salad or potatoes and vegetables – I asked if I could have chips and vegetables (best of both) and they said that would be fine.

It was only 10 minutes later when the first 4 (out of 5) meals came through – Unfortunately mine came with chips and salad (I am against rabbit food being served at the table) and this disappointed me. Bad luck to me part 2. Another reviewer got vegetables and chips – and upon inquiring found out that they had actually ordered chips and salad, so I would be guessing the orders got a bit screwed up somewhere along the way which isn’t a big deal, at least it wasn’t totally forgotten. The last meal (a steak, to be different) came a good ten minutes later, but it looked well worth the wait.

Onto the actual meal, the chips seemed really old – and expanding on that, I would probably argue that they had been microwaved at some point. They weren’t crisp at all, but they looked like they had been at one point. The gravy was a runny type, probably packet mixed – and to keep costs down perhaps it was diluted a little – however it wasn’t too bad despite this. The salad I didnt touch (see above point re rabbit food) but looked .. normal. The schnitzel itself was rather thick, the good kind, and the crumbing was delicious. If all I wanted was a plain schnitzel, this would have gotten a 4.8 out of 5 however bringing into account the overall price of the schnitzel being in the high range, the mixed up ordering and the chips seeming stale brings my rating down to a 3 / 5 schnittys.

Moss

To start with, I bought a nice wheat beer: Erdinger Weissbraeu. They seemed to have a good range of beers that weren’t VB. A guy with an acoustic guitar was playing covers. I’m not a huge fan of covers, unless they actually do something new or interesting with it.

I ordered a vegetarian schnitzel with pepper gravy. With chips and vegetables. I actually ordered chips and salad, but got vegetables. Scott ordered chips and vegetables but got salad. I didn’t mind; it was what I secretly wanted after all.

I got the schnitzel and wasn’t sure what to think. I tried some. It was really good, but I’m not sure whether I would have called it a schnitzel. It seemed to be essentially a mass of vegetables bound with a cheesy sort of sauce, and then crumbed and fried or whatever. I did think the schnitzel was a bit small, but I hadn’t really eaten anything that day, so it’s probably not a real issue. The pepper gravy was good, or average really, but your average pepper gravy is still pretty good.

I would be curious to try the chicken schnitzel there, to see which one I actually prefer, but in any case it’s good to have a non-meat version; I can only imagine how hard it would be to be a vegetarian schnitty lover.
4.0 / 5.0

Kroony

Veal Schnitzel With gravy and chips – $16.60

Drinks – New… it was nothing really new just, new.
Staff – Helpful and understanding. as we arrived late they were quite willing to wait for the stragglers.
Company – Just a small group of 6 of us, with work and other commitments taking the others away. This worked quite well there a different dynamic in a smaller group and i enjoyed it.
Side – Chips. Nothing that great, decent amount of average chips.
Topping -Gravy. the gravy was hot, hotter than the chicken which was a little odd. It was also a tiny bit watery.
Schnitzel – The crumbing on this Veal was so fine that i thought initially it was battered. Which in the end wasn’t a bad thing but i did like the look of the thicker coating on the chicken better. The veal was a nice size and thickness though a slight bit fatty.

Overall i have given this a veal a 2.5 out of 5 schnittys which is generous cause im normaly impartial to a veal. It was average the whole time, the price was too much for what u were given and it was only brought back to an average ranking cause it was veal.

It was my Birthday so we went to a tavern down the road that boasts a $10 schnitty done one of 10 different ways.

The Shaft Tavern – Be careful flash only site :S
Check the map page in Elemore Vale for the exact location.

Reviews:

Scott

From a long lineup for ordering to being seated outside in the cold, this place did not look promising. Packed full of people, the only table big enough was in the smokers area outside, with a loudspeaker blaring numbers for the old women bidding silly amounts of money in exchange for the chance to win old meat. We waited probably 20 minutes before being invited back inside, where a table large enough for the 8 of us opened up. From there it was about 10 minutes before the food started rolling in.

I ordered the ‘tropicana’ which was $10. It came with a choice of salad or vegetables with chips, and going with previous choices opted for the vegetables. Unlike other places however, the vegetables were beans, corn, broccoli and carrot which were a nice change from the usual. The side of chips was a little small, however they were beer-battered steakhouse. The schnitzel itself came topped with bacon and mango, with cheese melted all over. Delicious. The mango was a unique menu item which I had not seen before, and it is something I will definitely order again, the entire meal meshed really well. This was a $20 meal in value being sold for $10, unlike a few places we have been to selling $10 meals for $20.

I will happily recommend this place (just not the pasta!) and give the meal 4 out of 5, half a star lost for slower than normal service (understandable due to the amount of people who wanted in on this secret portal to schnitty goodness) and half a star lost for bad pasta I had had there on a previous outing.

Kroony

Chicken Schnitzel With Satay sauce and chips – $10

Drinks – Fire Engine & Rum. A very girly drink indeed, but it was so sweet u could not even taste the rum… easily could have got trashed on this drink.
Staff – Cool and Attractive. While we were outside they were keen to have a chat to the patrons while collecting empties. Most of them are young and quite the lookers.
Company – 9 of us made the trip a first for Ollie and Samii. Thanks again to everyone for making it out for my Birthday.
Side – Chips. Superbly cooked steakhouse chips. Crisp on the out side and moist on the inside.
Topping – Satay sauce. This was totally new to me. it was the nights special so if its offered every week I’m not sure but if its offered when u go I highly recommend it.
Schnitzel – A very large size for the price. the schnitty did that thing where air expands between the crumbs and the chicken while is it cooking, so the covering didn’t stick well to the chicken. This minor detail was far more than made up by the meat itself. Served boiling hot I knew it was cooked less than 3 min before i received it. The chicken was thick and cooked to perfection.

I had an awesome night and wont let the fact that the venue is popular and we didn’t book affect my judgment. I do recommend calling ahead for larger groups.
Overall i give it 4.5 schnittys out of 5 – Highly recommended

Ndroo

It has been a while since i truly felt a $10.00 meal could be recommended to anyone i have an interest in talking to again, but The Shaft has corrected my ill thought.

The cattle class service started pretty much as expected with a long delay in being served. The delay gave me the opportunity to look around the room and ask myself “Why so busy?”. The dining room was nothing spectacular, paper table clothes for easy turn over, self serve on the drinks and very little variation from the typical club style dining experience. Initially due to the number of meals being served we were forced to sit outside, a bit of a disappointment! To add insult to injury outside was very cold, suffered from a severe lack of heating and encouraged the company i was keeping to continue their self indulging habits of smoking…i wasn’t that excited at this point.

After 15 minutes outside we were invited inside! A table had opened up…and we had the chance to sit inside where it was nice and warm. I was very pleased as not only did this remove the cold but also the smoking was forced to stop. Another 5 minutes passed and i was served, quiet possibly, the best $10.00 meal I’ve ever had in my life. You see recently i spent a week in Melbourne, having been very spoiled in my dining choices for that week I was finding it difficult to readjust to the ways of Newcastle (Ugh…we need some better food options, seriously!). However this night was to remind me that it is not the quality of the cooks which hold Newcastle back, but its client requirements which prevent us expecting anything better than pig feed.

I ordered the Satay Chicken Schnitzel. Not too spicy but with a gentle tingle there was no lack of flavor. I ate the chips first, perfectly crunchy with some great taste there was no disappointment yet. I moved onto the greens which did cause me some surprise, celery, who serves celery when you ask for salad? I’m used to the normal lettuces , carrot, tomato and maybe some sprouts or similar. I had a bit of a neutral reaction to this change in menu. Finally i went after the meat…and this is where my pleasure reached its peek. Tender, very well battered and in a sauce that tasted as if the person cooking paid attention to what they were doing, something I’m not familiar with when going out in Newcastle. Really i should mention that sauce again, they actually left a few peanuts whole in there…and really why not, what does a peanut cost? (I wont pain you with the pun thats lingering). Generally we find that $10 meals have cost cuts where ever possible, the fact that they used a half decent sauce, very good piece of chicken and experimented with the salad…well its a 5 out of 5 for me.

While i was initially disappointed that we didn’t have an indoor seat, i now understand why. 5 out of 5, give it a try…you wont be able to complain about the value.

Marker

Satisfactory, but not great.
I had the tropicana.
Schnitty, topped with cheese, ham and mango.

I was excited about bringing in mango to the equation… I couldnt taste it.
The cheese had no taste, it was a bunch of chewy nothing.

That is all

We decided to head into town to the Grand to see how they pull off a schnitty

http://www.thegrandhotelnewcastle.com.au/

Reviews:

Scott

Parking was good, right outside the front doors. The outside looked a bit dingy, but once inside the atmosphere was what some people would call ‘romantic’ and other people would call ‘annoying’. The meals were quite decently priced, not as cheap as some however at $10 for a schnitzel with vegetables/chips it was decent. Any topping seemed to be $2 extra, and some herb bread went around at $3. The bread was probably the most decent herb/garlic bread ever. The schnitzel, arrived about 9 minutes after ordering and was designed to be pleasing to the eye, a lot of time spent making it look right. The portions were smaller than I feel we were used to, but the taste made up for that. Thick schnitty, with the perfect amount of Dianne topping was awesome. Im still hanging for a place that uses roast potatoes with their vegetables though.

3.5 out of 5

Moss

I arrived at the Grand and ordered a Guinness. The guinness was poured fairly well. For foodstuffs, I had a chicken schnitzel with boiled vegetables and green peppercorn and whitewine sauce. The sauce was brilliant. The schnitzel itself was good; it was nice and tender, and had all the things you’d normally expect from a schnitzel. Boiled vegetables, yeah. They were good, or at least as good as boiled vegetables can be, although I think I could have done with more of them. Overall, I think the rocking sauce was what made the money shot.
4.0 / 5.0.

Kroony

Chicken Schnitzel With gravy chips and salad – $11

Drinks – Guinness. I really like a good Guinness with my schnitty and i was glad to see they had it.
Staff – Fast. No time for pleasantries… or my jokes were shit, either way no laughter.
Company – No Lights. the lighting was very lacking, i assume to create that lovely ‘romantic’ effect. So i could not really see my company that well. I assume thats what makes such lighting romantic, the fact u cant see how ugly the person is your on the date with.
Side – Chips and salad. the servings were quite small and decently nothing to rave about.
Topping -Gravy. I was pleased with the gravy. They didn’t have too much and it was a nice flavor and consistency.
Schnitzel – Chicken. This was a little disappointing, The chicken was very hot and quite dry. Not to mention that again its was rather small.

Overall i was a little unimpressed i give it 2.5 schnittys out of 5

Marker

The building was quite nice, the room was cosy, the lighting was shithouse.

The meal was shithouse. Too thin, too small, the salad had no dressing on it.

The herb bread was definitly the best part of the meal.

Cant give it 0 out of 5 schnittys, because it was at least a schnitty. Not a shoe.

I give it 1 out of 5.

Worst schnitty i have had in a long time – apart from one I have cooked myself

However, the company: Fantastic!

Thanks for reading

We made the trip down to Belmont this week to try some schnitty at Belmont hotel.

Check the maps page for a location

Reviews:

Kroony

Veal Schnitzel With gravy chips and salad – $8

Drinks – Beer. I had like 1/4 of moss’ beer as we left cause he had enough.
Staff – Friendly. the staff were good, Service was fast and there was no messing around.
Company – Good. There were 8 of us and that always makes for a good night out.
Side – Chips and salad. I think the chips were beer battered. Thick and not over cooked. Just right but i would have been happier with a little more. The salad was quite fancy and had a nice dressing.
Topping – Fucken Yum. Best gravy i have had in a long time. Nice and thick but defently not dry or lumpy at all. Not too much or too little, just right.
Schnitzel – Juicy. The veal itself was brilliant. All too often i get veal schnitty and its chewy and has fatty veins through it but this was the exact opposite. Nice soft consistency with a good amount of thickness. I was a little unhappy about the crumbing on the bottom. It was a little soggy as if they only cooked it from one side.

Overall i give it 4 schnittys out of 5

Scott

Chicken Schnitzel with Pepper Sauce, Chips, Vegetables and a coke – $10.90

Pulling up outside we were immediately alarmed at the lack of car-spaces – the car park was full and there was limited spaces nearby. Walking into the restaurant, it was busy and there didn’t appear to be any tables free, especially not for 8 people, however the bar staff immediately offered us the private dining room. Extra nice of them, however when it came time to order, there was space and we voluntarily went back to sit in the main area. Meals were $8 (not too long ago they were $6) and came with a condition of buying a drink. Acceptable. The menu for schnitzels were chicken or veal, with a choice of chips/salad or veggies/salad, with topping choices of gravy, dianne, pepper or some other sauce. I went the veggies/chips and chicken schnitzel, with pepper sauce and a coke. all up $10.90.

With 8 ordering at once, we figured it would take some time for the meals to start arriving (looking at last weeks 40+minutes) however between 6-8 minutes the first 3 meals were already out. They are quite a large plate, which come full with a nice sized schnitzel, large helping of vegetables and some decent steakhouse chips. Everything was delicious, priced right, and worked well. The schnitzel was probably a little tougher than normal, which probably indicates they have a few sitting on a hotplate ready to put on meals to get the fast service times – but if you serve complete meals with drinks for $10.90 inclusive, that are that large and nice you are allowed to have small things like that.

Overall i give it 4.5 schnittys out of 5

For the first schnitty in our hunt for Newcastle’s best schnitty, it was decided that we try the local first. The Colliery Inn Hotel

A map can be found on the maps page or by clicking the link above

We have 3 reviews this week, from Kroony, Scott and Marker.

Max said the schnitty was not worth his time reviewing.

Reviews:

Kroony

Schnitzel With gravy and Veg – $16

Drinks, mix coke – (Was riding ) at 2.50 for a soft drink it perhaps was a bit rich but ehh same old.
Staff – 2 1/2 – Bit confused not that hot
Company – 4 Markers jokes… sad as always.
Side, Veg – 2 Quite big, just boiled but perhaps not for long enough. Was a bit crunchy
Topping, Gravy – 3 Plenty of gravy. Perhaps a but too much but i did not specify. was a bit watered down and had a little lemon tang to it. Not sure if i liked that yet. The fact that it was watered down kinda let it down in the end.
Schnitzel – Very big. Impressive. It had a good crunchy coating with out being too thick. Chicken was nicely cooked and not too skimpy.

Overall i give it 3 schnittys out of 5

Next weeks: Wallsend Diggers?

Scott

From the start I was annoyed with this place. They make awesome pizzas sure, but ‘Belissimos’? Doesnt sound like they specialise in schnittys at all. Meal? Once earth got over a rather long ice age, my schnitty/veges ($15) with gravy ($1) and chips ($1) eventually came. The gravy first off was watery, and only on the schnitzel (not over the veges or chips). The chips looked overcooked but cold at the same time. Tasting confirmed this. The veges were nice, needed more gravy. The schnitty itself was pretty soggy from the runny gravy, and really thin. Thin schittys look ‘big’, but the fatter ones are generally better. The service was lousy, the food was lousy and the only thing that place had going for it was a half-heated outdoor area. At least they didnt get the coke wrong. Overall, 2 out of 5.

Marker

For the first week we decided to goto the Colliery Inn, Wallsend

I had a Chicken Schnitzel, with the “Monty Carlo” topping. – and vedgies.
(Sauteed in butter, Cream, and Mushroom with Wine. Topped with Cheese & lightly grilled)

The meal took too long to arrive in front of me at the table

It was worth the wait.

The potato was solid, too solid, and the large slices of carrots suggested they may have come from genetically modified carrots.

The actual schnitty, was fantastic. The topping hit the spot.
my taste buds were all like, “oh rly”, the meal was like “ya rly”

A bad schnitty can taste too artificial. Made up of the crap bits, like what lobster is to seafood extender. This one wasnt too bad, but its not the most real schnitty i have ever had.

I give it 3 out of 5.