Scott

The Mattara is not cheap.

The Mattara is not cheap. Sorry, I just felt it needed to be said twice.

Upon arrival, we were informed that the indoors couldn’t cope with a sizable group like ours without booking ahead (doh) and only the bar area or outside remained. We took the outside area – enclosed from wind, and not *that* cold but still not ideal surroundings. Once everyone had arrived and ordered, the food took a good 30-40 minutes to come out, however they did their best to ensure everyone was eating at the same time. The service was pretty good, and since they were pretty packed, the length of time to prepare 14 odd meals for just our group while pleasing their other customers, they did decent job.

The meal itself. I ordered a ‘full’ schnitzel ($18.50), which came with vegetables and chips (yay), and I ordered a cheese topping ($2.50) with pepper sauce ($2). All up total of $23 for the meal, and a $3.20 schooner of coke, so $26. That takes the cake as the most expensive place yet. And it probably was the slowest from order to meal delivery, but thats understandable. When the meal arrived, the schnitzel was not what ‘I’ would call a ‘full’ schnitzel, it was standard sized one, about the same as any $10 place we have reviewed so far. This annoyed me. A ‘half’ that other people got was almost the size of my ‘full’. This annoyed me. The vegetables were pretty awesome, the tree of broccoli was huge, nice large amount of cauliflower and a small amount of carrot and beans were top notch, however this is the search for Newcastles greatest schnitty, not the search for Newcastles greatest schnitty sides. The chips were of the steakhouse variety, cooked to crisp perfection, no complaints there. The schnitty itself was thick and the crumbing was in proportion and didnt fall off at all, and the cheese topping was about as fantastic as the moon landing, except cheaper. If you go here, get the cheese topping. Not getting it is simply not an option. The pepper sauce was rather odd coloured, being creamy however it rates as one of the best Ive had.

From me, I give it 4 out of 5. The sides and toppings were awesome; the bad parts were size of actual schnitzel and price.

Marker

Thick, very thick. Thickest schnitty i have ever had. The inside was tender, and juicy. Perfect.
The dianne sauce was tasty and there was just the right amount.

We had to sit outside in the enclosed outdoor area as the restaurant area was busy, no room for a group our size to sit, we cannot blame that on anybody else then ourselves. We should have booked ahead.

I ordered the “full” schnitty, with the dianne sauce. It was just over $20 all up.

The salad was quite plain, very little dressing, it was still up to standard though.

All up, it was fantastic and will attract the highest score i have given so far. Even with the high price tag, it was worth it.

4.5 out of 5 schnitties.

I hope to visit the Mattara again some day soon

Ras

Location

Mattara Charlestown was been renovated a couple of years ago and has still maintained it’s new look. It has a modern bar feel with a gigantic fish tank full of large exotic fish. The restaurant area was sectioned off around the back, away from the rest of the bar. Very schmick

Service

There were a few late arrivals of our group which hadn’t arrived, a few of us had already ordered so there could have been a problem with eating way too early… However a staff member specifically came out to confirm that she had received all the orders, so we asked if they could wait, no problems!

The service was great even though it was packed full, we didn’t have a booking and had to sit outside. The schnittys still arrived in a reasonable time under the circumstances

Schnitty

Full size with spicy mexican topping
The presentation was interesting, I have never seen a schnitty which looks like you accidentally ordered nachos. It was a large plate, with chips, mounted by a full size (you have an option between half or full) schnitty with a Spicy Mexican sauce, topped with cheese, some corn chips (yes, corn chips) dug into the cheese with dabs of sour cream & guacamole, with a side serving of vegetables including carrots that were shaped in a very long rectangle shape comparable to something from gumby

THE Taste

I am a HUGE fan of Mexican food and the sauce in combination with the sour cream and the guacamole tasted like a burrito, which I was happy with but the sauce was just the perfect disguise to cover the disgraceful schnitty itself, the heart and soul of the meal! Comparable to Coles supermarket schnitty, the chicken was dry and rubbery in some parts (most likely just overcooked) but unlike Coles it had a nice steamy thick breast, like some kind of schnitty porn. Dry and rubbery schnitty porn isn’t my thing, 2.5

Summary

Location 4/5 (great)

Service 3/5 (good)

Schnitty 2.5/5 (sort of good but also sort of meh)

Extras 3/5 (good)

Overall 3/5 Schnitties

Kroony

Schnitzel, Dianne With Chips and Salid – $20.90

Drinks – no drinks didn’t have enough change for that and the meal.
Staff – Staff were quite helpful considering we showed up with 14 people and no booking. Quite a cool accent was sported by the woman who gave us out plates.
Company – As i just said it was a large group 2night, slightly cause of facebook exposure.
Side, Chips And salad – The chips and salad were quite good, nothing special, nothing bad. Salad was a standard small leafed greens and tomato. Again nothing special nothing bad.
Topping, Dianne – The Dianne Sauce was impressive, Thick and rich with flavor leaving a light twang in your mouth.
Schnitzel – Apon 1st glance i wasn’t too impressed with the size, but once i cut into it and saw how thick and evenly cooked it was an was a little more impressed. The chicken was tender and soft, brilliant contrast to the crunchy crumbing.

I Quite enjoyed this Schnitty. It is one of the higher quality on offer in this great town, But when the price is factored in it is brought right back down to nothing special. I also may have been unlucky with my sides but again they were nothing special either. If money isnt a problem for you u will enjoy this schnitty, otherwise there are other schnitties out there that are on par with this but only 1/2 the price.

3 Out of 5 Schnittys

GMAN

Recorded on my phone for brevity on account of other long reviews.

“Mattara: Spicy Mexican, half schnitzel. Not very spicy and therefore, not very Mexican. Almost Italian, very rich tomato topping, excellent cheese, average try-hard salad, top marks for the chips. Very cold in the wilderness of the back of the pub. Somebody’s fault, got to find someone to blame.”

No heaters out the back. No complaints about the schnitty itself.

4.5/5

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.

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

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.