Due to the seemingly large amount of people, the wait was fairly extensive, stretching to approximately 30 minutes, however good conversation made it bearable. When the buzzer went off, we all got up to collect our food. The staff gave us an additional plate for the sides – There is a salad and a vegetable buffet, however according to the signs they would prefer if you chose only one to go to. I chose vegetables. I had fried rice, chips, cauliflower with white sauce, mashed potato, pumpkin and carrots.

Eating the meal and the first thing that strikes you is the ‘pepper’ sauce. It tastes more lemony, with black peppercorns than the usual peppery gravy. The veal schnitzel is quite large (and flat) and uses an entire plate to itself. The crumbing is delicious and crunchy, the only criticism is it fell off the meat too easily. The veal itself is great – it must be close to a year since my last veal intake, so I’m probably not the best judge haha. The sides went down well, pumpkin was a little undercooked but aside from that (and classifying fried rice as a vegetable) all went well – nothing to write home about. All in all I give it 4 out of 5, points being lost for price and the initial wait.

Dan

The atmosphere of the RSL was quite different to that of the Duke which we reviewed last week. It is probably best described as more suited to the elderly Australian rather than the youthful “party” oriented Gen X and Y crowd. Food wise, the RSL was also somewhat different to our usual dining experience, as it presented a buffet for side accompaniments to our meals. Which in itself is a novel approach to meeting the varied tastes of the dining public

Having ordered our meals we were seemingly unaware of the wait that we were to experience.  Over 30 minutes later our food had still not arrived, which in itself is disappointing and on this occasion was made worse by the fact that the restaurant was no more crowded than the Duke was a week ago.

When our meals did finally arrive I complimented mine with a side serving of rice, baked pumpkin and chips.

Initial analysis of the meal showed it to be a well sized portion of chicken that appeared to be cooked to a reasonable standard. Unfortunate this visual analysis was not affirmed by my tastebuds. I still cannot put my finger on it but there was just something wrong with the schnitzels breadcrumb coating. After suffering through half of it I gave up and moved onto my side dishes. The chips were excellent, golden brown and cooked well, the rice was kind of a Chinese fried rice dish and was also quite appetising. Disappointing however was the pumpkin, not only was it still hard in the middle it was also stone cold. And after 2 bites I gave up on it. This moved my attention back to the schnitzel, again I tried to eat it and again there was just something not right with the breadcrumbs. As a last resort I removed the coating and simply ate the chicken.

Overall I was left somewhat disappointed by the Adamstown RSL, my meal was certainly substandard especially for an establishment that presented a newly renovated appearance. I give it a 2.5/5. Unfortunately I will not be eating there again

http://maryellen.com.au/

Reviews:

Ras

I had the Rio topping (Avocado & Honey Mustard), the sauce was a bit bland
The schnitty crumbing was a bit tough but looking around the table, it seemed like it was just mine. The schnitzel inside was great
Side salad was decent and as Scott reviewed last time, the chips are awful, I really couldn’t eat them

I would like to give this a 2, but it’s not about the sides, it’s about the schnitty. 3/5

Scott

Mary Ellen Take 2 – Our second review here as we had a vegetarian participate, and they were the only ones we had found so far who served a vegetarian schnitzel.

This time around, it wasn’t near empty it was busy. Busy enough that we had to trade tables once one big enough became available. I went for the veal schnitty ($14) this time, with a ‘parmigiana’ topping ($3) and chips and vegetables. This time around the wait was a bit longer (more people = longer wait) but wasn’t too bad. My veal was good, if only a little small. The crumbing didn’t like to stay on, but that’s not a big deal. The chips still seemed old. In fact, they were probably the same recycled chips from 2 months ago haha. Vegetables were pretty standard, a bit of overkill on the cucumber though. The topping (parmigiana – cheese and napoliana sauce) was very, very fitting for the veal, and I would recommend it. Perfect dose of thick melted cheese, and a sauce that complimented both cheese and schnitzel very well.

The atmosphere was a little off putting, the music was too loud and I couldn’t keep a conversation without shouting. The smoking area could have been made a little bigger as its too narrow, but that happens. Also, I was offered a snaffle of a vegetarian schnitzel, which I decided to try even though I was pretty sure it would taste bad… Well i was wrong. The texture was of fishcakes, but the taste and smell were of something I have never experienced before – I was quite impressed with it and honestly it isnt bad. Overall I will give this schnitzel a 4/5, but the chips still sucked. Fix these please Mary Ellen!

Bobz0r

I had the Mary Ellen Topping with a veal schnitty with a side of chips and salad.
The schnitty itself was cooked damn near perfectly and went great with the topping. The heavenly taste of the veal mixed with the creamy Mary Ellen topping was truly satisfying and I’d recommend to anyone that they try that combo.
The sides were alright; chips tasted like chips, can’t ask for much more than that, and the salad further emphasized the schnitty’s glorious taste.
The plate was dressed well, a decent sized schnitzel topped with a creamy sauce with a bacon-ish taste standing atop a pile of chips aside a bit of salad.

I know someone who got the unlucky schnitty will think ill of me, but I really think my meal was worth a 4.5/5

Why not 5/5 with such a good review?
That was a damn long wait to get my dinner. Got there at 7.30pm, ordered at 7.45pm, started eating at 8.35pm… maybe I’m just impatient.

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.

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