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