It was Ras’ pick this week so we went somewhere a little off the beaten path
Waratah Rugby Leagues Club
Gman
Mexican Meatball Schnitzel – this was pizza on a schnitzel. Oh yes, it was good.
Large schnitzel covered in cheese, so much so that I don’t really remember seeing crumbing or batter. A mountain of sour cream and lava like pourings of sweet chilli sauce.
Unfortunately, like The Dark Knight, you can have too much of a good thing. The meatballs had a classic sausage taste which I am not a fan of. After a while the whole thing became tasteless and underwhelming which was a great shame.
An idea for……….. a bacon mcflurry…………. was suggested…………….. must investigate
4/5 schnittys
Kroony
Chicken Schnitzel With ‘MeatLovers’ Topping – $18.00
I feel kinda bad now walking into the place i got the initial impression that this was a bogan filled sports bar where outsiders would not be treated nicely. Apart from a little uncalled abuse I was mostly wrong.
Staff – A lovely little old lady served us who also brought the food to our table.
Company – We had people visiting from Townsville but there was a mixup/communication error and they didnt attend. Otherwise i think there was 7 of us a few non regulars.
Side – Chips. A very generous serving of chips were placed next to my schnitty
Topping – This was the winner, ‘meatlovers’, It started with a BBQ sauce base with melted cheese on that. Placed on the cheese was Bacon, sausage meatballs and salami. Quite the meatlovers indeed. With the Meatballs and the sausage it brought a very Italian flavor to a very different topping
Schnitzel – Wow after all that meat there was still a whole schnitty under it. The schnitty its self wasnt anything fantastic. With out the topping it would have scored low but the copious amounts of BBQ sauce mostly covered up the slight dryness. The batter was a good thickness and over all it was cooked evenly.
Overall I have given this meal a 3.5 out of 5. With 19 other toppings to choose from I dare say i will be coming back here sometime. If your looking for some variety or some peace and quiet I do recommend.
Scott
Before this review, I hadn’t heard of this place. Someone queried ‘Isn’t that the place they are going to knock down?’ and I had no answer… So we give it a try and the pub again is full of locals, one of whom abused our group for ’standing around’ near a doorway. Now we weren’t blocking the doorway in the slightest – but this is the intelligence we can expect from the people who are locals at waratah…
The menu was quite comprehensive, a list of 20-30 different schnitzel combination’s, all reasonably priced. I picked the $18 ‘Meatlovers’ schnitzel and a $4 old school chocolate milkshake. The wait wasn’t too long, with all of us discussing the recent wedding, and various trips around the place until they arrived. For the money you certainly got a lot of meat, but the sides were a little disappointing. The vegetables were good, but not many and the chips were so/so and there was only about 10 of them. Ah well. The schnitzel was of a decent variety, thickish and cooked but covered with a barbecue sauce that is so strong in taste it, dare I say, ruined the meal? There was ample bacon in large pieces, lumps of sausage and lots of cheese, but the sauce was over the top. If I were to try this meal again at some point, I would asked without sauce and I daresay it would have been a 4 at least, and a 2 with. The milkshake was good – so I will bump it up to a 3.
http://www.mattara.com.au/
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
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.