Marco Tsang
26/02/2024
HIdden Gem with Great Atmosphere
Walking out of sinkholes looking for a feed, we found a nice little "pub" on Google.
Didn't expect to walk into a dining area that look so nice, wall side Bench can use some cushion but overall a very warm and welcoming environment
Servers are welcoming and not pushy, only show up when you have finally decided what to order from their slightly simple menu.
Me and my wife order 2 entrees, 1 Main and 1 side and its a good portion for 2 hungry tourist driving 6 hours from Adelaide.
Shallot tart is sweet and caramelized with sour cream and mustard. Tart is slightly overdone but it's probably we are sharing and find it a bit hard to cut it open
Beef Carpaccio is a little letdown. Rockets leave do pair well with raw beef, but I feel like there can be more citrus in the dish, a salted eggyolk is a good pair but not enough to cover the whole fish, portion is generous though.
Lamb Rump is somewhat a mixed emotion, the rump is executed greatly with medium rare but it's underseasoned. Artisan carrots is bit overdone at the end so it's bit crispy and seems heavy on salt. The purree underneath is underseasoned and doesn't pair very well with the lamb. wife end up dipping the lamb in the aioli that comes with the chips to finish them.
As we kinda lost hope, there is a glimpse of silver lining that is the Thick chips, crispy on the outside with herbs and salt seasoned well, extremely fluffy on the inside and paired with Aioli it's a good compensation to the other slightly disappointed dish.
There are definitely some adjustments needed in the menu to make this a great pub diner. Considering the price of this rural town diner is not exactly cheap compared to a more metro area pub, I hope this is not one of those one time diner for tourists and are looking to improve. For the service and environment they definitely deserve a retrial, will visit again the next time we visit Mount Gambier.