[info]When? - 14th of May, 2015
Where? - 188 Hyde St. Yarraville
Price? - $23
Website? - http://hydestreethotel.com.au/
Reviewers – Cale, Lee, Nikki, Stefo [/info]
In a weird and completely unplanned turn of events I only just discovered that its been almost a year to the day that today's pub re-opened after a 6 month refurbishment as the Hyde Street Hotel (previously known as the Vic on Hyde) - And what an amazing job they did.
The pub looks fantastic. From the spacious and inviting front bar, the lounge area, the massive dining area and even the sports bar out the back - they have spared no expense bringing this old pub to life.
You wouldn't guess it from the outside but the Hyde is absolutely massive. I am having trouble thinking of a pub I've been to in recent days that has been anywhere near as spacious. We opted to eat in the dining room for our review, so we arrived, took our seats, check the menu and found the parma with top billing in the "Classics" section - Where it belongs. 
We ordered our meals and awaited their arrival - but there was another extremely pressing issue - We didn't have any beers!
Luckily the Hyde had us covered with a quite decent tap list, It's nothing that would blow your socks off, but enough of a selection to satisfy a range of tastes, and for those who have trouble making up their minds they have tasting paddles available for $12 each
Protip - The sports bar out the back has Mountain Goat Steam Ale on tap that was weirdly absent from the front bar
There were a bunch of specials at The Hyde depending on the night of the week you visit. Thursday was steak night, where $20 gets you a porterhouse and pot of Cricketers. Wednesday gets you the same deal but swap out the steak for a Burger, yet (unfortunately) I couldn't see a parma special anywhere - although they do offer a $15 express lunch Monday to Friday.
As for drink specials there's a decent Happy Hour on Friday nights, as well as a very interesting "Dollar pots between the bounce and first goal" of each quarter of Saturday night footy... Could be handy on a low scoring game!
We grabbed our beers, and about 15 minutes after ordering our entree arrived (oh, I forgot to tell you we ordered an entree. Yep!)
Now I haven't had a lot of chilli cheese fries in my day, But I've gotta tell you, these were some damn good chilli cheese fries. The chilli was on point and the chips were an almost perfect vehicle to get the chilli from the plate to my mouth, although I can't help but think that a chunkier chip would have been more conducive to the meal - but they were great none the less.
Shortly after we polished off the entree the main event hit the table...
The schnitzel was fantastic. A plump, juicy chicken breast cooked to perfection - It was simply dripping with moisture, perfectly done.
The panko crumbs were conservatively applied and well cooked and the schnitzel itself was just the right level of thickness. All up the schnitzel was a spot-on foundation for the toppings...
Which were mostly great. The cheese blend carried a fantastic flavour, a tight blend with the sharpness of tasty but the gooeyness of mozzarella, Grilled to perfection. The ham was applied liberally, it didn't knock us over with flavour but it definitely made its presence known. The weakest element of the topping trio was probably the napoli. There wasn't much of it at all and definitely wasn't "chunky" as advertised on the menu, which was a slight letdown to an otherwise stellar parma.
The chips were absolutely delicious, these are the chips they should've used with the chilli fries. Chunky, well seasoned, perfectly cooked with pillows of fluffy potato inside. My mouth is watering just remembering them. Totally fantastic.
Three of the four people at the table enjoyed their salad. The unlucky one did not. It was a visually impressive garden salad with lettuce, onion, carrot, cucumber and shredded cabbage topped with a delicious creamy dressing ... unfortunately Reviewer Stefo didn't get any dressing and his salad remained horribly dry. Luck of the draw I suppose (I was happy with mine!)
For $23 this parma is on the more expensive side, but to be honest I don't mind paying for quality. The ingredients of this parma were top notch and I'd have zero qualms shelling out another $23 to have it again. There is a parma on the menu at the back bar for $15 but I cannot vouch to its quality as we ate in the dining room, However if its the same quality as the one we received up the front get on it and get on it now!
Despite a couple of flaws the Hyde Street Hotel parma was extremely enjoyable. The entire Footscray/Yarraville area seems to be booming with impressive pubs, and I can't wait to see what we find in the area in the future.
[pros]
- Perfectly cooked, juicy chicken breast.
- Amazing chips
- Great looking pub with a solid craft beer selection
[/pros][cons]
- "Chunky" napoli wasn't chunky (and barely there)
- One salad missed out on dressing
[/cons]
