Where? - 62 Hudsons Rd. Spotswood
Price? - $19.50
Website? - http://spottiswoode.com.au/
Reviewers – Cale,Lee, Nikki & Stefo
The Spottiswoode is a pub with a ... lets say "colourful" past. If you had've visited the Spotty five years ago you might not have made it out. The boarded up windows and overall unsavoury vibe of the place would have caused many a local to take a very wide berth.
But as of a few years ago everything changed. The boards came off the windows, the floors were polished and the Spottiswoode was transformed to a dank dive bar to a family friendly gastropub, and last night we headed down to the new and improved Spotty to give their parma a crack.
The first thing that strikes you about the Spottiswoode is how utterly huge it is. Long wooden tables abound in the airy front bar, the building winds around into lounge areas, dining areas, a room for the kids up the back and (I didn't investigate as it was friggin' cold) I have heard rumours of a decent beer garden as well. It's a warm, locals pub with a super friendly vibe - and even at 7 o'clock on a Thursday the door didn't stop opening with fresh groups of patrons coming in from the icy cold June evening.
We grabbed a table at one of the oversized booths and checked the menu -
And ordered our parmas.
For a pub thats a stone's throw (if you can throw a stone 500 meters) from the Two Birds Brewery, I was surprised to find that they didn't have Two Birds on tap. A couple of crafty options but nothing really noteworthy. A few pints of Furphy did the trick nicely.
After a pre-game of the damn delicious cheesy garlic bread, the parmas arrived shortly after...
The parma arrived piled high on a stack of chips, after a quick reshuffling to get them free we tucked in. The circumference of the schnitzel looked a little small on the plate, but it was thick enough that it wasn't a huge issue - by the end of the meal nobody walked away from the table hungry.
The schnitzel was pure chicken breast, well cooked and juicy. Crumbs were slightly thicker than I prefer, but not to the degree that you would feel like they're trying to cover something up. Our biggest complaint is that the schnitzel just wasn't served hot enough, which detracted from the flavours of the parma quite a bit.
Other than that minor stumble it was a quality foundation to the dish.
The toppings were full of flavour and, unlike the schnitzel they sat upon, served piping hot. The napoli sauce was rich and the cheese blend was extremely tasty (literally, very heavy on the tasty cheese, which I'm always a fan of).
The one thing that was missing was a slice of ham. The parma did well without it, don't get me wrong, but a slice of ham would have really juiced it up.
The serving of chips was massive without a doubt - unfortunately they suffered the same fate as the schnitzel. Served lukewarm at best they felt as if they had been sitting for a while before we got them. A bit of sauce and salt partially rescued them, but the chips were definitely the weakest part of the dish.
The salad was fresh and jam packed with ingredients. Cucumber, salad, plenty of onion and a heap of capsicum with plenty of creamy dressing. A couple of the plates at the table also got tomato, I wasn't that lucky - Either way a fine side to the dish.
“Great pub, great atmosphere, great food. Parma was good”
“Good vibe to the pub, some great flavours in the parma but stumbled a little in the execution - Everything could have been a little warmer”
“I’m not sure what to write - It didn’t really blow my socks off”
A parma under $20 in this day and age is always lovely to see, and I'd have no qualms shelling out another $19.50 to get this parma again. All of our criticisms from last nights parma could be chalked up to an unfortunate error in the kitchen, all the elements of greatness are there if they just came out a little hotter. Wednesday night at the Spotty is Parma & Pot night for $15, If you're in the area and feel like a cheap feed then this is definitely one I'd recommend checking out, especially at that price.
The Spottiswoode is a fantastic little locals pub with a friendly country atmosphere. Anyone in Spotswood should be stoked to have it as their local. The parma had a few issues but nothing that couldn't be fixed. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.
Pros
- Great flavours though the toppings
- Large servings of the sides
- Friendly, welcoming local pub
Cons
- Schnitzel and chips were served a little cold
- Parma could use a slice of ham