The Bridge Hotel – Beef with Mushroom

The Bridge Hotel at Langhorne Creek certainly has a country pub feel about it inside, but sitting out the front watching tasty looking meals come from the kitchen I could have sworn I was sitting at a Bootleg or Feral micro breweries. It was therefore no surprise to me when I went to order a schnitzel and got standard city prices; $14 for a schnitzel and $1 extra for sauce.

While the pub was over-run with patrons due to a cycling event in town, the limited staff (one girl behind the bar taking orders, pulling beers, waiting tables) coped admirably and the food came out in a reasonable time. The chips were of the supermarket crinkle cut frozen variety (half a star off), but were cooked ok and not particularly seasoned to my liking. The schnitzel itself had a generous dollop of non-descript mushroom sauce on top, which was just as well because the schnitzel was over-cooked to the point of being almost a stiff, crunchy, biscuit. OK, this might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but it was definitely way too crunchy (1 star off) to melt in the mouth. The most unattractive and therefore eye-catching item on the plate was not the Coles chips or the schnitzel biscuit, but it was in-fact the salad. It was definitely a unique salad, full of all sorts of things like chunks of carrot and a solitary olive, but it looked more like a salad soup then a leafy, colourful bowl of cleansing salad that I would normally expect with a schnitzel (half a star off). Perhaps I should have ordered the salt & pepper squid, which smelt devine, or the juicy steak which looked mouth-wateringly good.

Summary: Order something else from the menu.
Price: $15
Rating: 3 stars

Where:
The Bridge Hotel
1 Main Road Langhorne Creek SA 5255

The Astor - Chicken with Gravy

I thought after my last experience I would go with the good old traditional favourite, surely a pleaser. They didn't take all that long for our meals to arrive, after all it was a Friday night and looked to be reasonably busy. On first inspection the schnitzel was almost black in some areas and the gravy was lacking. They really need to up the anti on the amount of gravy and decrease the frying time of the schnitzel. A good schnitzel is juicy, not dry, and with enough topping to allow each mouthful of schnitzel a hit of flavour. Maybe next time I will find the perfect Schnitzel!!

Price: $12.50

Rating: 3 stars
(one for the flavour of the gravy, one for the quantity of the schnitzel and one for the salad, even though there was only a few cubes of cucumber and tomato to find amongst the lettuce).

Where:
The Astor Hotel
437 Pulteney Street, Adelaide

Cooper's Ale House - Beef with Mushroom

If you are a fan of the Cooper's Ale House schnitzel then please turn away now. This is in no way a rave review. Supposedly in the top 3 schnitzel eating venues in Adelaide and scored highly by other Schnitzellovers, the Ale House immediately lost 1 star as salad cost an extra $1.50 on top of the all ready pricey meal. It can be debated and debated but I review the quality of the whole schnitzel meal and I am not going to pay extra for the green stuff.
The meal, when it arrive, looked very unattractive, Just a big slab of schnitzel with a dollop of mushroom sauce in the middle. People, please, if you are going to serve a large schnitzel your toppings/gravy/sauces need to be relatively increased (minus 1/2 star).
While I don't have much to say about the actual schnitzel, which in itself is saying something...if you follow me...I didn't feel the need to stuff the last 1/4 into my stomach and so left some behind (which is very un-usual, and no I wasn't feeling ill). The chips were bland and soggy (minus 1/2 star).
Final Verdict: the most overrated schnitzel in town.

Price: $18

Rating: 3 stars.

Slug 'n' Lettuce Tavern - Chicken Parmigiana

Despite sounding like several items you may find in the base of a well used shopping trolley the Slug is a better pub then the name suggests.  Predominantly wooden, and hence brown, the bistro is not a bad looking place to eat either.  My one hope sitting in there that the food matched neither the name or the location.

Surprisingly I chose to purchase a Parmi for tea.  It wasn't long before the meal arrived and it's appearance didn't surprise me.

Overall the appearance and quantity of food was average.  The salad was ok but the chips were sub standard.  Given how simple chips are it is always surprising how they turn out wrong.

The schnitzel itself was a much better eat.  The chicken was nicely cooked and the crumbing was quite well done.  The cheese melt and accompanying ham were better than average whilst the sauce was tasty and plentiful enough to cover the meal.

Overall the Slug does an alright schnitzel.

Price:

Rating: 3 stars

The Stepney Cafe - Chicken

Expectations weren't high going into this meal and for the $7.80 (bonus star), it didn't have to be great to get an average rating.
I was assured by the owner that he makes all his schnitzels himself at home...and it showed. The breading on this particular schnitzel was definitely home made, tasty and the best part of the meal (plus half a star). Unfortunately the chicken was, in my opinion, a thigh fillet and not breast which one has become used too in these times of healthy eating and cash to burn (minus a star).
The chips were slightly above average standard fare, though fewer in number than I would have preferred (minus half a star). Honestly the meal would have been better if the salad (as cheap as they come) had been replaced with some more chips (minus a star).
Overall the size of the meal was quite meagre, which I suppose was reflected in the price (minus a star).
Adding all that up and you get an above average meal. Just don't expect to be filled to the brim if you haven't eaten for a day.

Price: $7.80

Rating: 3 stars

The Wellington - Chicken with Mushroom Gravy

The Wellington has become a regular spot for Schnitzel Lover. Birthdays, going away's and schnitzels have all been good reason to attend.

First things first, a shout out to the Schnitzel Lover that suggested combining a parmigiana with gravy. I watched in awe as Simlin took up the request and was quite impressed by the outcome.

Back to the review. Given the high level of cheese intake I have due to my schnitzel diet I decided to move away from parmigiana for a change and instead hit the mushroom gravy. After ordering it didn't take long for the staff to bring us bread rolls, which always helps to make the wait for the main seem less than what it is.

I was neither impressed nor displeased when the schnitzel was placed in front of me. The salad and chips were both up to their regular standard as was the size of the schnitzel

Unfortunately the gravy was misplaced on the plate, there was more gravy underneath the schnitzel, drowning the chips. The gravy was reasonably tasty but doesn't match the famous Dan O'Connell mushroom gravy.

As far as location, beer and feeds go the Welly is a good place but for me the schnitzel just can't seem to break the 3 star mark.

Price: $17

Rating: 3 stars

Brahma Lodge - Chicken Parmigiana

The Brahma parmigiana wasn't a bad meal the first time around. Moderately priced and an average size it satisfied the lunch appetite well but compared to other locales it just didn't cut the grainy mustard.

Enter the new menu, enter the newly renovated lounge bar, enter Schnitzel Lover to tell you how it is.

In what seems to be a common problem with Brahma schnitzels the order is not entered correctly or some mix-up occurs in the kitchen. I asked for the Chicken Parmigiana with Salad, but no salad was delivered. At least the average salad was replaced with chips that were a vast improvement on my Kilpatrick visit.

Schnitzel Lover Simlin later informed me that the salad is pretty much Brahma default. Asking for the meal with salad ends up sounding like asking for the meal without salad.

The schnitzel itself was again thick, tasty and crumbed well. The Brahma manages to provide just the right level of tomato base to the schnitzel so as not to overpower he chicken flavour. The cheese topping ran a bit to the side as the schnitzel was placed on a slant, but this was overlooked in the face of the incredible bread triangles.

Price: $15.40

Rating: 3 stars

Brahma Lodge - Chicken Kilpatrick

Did anyone say new menu?! After going through some building renovations the Brahma has finally renovated its pub menu, but in terms of schnitzel... was this for the best?

Yes, it was... wait don't go, read the rest of the review!

Initial impressions were good. The Big Bar Schnitzel, as it were, was a decent 350g beast on paper. Unfortunately, gone was the option to select a parmagiana without having to pay an additional fee. For this reason I chose the kilpatrick.

I was much relieved, when the schnitzel arrived, that the Brahma had not sacrificed their legendary bread triangles during the menu cull, they were better than ever.

The salad has been vastly improved. Not to say that it's fantastic just that the previous was quite poor. The chips sadly remain the same, almost soggy in form and only okay in taste.

The schnitzel was impressive, one side of the meat was almost an inch thick. The taste was good and the crumbing was nice and crispy without being over cooked. The kilpatrick topping was new to me but I enjoyed it nonetheless. A mix of BBQ and Worcestershire sauce, the topping was sweet but tangy, the only disappointment being the small size of the bacon pieces floating on top.

Overall the schnitzel experience was an improvement over previous visits but unimproved chips and an average salad don't quite justify a 5 buck price increase.

Price: $15.40

Rating: 3 stars

Brahma Lodge - Beef with mushroom

Under new direction in the kitchen and with a price increase I headed back to the Brahma for a schnitzel...hoping for a good one based on Lodan's experience. The meals came in minutes as usual and on first inspection the salad looked as crap as usual but with a few extra slivers of red (capsicum) and green (celery)...it would be nice if there was a wedge of tomato. So moving on from the purely decorative salad the schnitzel itself was actually quite good, the chips serviceable but what would the meal be with out the patented Brahma Bread Triangles. Where else can you make a chip butty and even throw in a little gravy! Bonus star for the Brahma.
The tendencies now-a-days is "bigger is better". I don't agree and to me this schnitzel was probably 50-100g too large and while the gravy wasn't bad it was not in the same league as The Daniel O'Connell mushroom gravy.

Price: $13.90

Rating: 3 stars

The Wellington - Chicken Parmigiana

Kicking off a buck's night with a schnitzel is a daring bet. Too big and you'll be bloated for the rest of the evening. Too bad and you'll be heading home sick before having a drop.

The Wellington is a good looking pub. A nice open bar with nice lighting and good furnishings were a welcome site. The fully enclosed beer garden allowed for outside eating without sacrificing the comfort of the indoors.

The salad was good, nice fresh greens and an almost whole tomato, it's about time. Negative points went to the long sprout like things which were difficult to pick up and eat after throwing back a few pints.

The chips were very tasty with good chip seasoning becoming a feature in North Adelaide. Cut to the chase, Chicken Parmigiana! The cheese was tasty and melted well without being overcooked. The ham was plentiful and the sauce covered the majority of the schnitzel. For the price it was a little small and left my stomach underfull. The smaller size made the topping too prominent in the schnitzel's taste. Overall, the meal lacked balance.

Price: $17

Rating: 3 stars

Cafe Uno - Chicken Schnitzel with gravy

Right, my second entry… Chicken schnitzel at Café Uno… Well firstly I was told off for moving the table away from the table next to it, and I mean right up against it. So off to a good start… not. It was a pretty warm day and the air con could have been working better than what it did. The waiter was a slimy little freak who had no idea about customer service. The schnitzel finally came out and luckily I asked for the gravy on the side! OMG I have never seen lumpier gravy!!! It was in what looked to be a desert bowl and there was enough there for about 5 people. It was tasty in an odd way, pretty gluey in texture and lumps a plenty. The schnitzel itself was average in size, quite dry and the salad was pretty lame. Overall a cheap made schnitzel with a price too high for the quality.

Price: $17.50

Rating: 3 stars

The Gov - Beef with mushroom sauce

Well it was certainly different. The meals came out in a timely fashion for a large group table, which was nice, while the candles around the place made for an intimate setting.

My Schnitzel was well enough proportioned though I struggled through the last quarter and there was an okay salad. The surprising feature of this schnitzel meal was the mushroom sauce. It was white. The sauce tasted like a cheese sauce with mushroom mixed through. I was a bit hesitant at first as to what this new found sauce was going to taste like but it was refreshingly different. The chips were standard pub fare and weren't too soggy or plentiful in nature, while the schnitzel itself was a little over breaded.

Price: $15
Rating: 3 stars