Pub:                 Bay & Bridge Hotel

Where:             316 Bay St., Port Melbourne

Phone:             9645 4070
Date:               25 February 2011

Score:             12.5/20
internet:           www.bayandbridge.com.au

OVERVIEW:

Formerly known as Chequers Inn (with its lovely old second reference of the house of twisted faces) the B&B is the latest in a long line of inner suburban pubs to have a makeover and attempt to achieve that juggling act of retaining the old while dazzling with the new. 

To me, the B&B presents a confusing, pricy, offer that achieves one of the those aims and misses on the other half of the equation.

The paintwork brings the façade of double story boozer to life.  Good.  Inside, the front bar operates as pub-tab with small bar and has been de-cluttered with large, communal tables gone.  There is a smokers area to the rear of the front bar.  The pub is very clean.

The bistro is as standard as any you can find in the suburbs and lacks charm and warmth.  That is not to say, it is uncomfortable or unpleasant.  It is just that this set up is easily found anywhere, and with the prices being charged, you’d hope for something better. (The Vine in Abbotsford is one pub that nails this two fold equation).

There is a children’s playroom to the rear of the bistro, which is the first of its kind in the Borough.

PRICES:

Entrees:            $11-32** - the top price is a share plate for 2

Mains:              $20-39

Desserts:           $11-25** - the top price is a cheese platter

Wine:               $ 30+ large choice, mix of commercial and smaller up to $250

COMMENTS:

The B&B does the front bar well.   The TAB is fine, the beer was OK, (although the taste from the tap there to the bistro was slightly different) and there is a range of standard bar meals, all mid teens, which is the mark nowadays.  No real surprises, although the old time port boys and girls were nowhere to be seen.

However in the pursuit of getting the affluent leisure dollar, the bistro does little more for me than most I have been to.  Ok, I don’t want to go all ancy on you, but if you are going to charge $39 for a 4 point rack of lamb in a pub, surely something better than a napkin that you would hand around at a BBQ would be a start.  Table cloth?  Maybe.  Perhaps an offer of some bread with a pool of oil on the table.  Maybe when the wine is brought to the table, it is not plopped in the middle and you are left to your own devices?

All of which are no issue for me, if I am at a pub that doesn’t set out to be anything more than your local for a feed. And that’s what the B&B does.  Straight up and down pub grub, which asks $27 for your standard Fish and Chips, $29 for Linguini marinara, and $32 for a starter plate of cured meats, char vegetables and cheeses.

ORDERED:

-Jumbo duck spring roll, sweet chilli dipping sauce - $14.  Sliced in two, a nice starter, plenty of duck and vegetables encased in the shell.  Good.

- Veal schnitzel, chips/salad - $22.  While the veal was good, the coating was overcooked and came away too easily from the meat.  Again, if you are going to ramp up for a superior offer, then do hand cut chips in the kitchen, rather than use the 10k bag of ‘Birds eye’.  Miss.

- 4 point rack of lamb, olive tapenade, “roasted” chat potatoes, broccolini in rosemary jus.  $39. The meat was very good and knocked over easily.  But once the chops are being hand held once the rack is split, then a water bowl for fingers rather than the paper napkin may be in order.  Your hand looks like Norman Gunston’s face.

- Mitchelton Reisling - $35.  Very fair shopping at this price, very tasty drop.

SUMMARY:

Interesting times await the B&B.  Port is the most competitive suburb for the pub dollar and the B&B’s point of difference is unclear to me and the question I kept asking myself was ‘what would make me come here again’?. On reflection, maybe it is the kids playroom.