Pub: Pascoe Vale Hotel

Where: 12 Railway Pde., Pascoe Vale
Phone: 9375 9800
Date: 25 June 2010
Score: 12.3/20
Internet: www.pascoevaletavern.com.au

Before Rod Stewart went all American songbook on us, the gravel voiced Londoner was an absolute monster of rock and a sure fire stadium filler with his band The Faces.   

Throughout the 70’s he released a string of big albums, his most notable ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’, and on side 2 of the vinyl has his eternal torch song ‘Maggie May’.

Lets now go to an innocuous suburban pub in the north of Melbourne and establish the link, and it is not tenuous.  You see I have taken to examining how well pubs market themselves through their websites (yes it’s a baby boomer thing) and whether, as Rockin Rod claimed in 1971,  EPTAS.

First glance at www.pascoevaletavern.com.au and have a look at the two people sharing a beer.  If that is a reflection how the beer is served at the “Paco”, then you wouldn’t go.  No head on the beer, glass looking like it had be washed in Trix, it is hardly screaming come in and try one.

Whoever paid for the photo must be a wine drinker.

The Paco has a vice like grip on its patrons and anyone daring to criticise, look out.  It must be pubs in the northern suburbs that do this, as The Linc in Essendon, and the late and lamented “Brickies” further down Mount road evokes a similar ferocious defence.

So here’s the rub. In spite of its tricky-to-find location and a clear attachment to the local community, it is an OK boozer, the like of which can be found in most suburbs, normally much further out than Pascoe Vale.

The beer to be fair is fine and tows a corporate line on tap.  The pub has a rectangular “sports bar”, which houses the TAB, dining area in an ‘L” shaped setting, and the pokies are set to one side and not overly intrusive.  Staff is friendly and attentive.

Again, you have probably been to one like this before.  What strikes me about the Paco is that its prices do cover a wide span.  To its credit, the menu is extensive and there are a number of seafood offerings.

 Saganaki, that delicious artery clogging cooked cheese, with cous cous and tomato dipping sauce (a very interesting mix) weighs in at $14.50 while an eye fillet, prawns, béarnaise, spinach costs $33.50.

The two dishes were tried in the high teens, one worked, one didn’t.  

Fish and chips, that ever reliable was banged out at $18/plate and was good too.  A very crisp batter, hot (commercially available) chips, tartare and salad and gets the thumbs up.

Thumbs down to the roast of the day ($17.50) which was Pork and I am still at a loss why this particular beast is such hit and miss in pubs.

The meat was fine, but the absence of any crackling, to use an old trotting term, puts the dish off 24 yards behind.

But it is the veggies that I don’t get.  The pumpkin was roasted yes, but significantly overcooked, the “roast spuds” had been sent around whole in a deep fry and were too hard.  All veggies were in such number that the dish overwhelms when presented.

Maybe that’s the way folks like ‘em out there: feed ‘em big, but I suspect significant amounts go back which is waste on all sides.

The wines ran to the usual suspects and were priced around $7/glass which is the mark in most pubs.

The pub is owned in the same interests as Daisy’s Ringwood and although miles apart, the similarities to me are obvious.  While not anywhere near as large in size, the Pascoe Vale joins the dots as directed and like its eastern suburban counterpart, has special deals available by going to the website. Just wish they’d do something about that photo on the front.  

Saw a bloke leaving the pub and heading onto Railway Pde, a big night had and yelling out the Paco!! the Paco!!

Every Picture tells a story, don’t it.

Tony's Pub Of The Week 2010

Tony Leonard is back again this year providing readers with reviews from all the pubs he visits on the Neil Mitchell program every Friday after 11:30am. Your home for all of the reviews - 3AW.com.au/pub2010. More here.