Pub:                 The Palace

Where:             505 City Rd., Sth Melbourne

Phone:             9699 6410

Date:               1 October 2010

Score:             15.3/20
internet:           www.palacehotelmelbourne.com.au

On a recent Tuesday night when there was the 20 minute gap between dog races at Horsham one of “those” pub discussions broke out at our table. All of us has experienced them – directly or indirectly – before.

In essence they can be best summarised as ‘How long is a piece of string’ where the interlocutors all agree to disagree without any resolution or thread to the points of view being expressed.

This one arose before the first leg of the quaddie and came about when I informed the gathering that I had been to the Palace in South Melbourne,  a fabulous food and drink establishment in an old, but refurbished boozer, whose calling card is Luke Mangan.

And the first salvo was   “It  (Palace) is not a pub  It is a bistro, banging out great food at restaurant prices  It is housed in a pub” etc and bleeding etc.

Ok, let’s break this one down.  Pubs to me must embrace some basic criteria.  In short, they are;

• Comfortable, safe, communal – staff at the Palace ensures that this achieved easily,
  
  
• Good food and wine, the better points of difference the higher my esteem – no brainer for Luke and his team there,
  
  
• Public bar  to stand around and have a few beers, or sit in front of a fireplace – to a point yes to the first and absolutely the second  (neat courtyard adds to the package also)
  
  
• Commitment to service and spotlessly clean – yes, yes

If there is a stumbling block is that it looks so fabulous inside, you feel as if you are stepping on eggshells.  ‘Don’t fart’ you continually tell your inner self. Have a beer, (all good there), peruse the menu, have a seat and let them do the rest.

Now the other argument is that you don’t go there (and others of its type) to have a few beers only and head off.  My response – Why Not?  Bar is comfortable, or go out into the courtyard, sit around and perhaps talk about which is Australia’s best greyhound track.  (It is Horsham by the way).

Now to the food and beverage – entrees are priced in the high teens, mains in the mid 30’s.  Now you may think that is high by pub standards but increasingly, straightforward, suburban, non-Mangan pub bistros are creeping high 20’s for mains and mid teens for entrees.

I know where the better value is.  Want to try at a very well priced entry level? Go to Steak night, Mondays, and have the finest for $19.

Once seated in the bright Bistro (Wednesday night and comfortably full), tried was;

• Tuna Carpaccio, ginger eschalot dressing, rocket, goats feta - $18e.  What a delightful starter, clean on the palate, delicious dressing. 
  
  
• Similar praise to the Salt and Szechuan squid, chinese dipping sauce - $18e.  I know I have spoken about the need for squid to be served immediately it leaves the kitchen to retain its zing – here it is done as a matter of course.  You will not go back to calamari rings!!
  
  
• Duck a l’orange - $34m.  Breast and leg, orange glaze, truffle mash, baby spinach and cinnamon jus.  You look at the dish and think you can go another.  Forget it; It is rich, filling, and moist and a great pub dish.  The price is $34, surely not that much higher than getting a decent main of duck in any pub,

• If you have duck, it must have a pinot.  The Luke Mangan house is $9 per glass.  Very easy drinking.

I suppose the traditionalists (whoever they may be) may think the newness of the pub somewhat inhibiting, but it isn’t.  It doesn’t have pokies or the tab, but when did a pub have to have these?

The pub works for me and although I didn’t win the argument – if indeed there was a victor – I know this: As good as it is now, in 12 months time it will be better.

Gastro Pub, High end Bistro, Formal Restaurant – what ever tag you want you want to attach to it, the Palace is another fabulous addition to Melbourne’s pub landscape.

Review: Millers Inn

"For me, going to the Millers Inn brought back some wonderful early 20's memories for me; of cherished friends from different church/youth groups/cricket teams in the west that have all moved on and contact (with most) long lost."