Press PLAY to hear Tony Leonard’s full review

Plough Hotel

Where: 333 Barkly St, Footscray

Phone: 9687 2878

Internet: www.ploughhotel.com.au

SCORE: 14.5/20

JULY 25

VENUE: Grand old stayer on the Footscray pub scene, the Plough is prominently placed on the corners of Barkly/Victoria Streets/Geelong Road, and after plotting a course to do better level food and drink some 25 years ago before Footscray’s cache exploded, this pub has been most bankable in terms of delivering a great level of hospitality.

It is also a pub that has some neat spaces, with discreet function rooms and very pleasant accommodation on the second storey.

The Plough operates mainly at street level with two dining areas, divided by some planter boxes, (same menu/one offers table service) and is bright, airy and comfortable.

The pub has set itself to deliver, in its own words ‘Footscray’s best pub food’ and to be fair there are some nice plates with great twists. And while there is plenty of room at the bar to enjoy and socialise, to my mind, the Plough’s calling card is its food.

TAB: No
Pokies: No

Starters are priced between $16-20, (excluding breads/chips) and offer different such as; grilled prawns (6/$20) w/chilli and garlic, corn salsa or a rotating offer of croquettes (4/$16) with a fine kitchen prepared roast peppers and smokey cheese, aioli beautifully presented.

Mains too, go that extra yard, with a classic lemon pepper calamari, rocket, beetroot, onion, fetta, fries, aioli ($30), to pork schnitzel, lemon and herb crumb, apple slaw, gravy, fries ($36).

Porterhouse 300g, comes fully plated w/rocket, radicchio, tomato, onion salad and fries, choice of sauce and mustard. At $42, this is a fair price to pay for a full plate and is in line with the prices being charged* (Tuesday steak night offers a full plate porterhouse for $25*).

Taco night, pizza, parma are part of the weekday package, with a Happy Hour 3-5pm (little early team, but there are $4 pots!) complete a good suburban picture.

There are around 12 beer taps, CD is $7, and so well presented, with Balter and Young Henry’s available.

Wine per glass is sensibly mid-priced at $13, a highlight was Vino Intrepido Pinot Grigio from the King Valley at that price.

HIGHLIGHT/S:

Seafood linguine barramundi, prawns, mussels, scallops, tomato, mild chilli, $36.

Not normally ordered, but a perfect amount of fresh seafood, and a dab hand with the chilli, (bit hotter than mild but worked!) made this well worth its mid $30s price tag.

Something Different to Eat: Not really, all meals presented are familiar, but better presented. Roast of the day was slow cooked lamb shoulder with roast vegetables, $32 and very generous.

Surcharges: 10 per cent public holidays.

Summary: With the gentrification of the inner west almost complete, all hospitality venues must have a point of difference and simply put, do better with everything.

Competition is intense, falling off the pace invoke impending doom. And this is where the Plough survives and thrives.

Just doing the basics well, having a fine array of foot soldiers working the room, and going that extra yard means this iconic venue should be around for years to come.

Good pub. To repeat a word used earlier: The Plough is bankable.