Pub of the Week: Tony Leonard reviews the European Bier Cafe

European Bier Café

120 Exhibition Street, Melbourne.
8563 0080
www.europeanbiercafe.com.au

When? October 1, 2022.

VENUE

The European Bier Café, ((EBC) has been a longtime fixture on the CBD pub scene and has worn a range of guises and aliases over the journey, including one time under the stewardship of 3AW legend Derryn Hinch.

Set out on 3 levels on the corner of Exhibition and Little Collins, this is one good looking pub/tavern with the ground floor being the hub for food/drink/socialising, the second as a venue for Comedy/Music and the third level/rooftop bar replete with assorted greenery, a lovely place for functions, conferences etc..

Part of the Australian Venue Co portfolio, it remains steadfast to the core of the company as being a place for food/drink but without pokies. They run a number of successful venues throughout the State.

While the food focuses on small/medium plates, the EBC has an encyclopaedic range of European/ Local Beers with  heavyweights such as Kronenbourg, Carlsberg, Erdinger, Heineken on tap, with much loved locals such as Carlton D, Furphy, Fixation.

The EBC keeps firm to its pub roots with Happy Hour, Sport on plenty of TVs, Parma/Steak nights so for the office worker in town (if any exist), they can come here post work and grab a bargain.

But there was a fatal mistake in my opinion which let the whole experience down which was a pity as this is a most popular venue. (See below).

The exception rather than the rule methinks and doubt it happens again, but it did and serves as a reminder to all publicans and that is the quality of draught/tap beer is fundamental to the running of a pub.

FOOD/DRINK 

With its CBD location, the EBC goes more heavily into small- medium plates rather than mains, and are all well presented and filling.

Pumpkin Arancini (14), Braised Pork Sliders (17), Fish Tacos (20) are examples of the many options here for that not too big lunch or in a group gathering and can make for a decent help yourself share.

Mains include Pork Belly, RWJ, sweet potato crisps, mash potato, (31), Salmon Fillet, roast potatoes, toasted almonds, broccolini, romesco (31)  with the Porterhouse, full plate at $36. Specials tend to be reduced prices from the stock standard menu.

However, the beer, Carlsberg Pilsener was the major letdown. At $9.4/330 ml, the beer looked great in the badged glassware, but there was this acrid aroma emanating from the the head and then the taste had a sharp,  unpleasant finish. The reasons for this may be many; lines not done, stale, left in the lines overnight but at this price and with the company’s reputation, this was not good enough. It was left alone after one mouthful. Wine list is solid, familiar and priced around 12.5pg.

• Entrees: $17
• Mains: $31, steak higher
• Desserts: $12.5

Tried was;

• Pork and Chorizo Sausage Rolls with tomato relish. $17.  One large roll cut into wagon wheels, the moist pastry houses a fine meaty mix and with its relish, makes for a beaut starter.
• Patatas Bravas w/chipotle mayo. $17. Stack of quartered potatoes, spicy, right texture of crunch outside, soft inside, this is a much better version of your standard plate of chips with which to have a beer.
• Lamb Ribs, thyme, rosemary $20.  Again, a sharp small- medium sized plate, plenty meat of ribs, 6-7, fat well rendered, easy pub eating.

Summary

When overwhelmingly  the attendant parts of a pub are working well, then a misstep is forgivable when the rest of the experience more than meets expectations.

However when it is a fundamental of a pubs existence – the tap beer – is substandard then it can’t  pass without comment. And whether it is a pot during happy hour at a reduced price, or a premium product as it was charged here – Carlsberg, $9.4/330 ml – then it’s your money literal and figurative going down the sink.

But the most curious thing, aside from the the pictured items on the menu with unavailable sticker underneath ( Chicken salad, really?!), is that the operators of the EBC, Australian Venue Co, set high standards and as a rule, unfailingly achieve them.

This is one very good operator that doesn’t seek out pubs with pokies to supplement that bottom line. Auburn Hotel,  Middle Park, Terminus, Abbotsford are three such examples.

For such a good looking venue as the EBC is, on a day where most parts were working so well, this miss was out on the full from a metre out.

SCORE: 11.3/20