Burns Club - New Bistro

Just wanted to comment on this as I just had lunch at the Burns Club at the Banana Leaf Cafe.

I had previously had lunch at the Burns on Anzac day and thought it was the most horrendous meal I had bought at a club in years so I was dissapointed when my partner suggested we head up there for lunch this afternoon.
However, when we got there we discovered that they were no longer serving hideous chicken schnitzel with bearnaise sauce (and I use that term lightly as it was not so much bearnaise sauce as it was beige goop with a mild tang to it), but were instead serving Sri Lankan meals that were very reasonably priced. I ordered the Chicken Bhiriani that arrived on a plate packed full of rice, three kinds of curry, chutney and chilli paste and a pappadum. It took me about 25 minutes to finish and was some of the tastiest Sri Lankan food I had eaten in a while. The dish cost $14. This is not, in my view, an exhorbitant amount to pay for a very tasty meal.
My partner ordered a steak sandwich. His steak was marinated in spices and ginger and was one of the best steak sandwiches he had had in a while too, and was served with more chips than he could finish. Again, it was about $14.

Ok, so it might not be ‘steak and chips’ for $6.99 like you can get at crappy clubs around Canberra but it was a hell of a lot better than most of the vile slop you can find in Kambah (the takeway shops in the area are revolting! I challenge anyone to find such an array of consitently bad food anywhere else).
I will definately go back.

club food – oxymoron

I made my first and last visit to the Burns Club on ANZAC day. It was the scariest experience of my life. I was convinced Goulburn gaol had let their inmates out for a day excursion. The security staff looked at you like you’d just raped & shot their mothers.

Conversely, I had a delicious meal at the Hellethnic club and the staff were very friendly and accommodating. Everything the SCC staff aren’t.

FC said :

I Or you usually get “We’ve got salad”.
Just what I felt like, week old lettuce, bit of tomatoe and carrot and some gross dressing.
My idea of a top meal.

Oh yeah! The good ol’ Aussie salad. Rotting iceberg, crisp, crunchy pink tomato in wedges, and GRATED CARROT. Yummo!

I have previously eaten at the Burns club on a few occassions and will never go back. I guess they must have been betting on their patrons already being drunk or something because the food was disgusting.

Being a vegetarian now I avoid club food completly as there is usually only one or two extremely bland, boring veggie meals on the menue and its not worth getting into. Or you usually get “We’ve got salad”.
Just what I felt like, week old lettuce, bit of tomatoe and carrot and some gross dressing.
My idea of a top meal.
Much cheaper and easier for me to go to a proper restaurant (but I don’t have kids)

You sure this has nothing to do with the Banana Leaf restaurant out the front of the Canberra Centre?

Because those guys make some of the best curry in the city.

Erindale Vikings. Good and interesting mains, mostly under $20. Needs more desserts and, like everywhere, really needs a cheese plate.

Like all clubs, I’m sure they have off nights, and dishes that the world regrets. But good value, and booze at club prices.

We use the Woden SCC (The Feed Lot) for a cheap feed, but in recent years the prices have been creeping up, and it’s not the greatest food. Recently, it seemed to change and we felt a bit icky after our meal (too much fat, dunno) so haven’t been back.

A club can do really good, hearty “club food” and it isn’t too hard. I don’t know why so many get fancy ideas. Although the Hellenic has made quite a success of adding Greek stuff to the array of meals.

Sammy said :

You were lucky you received ‘great food’ at SCC Tuggeranong.

Both times i’ve eaten there in the last 3 years the food was appalling.

The roast dinner, at around $15, was very poor value, with the meat being tough and inedible, and the vegetables consisting of boiled (not baked) potatoes with the skins still on, and peas and corn. They were also ‘out’ of gravy, which made the whole thing even worse. A poor roast can be slightly redeemed by the presence of gravy. Not this time.

I had that experience at Tuggers Southern Cross Club one lunchtime a few months ago. I sent them a complaint email cos the roast well and truly sucked.

They sent me an apology letter and a $50 voucher to make up for it. So at least that side of the business is well run.

The Burns Club goes ‘fine dining’?

Bizarre. I give it 3 months before it goes tits up and the catering is farmed out to someone else.