24 January 2008

Lunch at Gundaroo

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Last weekend, my partner and I decided to take a trip out to Gundaroo since we had heard good things but had never been. While we visited this pretty little town, we decided we could probably “Grab some lunch at the pub”. For those who don’t know (and me at the time), the Royal Hotel is home of the award winning restaurant, ‘Grazing’.

As we walked in, I thought the place looked nice and rustic, similar to other restaurants I have been to in other country towns. We walked up to the bar and told the staff that we would like a table for lunch. I was looking forward to maybe getting an open hamburger, some calamari or a nice fish. The staffs were pleasant and took us to a table and served us water.

As I opened the menu, I was immediately disappointed. The mains were more suited to dinner, and there was little in the way of lunch food. All I wanted was some kind of seafood. What is wrong with maybe a grilled fish and chips or salad? Calamari was listed as an entrée, I decided just to go with that and have one of their home brewed beers. My partner did the same but ordered Ravioli and a side of beer battered chips.

As the entrées were just shy of the $20 mark each, I figured they would probably make a good light lunch and the beer battered chips would fill the gap. We ordered our meals and beers and waited patiently. The place was quite busy and it appeared most of their customers came straight from David Jones.

After about 15 or 20 minutes our meals came out, before our drinks I might add. Now I may be being old fashioned here, but I don’t think 12 strands of herbs and literally 3 pieces of calamari classifies as even an entrée, especially at the $16 mark. My “polenta crusted calamari with a salad of green mango, kaffir lime, chilli, young coconut and pickled cucumber topped with roast peanuts and coriander” sounded appetising on the menu but was without a doubt one of the worst things I have ever tasted. I think it was pulled from the ocean in an old boot and left to dry in the sun for a few days. It was so bad, I stopped eating it half way through in the fear of gagging. I expected something advertised as having a salad with it as being something substantial. This salad was barely identifiable.

My partner said that her Ravioli was good and it was at least a little closer to being a meal. After finishing our meals, our beers still had not arrived. I was puzzled as to why it took so long to pour two beers. By this time I was feeling uncomfortable and awkward enough to forget the beers and get out of there. We paid for a meal, minus the beers that never arrived and headed home.

It would have to be the most bizarre dining experiences of my life. Admittedly, we were a bit deceived by the down to earth exterior. I also felt like a bit of an idiot not knowing how ridiculously small these entrées were before I ordered them. Most restaurants I have been to have meal sized entrées and I assumed this place was no different. I guess I should have studied this place a bit better before going inside. On the other hand, it would have been nice to be notified that I was ordering the equivalent of half a spring roll and that “with salad” actually means sweet f*** all.

I have been to several classy restaurants in my time, that is not the point, it is the fact that they forgot our order and the meals were not only tiny, they were barely edible. In fact, the Alto restaurant at Black Mountain Tower in my opinion is more accommodating and better value for money, and I have heard plenty of bad reviews about that place. I’m not one to usually complain, but I don’t think I have ever left an eatery feeling disappointed. It may be a nice place to go for dinner or for a wedding reception, but if you are looking for a nice lunch, forget it.

To put it into perspective, that night we had Indian and ordered two dishes, some rice and two garlic naan breads and it still ended up cheaper than our lunch that day.

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Yay!!! grazing on packet chipS!!!!

Dont complain….i recently had come to Gundaroo one Wednesday……nothing was freaking open!!! We had a lovely wine tasting at Clonakilla then a bag of dorittos at the 7/11 in Gundaroo. Sad, we so wanted to do a Pub Lunch somewhere???

For pizza, woodfired ovens are all very well, but what makes it pop is the way the dough’s made, and then the stuff they put on top. Dough is all, however.
I’m looking forward to being in the Gundaroo region soon so’s to try their pizzas.

Grazing is great. They are aiming for simple, quality meals with high quality local meats and vegetables.

The pizza place is also great, in a more cheap and cheerful kind of way. (Although the pizzas are woodfired, with feta and mussels etc, not ‘supreme’)

A quick look at the menu and the prices should have been enough to work out if Grazing is your type of venue or not. Also – every time I’ve ever been there the carpark is filled with beamers and mercs – a bit of a giveaway that it is not a cheap pub lunch on offer.

Sorry to hear about your experience with Grazing, a restaurant I had considered trying sometime. I strongly recommend Cork Street pizza place next time you’re at Gundaroo. Ian’s been making top pizzas for years and does it really well. You can sit outside under the umbrellas and enjoy a very reasonably priced, non-entree sized meal!

Thanks for the reply Grazing. Although your response, to me, appears to be more of an advertisement thinly disguised as an apology, I’ll let that slide. I understand you probably aim for a market that I’m in no way part of, so I admit that this article probably shouldn’t have been posted as it is more subjective to the diner. As I said earlier, I had no problem with your staff and found them to be pleasant. The missing drinks was an honest mistake. I hope you take into consideration maybe some kind of lunch menu. I’d like to hear your thoughts. Anyway, the fact that you read this and took notice deserves credit. Thanks!

cool, good on yas, grazing dudes… still rekkun the pizza place is better tucker and better value, but i, for one, applaud use of local produce. noice. (will be back some time – i thought it was good food, though even more inventivenes would be welcome)

Nice to see they support local and organic produce : )

la mente torbida9:14 am 25 Jan 08

Response from Grazing…’nuff said

I’ve heard the pizza place is one of the best in the ACT region (and that’s not difficult, it’s a pizza wasteland), you prolly should’ve got a couple of pizzas, and then camped out on the kerb with a couple of takeaways from the “pub”.

Dear Hingo,

In response to your posting,let us express how sorry we are that you had a bad experience at our restaurant recently.
You are right that the beers should have arrived shortly after you ordered them.

We are also sorry that you felt that your calamari was not up to standard.

The thing we are most sorry for is the fact that you did not give us a chance to rectify your experience on the day.

We are a popular dining and functions destination in beautiful Gundaroo.We pride ourselves on using local and organic produce wherever possible (hence the lack of seafood on our menu). We feel that we offer competitive prices for such quality. We also pride ourselves on supporting local vineyards by featuring a regonal wine list which highlights some of Canberra’s best wines and beers .

Grazing Restaurant has never claimed to be a pub nor offer pub style counter meals.

For more information on our prices, functions and menus please take a look at our website http://www.grazing.com.au and perhaps you might subscribe to our monthly e-news letter (on the website) so that you can read about our latest recipes and events happening at our beautiful restaurant. You can also catch our Executive Chef soon at cooking coordinates (Belconnen Markets)teaching a “Grazing” cooking class, and also on the Lifestyle Food Network (foxtel), on the 7th Feb, @ 9pm, which showcases 3 of the A.C.T.’s top chefs cooking their signature dishes.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our loyal customers and supporters. It’s nice to know that our hard work doesn’t go unappreciated.

The Grazing Team, Gundaroo

P.S.- At Grazing, we do not have a dress code, so please feel free to look as good as you want!!

and i second the votes for the cork st cafe pizza place – yum!!! (and usually a fab selction of cakes, so save room for dessert and coffee!!

Oh yeah and it was called ‘Grazing’. Big warning about meal sizes there : P

I guess one way to guess at how ‘pub-ish’ a place is (before you enter) is to look at the amount of money they seem to put into the ‘little things’ like tablecloths, restricted seating, a fancy restaurant name hanging up, quality of furniture etc.

Given that, there are also cheap places that look very well presented – but judging a place by how much money they put into it is often a gamble in the best direction (maybe this place looks dodgy though, I’ve never been).

Buy the beer first I reckon, then take some time to asses your enemy! : )

Yeah I saw the pizza place. I have heard it is great. I’ll be sure to go there next time.

Grazing is aiming to be more gourmet than pub lunch. And I too would steer far clear of seafood at a small town far inland.

You could have got a counter meal at the ‘wine bar’ at gundaroo I think. And the pizza shop is fantastic – try that next time.

Yeah well, you thought it was a pub, easy mistake to make. All these pubs that try to be ‘cool’. That’s not the Australian way! : P

(Joke joke – I still love the variety in our country : )

Yeah I know. I need all the support I can get with this one believe me, its appreciated 🙂

“That’s why we like them : )”
You will also see me at the Lakes stuffin me face!

BTW – I was kinda stickin up for you 😛

If it looks like a pub and has something like “Royal Hotel” written on the front of it, then I hope I am excused for thinking it was a pub. After all, I am still relatively new to ACT.

Howdy, there is nothing wrong with pub meals, you know the next time you sink some piss you’ll be back eating there again 🙂 Followed by a kebab later in the night of course.

Yeah actually the words ‘pub’ and ‘club’ have the reputation of being something you leave clutching your stomach and vowing to never eat EVERYTHING on your plate again.
That’s why we like them : )

neanderthalsis5:22 pm 24 Jan 08

What ever happened to good old pub feeds like a mixed grill? 1 cow, 1 pig, 1 sheep, 3kg of chips and a fried tomato (the lypocene prevents a heart attach from the cholesterol in the fried flesh…)

on ecould also add that, if you want fish, gundaroo doesn’t immediatley spring to mind as the likely best place to source it…

but the moral is to tell the place about your experience before leaving, let them have a chance to make something of amends, if that’s what you’re after, but at least have that courtesy. and i agree with sammy, entree’s are usually entree-sized in my experience… just because you expect a little run-down cheap caff in a run down cheap town doesn’t mean that this is what you’ll get. check out the locale of some three michelin star joints – nowhere near civilisation, but in another universe gastronomically… mebbe they were just trying.

I live in Ngunnawal and eat at The George often.
Top notch but they stopped doing breakfasts on weekends – I loved their guacamole and potato hash stack – oh and the big big breakfast 🙂

Skidbladnir – I live in Ngunnawal and work in town – I just RA between queries on 65mg excel files (very time consuming). Of course I could be pro active and do other stuff – but thats what myteam leader is paid for..

Wouldn’t working for the Government mean you were more vocal because you spend more time actually posting than doing solid work? 😉 And besides, I work for ACT Gov out at Woden, that’s hardly nearby.

The readership of the-RiotAct only seems to be skewed to the Gungahlin-Northside, because they are vocal and bored, while the rest of us are busy going to work in our nearby Government departments.

LOL! My true identity can never be revealed. Seems like most people on here are from north side. I’m in Ngunnawal and also a member of G Lakes like Danman here. Although I have only been there once. The last time I tried to have dinner there it was packed so I went to George Harcourt Inn at Gold Creek. Its tops.

la mente torbida3:36 pm 24 Jan 08

This sounds like fun…Derek & Shirl?

Oh and the beauty of your opinion is just that, it is your opinion and no one can take that from you. I reflected your opinion with my opinion to which those same rules apply.

May also be worthy to note that Grazing is in the Old Gundaroo Pub – but is a restaurant as someone else noted…

Oh and I eat at Gunghalin lakes so if anyone is a bogan, I am too, but I have many hats…

I know what you were trying to insinuate. Don’t worry Danman, I’m not offended. I’m not married either:) Funny thing is though, you did guess the first initial of my name and my partners names LOL! Nothing like Daz and Shaz though.

You don’t have to assume I’m some bogan from the suburbs just because I went to a pub and wanted lunch.

I purposely used fictional characters to prove my point in a neutral capacity.
Obviously I made a mistake and guessed you and your wifes name..

What are the chances of that ?

If you are offended by this then so be it, but it was no tmy intention.

Try the Bushranger at Collector. Real pub, real people, counter lunch.

Ingeegoodbee2:33 pm 24 Jan 08

If I’m thinking of the right place, it’s not a “pub” but rather a restaurant in a building that was once (some time ago) a pub. there’s a diference.

la mente torbida2:17 pm 24 Jan 08

We three went there on the weekend: wonderful lunch, great beer, good service … no complaints. Maybe you were just unlucky.

BTW: we had just come from Myers…not DJs…I’ll leave it at that

You are right Skidbladnir, most of those things could have been resolved without posting this here. I figured an unbiased freelance ACT blog would be open to restaurant reviews regardless if I took it up with management or not. Do real food critics notify the manager before they post a negative review?

All things considered, if the majority of people here are willing to defend Grazing and if I am wrong then I am happy for you to pull this review. I have seen people give negative reviews of Musica e in Belconnen, a restaurant I quite like, that doesn’t make them wrong. I hope you get my point.

As I said Danman, I rocked up at this town, and decided to go to the pub for lunch. I didn’t think that I would have to invest time online to see what food they offered. My mistake. I didn’t think a decent lunch was too hard to come by at a pub.

You are right in saying that dining experiences are quite subjective. I like to go to the local takeaway shop and I also like to dine in places where I can dress up and have a romantic night out, nice view, nice wine etc. This didn’t meet my expectations in any of those categories for me. You don’t have to assume I’m some bogan from the suburbs just because I went to a pub and wanted lunch.

Hingo, as far as issues go, most of these could have been resolved by having a word with staff or management before going for the posting-an-adverse-review-online method.
If they’re as award winningly good as their online presence seems to indicate, they would have gone out of their way to make up for it.

Maybe looking on the website would have prooved fruitful for you before your venture as well ?

Or perhaps they can take on board what you have said and then judge it for themselves upon trying?

Dining experiences are quite subjective. Daz and Shaz may love a good mixed grill nosh up at quangers bowlo – does not mean that everyone thinks its great – same deal on th eopposite side of the scale. Some of my friends think I am an idiot for paying $50 for mains in Bilsons in Sydney – but I say its worth it.

I might add that most of these tourist type villages have pubs with a lunch menu. I guess that is what I was expecting and got something totally different. I am surprised that Grazing doesn’t do something similar as I’m sure it would be a pretty big market out there.

You asked me why I didn’t take this up with management. It is because I’m not one of those customers that complains to seek a free meal or some kind of refund. I don’t want apologies, I just want what I ordered and for it to taste good. Is that too much to ask for?

The waitress said that they would get our beers right away, so I believed her. I didn’t ask the staff about the beer because I was driving anyway and if it never arrived then I simply wouldn’t pay for it. I don’t doubt they serve good food, I’m not sure if I had was an isolated incident since I have never been before.

Sammy, you missed my point. I was after a light lunch, not a full dinner sized meal. which is why I ordered the calamari with a side of chips and since the calamari was said to come with a salad, I assumed it would be enough. After seeing their mains come out to other tables, I assumed they were entrees as they weren’t very big.

I’m not posting this to criticize Grazing, but to let people know that if you are going to go there for lunch, you may want to reconsider.

To Grazings defence I have eaten there several times and found the food to be of a great standard and not scant on your plate. My wife and I have eaten lunch there before 2 ales each and entree main each worked out to be about $120 with entertainment card. Our food (And Drinks) were served in a timely manner and this was even with a table of approx 10 in another room, as well as several couples.

Additionally, straight from Grazings web site

2007 ACT Tourism Award – Restaurants and Catering Services
2006/2007 Entertainment Gold Award
2006 Best Tourism Restaurant (Southern/ACT Region RCA)
2006 Best Restaurant Caterer (Southern/ACT Region RCA)
2006 ACT Tourism Award – Restaurants and Catering Services
2005/2006 Entertainment Gold Award
2005 SMH Chef’s Hat.
2005 Restaurant of the Year (Southern/ACT Region RCA)
2005 Best Wine List (Southern/ACT Region RCA)
2005 Best Informal Modern Australian (Southern/ACT Region RCA)
2005 Best Tourism Restaurant (Southern/ACT Region RCA)
2005 Best 1st Year Apprentice Chef (Southern/ACT Region RCA)
2005 Best Tourism Restaurant (Regional NSW RCA)
2005 ACT Tourism Award Restaurants and Catering Services
2004/2005 Entertainment Gold Award
2004 Best Restaurant Caterer(Southern/ACT Region RCA)
2004 Best Tourism Restaurant(Southern/ACT Region RCA)

Hopefully what you encountered was an isolated incident.

PS If they were taking so long to get your beer – why did you not remind them. Hospitality staff are huimans as well – they are not serve-bots with indelible memory.

Did you take these issues up with management before making it public ?

they forgot our order and the meals were not only tiny, they were barely edible

Well thats at least worth complaining about.

Most restaurants I have been to have meal sized entrées

Most restaurants I go to have entree-sized entrees. That’s what makes it an entree.

If you want an entree as a main, you request it, and the adjust the size (and price) accordingly.

have one of their home brewed beers … After finishing our meals, our beers still had not arrived

It takes a while to brew beer you know.

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