Perth Voice Interactive

 

WEEK two of the school holidays.

Skies as grey as porridge and biblical rain.

My two kids needed a break from the screens and I needed a break from them squabbling over the screens, so we decided to jump in the Voice jalopy and head to the Inglewood Hotel for lunch.

Over the years, the Inglewood has never disappointed and I’ve enjoyed some great meals in their “restaurant”, which has table service and is a bit more upmarket than their lounge.

But I wanted to give my young kids a little slice of working class life, so we sat at a modest wooden table opposite the bar.

It was like Sesame Street meets The Block as burly men in hi-vis gave my young kids a sort of bemused look and then continued to grunt to their pals about the price of silicone and Adam Simpson.

Ah well, it’s character building. 

Despite the stormy weather, the Hotel lounge was busy with a healthy mix of couples, pensioners, the aforementioned tradies, and the odd bar fly who wanted to get smashed and forget all about Adam Simpson’s reign.

With lots of TVs strategically hung on the walls, there’s sport at every turn with cricket, soccer and even BMX racing playing in the background.

The menu has a nice range of pub classics, burgers and sandwiches, share plates, mains, “From the grill” and desserts.

Some of the mains like the Berkshire pork belly, roasted harrisa cauliflower, and duck ragu pappardelle sounded really good.

If I had been there with my wife I would have probably gone for some of the share plates like kangaroo skewers, shiitake mushroom parfait and the delicious sounding saffron and mozzarella arancini.

If you’re more traditional, there’s chicken parmigiana and a beef, Guinness and mushroom pie (I’ve tried it before and it’s delicious).

While the main menu is pretty static, the Inglewood always had a great range of daily specials and theme nights including ‘Christmas in July’ to keep you coming back.They’re even open at 3am on Sunday to show the Euro 2024 soccer final.

I was tempted to go for the chicken curry, but couldn’t resist the soup of the day ($14) from the chef’s daily specials menu, which also had pork belly tacos and barramundi with potatoes and seasonal veg.

It was a wise choice – the Moroccan vegetable soup was piping hot (sounds a given, but serving tepid soup is quite common in winter) and crammed with exotic flavours.

Heavy on the spice, there was a healthy dose of curry powder with a little swirl of sour cream to soften the blow.

Thick, murky and comforting, it was almost like a bowl of curry sauce and there was a judicious sprinkle of coriander on top.

Complementing the soup was some garlic bread.

I normally stay clear of the ubiquitous garlic bread as it’s often stodgy and boring, but this thin toasted slice was light and had a lovely punch of fresh garlic. 

It went perfectly with the soup and was some of the best garlic bread I’ve had.

Across the table, my kids were deathly quiet – that meant they had broken something in the hotel or were busy devouring something from the “12 and under” menu. Thankfully it was the latter.

My daughter’s cheeseburger ($15) looked especially nice and she said it was one of the best she had tasted.

A classic burger that didn’t fall apart when you picked it up, it had a lovely mix of dill pickles, mild cheese and tomato sauce.

The patty was delicious and tasted house-made, so hats off to the Inglewood for not dishing up frozen rubbish to kids to save money.

The fries were just as nice – they had a satisfying crunch and fluffy innards with no greasy refrain.

This is how a kid’s meal should be – the same quality as an adult meal but in miniature Lilliput form.

My son was a bit grumpy after losing the burger coin toss and had to make do with $15 battered fish and chips (ah, first world problems).

I had a sneaky taste and it was a lovely fillet with a golden, crunchy batter and delicious flaky flesh.

When you added a little squirt of lemon it tasted even better. Another cracking dish.

My first time in the Inglewood lounge was a hit and with drinks it came to $67, which isn’t too bad at all.

My only gripe – our table was super sticky, not dirty, but sticky, like someone had spilled a pint of beer over it.

Refuelled, refreshed and revitalised we headed for the exit.

“Dad, why were those men dressed as Bob the Builder and swearing a lot?” asked my son on the way out.

Inglewood Hotel
Cnr Fifth Avenue and Beaufort
Street, Mt Lawley
inglewoodhotel.com.au 

By STEPHEN POLLOCK