Due to a holiday function, our blokes' hump-night get-together got moved to College Lawn. It's only a few blocks from home, so it was a nice stroll along Greville Street to get there. The place is large, with spacious indoor dining and sitting areas, as well as a large outdoor, astro-turfed terrace, perfect for warm spring/summer days/evenings. It's decked with park bench tables and large umbrellas, and a good-sized bar, with several taps. Great way to start an evening with the blokes! As it turned out, there's no wait staff in the outdoor area, so we had to mosey-up to the bar to place our food and drink orders. A thirst quenching pint of American pale ale ($11) hit the spot. (Interestingly, I asked the bartender if there were any porters available and he had no clue what that was! All that was on draught were pale ales and ciders.) The pub's menu ran the gamut: crispy vegetarian spring rolls ($3 ea.); chicken/bacon stuffed quesadillas ($17); chicken and avocado salad ($22); fish and chips ($24); mince burrito ($21); steaks ($29.50-$38); various pizzas ($11-$20). Pretty much there's something to suit virtually any taste.
My mate and I decided we'd share the College Lawn tasting plate ($38), consisting of saganaki skewers, mushrooms, chorizo, black olives, veggie spring rolls, arancini balls, honey-soy chicken drummettes, complemented with eggplant, beetroot and sweet-n-sour dips, along with some rustic bread slices. It arrived looking mighty hearty and would've satisfied four. (We were sharing this as a main, for two, and it was plenty.) Taste-wise, the items were hit-n-miss. The saganaki/olive skewers (4) were very tasty -- the rich flavors of the saganaki (cheese) and kalamata olives worked well -- although on the greasy side, and was enhanced by the sweet/sour dipping sauce (which we could've used much more than was served). Crispy veggie spring rolls were very good -- which, for me, was surprising, as there was a distinct flavor of green capsicum (bell pepper) that I normally loathe; but, it was subtle and edible in these rolls. There were a couple -- Yes, Ladies and Gents, TWO! -- slices of sautéed white mushrooms; maybe three (albeit, tasty) slices of the chorizo; there might've been two or three slices of black olives. Arancini balls...??? Nada on the plate. The honey/soy chicken drummettes (4) were baked, as opposed to the American deep-fried wings, so it wasn't quite what we were expecting; nevertheless, they were meaty and tasty, without the crunchy skin. The uncredited bread slices were..., well..., bread slices. Beetroot and eggplant dips were unimaginative, bland, and pretty much didn't work with anything else on the platter, except for the bread.
Fortunately, the fine company made up for any deficiencies in the meal. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about College Lawn because of my fellow Yelpers' reviews. As it turned out, my skepticism might've been warranted. That said, as pub food goes, I suppose it was wholly decent. The place was packed by the time we left, so I don't think it would be too farfetched for me to parallel it's popularity to one of those middling Hollywood blockbuster remakes that's simply immune to any sort of criticism, and is gonna pack 'em in no matter the gastronomic consensus.... (Curiously, of the 20 pics that's been uploaded onto Yelp!, my shot of the tasting plate is the only one showing food. I will say, though, that my blokes' various dishes all looked really hearty and picture-worthy. But, I leave it up to them to make their own reviews....) read more