When? – 7/2/13
Where? – 12 River St. Richmond
Price? - $21.90
Website? - http://www.roystonhotel.com.au/
Reviewers – Adam, Fridge, Lee, Matt, Nikki, Stefo
We Revisited the Royston in 2016! Be sure to check out our updated thoughts on their parma here!
The Royston has been on our list forever. It was originally suggested to us by the lads at Mountain Goat beer via twitter a while back (and many more times by many other people since then) but we had just never gotten around to giving it a go. On the weekend I asked on both our facebook and twitter sites where we should hit, and the answer was a resounding “Royston”. My expectations were high for this one, which is a dangerous thing as nothing makes me crankier than when a much-hyped parma falls short.
Thursday night at the Royston is steak night, so we battled our way through the hordes of hungry carnivores and took our seats. $17 for a mouth watering 250g porterhouse was damn tempting, but no. Parmas are what we were there for, and parmas are what we ordered. A quick scan of the menu and we identified the night’s target -
Sounds good! but something was missing. The menu had a lot of fantastic other options, so the decision was made to pre-game a little, after a quick round we decided on the following (ill post the menu grab beside the image so you know what’s what)
(dip of the day was Hommus)
(excuse fingers - I couldn’t get 6 hungry people to restrain themselves long enough when the entree’s hit the table)
All of the entree’s were outstanding - I’m trying to find fault but they were all spot on. The chips were great, the Aioli was perfect. The hommus and bread was crazy addictive and everything on the bar plate complimented the other perfectly. If this was a sign of things to come, then the parma was going to be out of this world.
While we waited for our food I took in the surroundings - The Royston is a beautifully well kept little spot - retaining its former glory without looking aged and worn. Boasting a fantastic ever-rotating selection of Australian micro-brews - I can see why the Mountain Goat boys suggested it - their beers were displayed predominantly on tap - hardly a surprise as the brewery is a stone’s throw away.
Before too long our birds fell before us…
The parma was a point of contention. Some liked it, some disliked it, nobody was blown away. We will start with my opinion, then I will present the opposing opinions for you to make up your own mind.
One thing everyone agreed on - The schnitzel was a let down. Thin, possibly processed chicken with thick crumbs that looked nothing like the full thick chicken breasts we have seen in the past. After the stellar appetisers we had before the parma, the schnitzel was a definite let down.
Now, my opinion on the toppings.
I thought they were great. plenty of golden brown cheese, the napoli was rich, chunky and in abundance and the lashings of shaved ham added a fantastic flavour. In my opinion the toppings saved the parma - unfortunately not everyone agreed with me. A few voices around the table thought that their cheese was undercooked and that there was too much napoli and cheese, overpowering everything else.
Each to their own I guess, thats why opinions are like assholes - everyone’s got one.
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One thing everyone agreed on, however, is that the chips were fantastic. beer battered, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Cooked to perfection and well seasoned (it also helped greatly that we saved the left over garlic aioli from the starter serve of chips for some added flavour - If they added a pot of aioli to the regular parma they would be a 10/10 no doubt).
I don’t like rocket. Or roquette, or rucola or whatever you want to call it. I’ve never liked it - it tastes bitter, looks like a weed and is not a valid substitute for real lettuce. The salad that came with the parma was a predominantly rocket salad - with a few shavings of cucumber and a skerrick of onion (I think there was more onion in the napoli than was in the salad).
It was a total afterthought, not impressed at all.
On a Tuesday night Burgers and Parmas are only $17 each, and they throw in Quizmeisters Trivia for entertainment - Thats a good deal that I’d be happy to return for, however at full price I doubt I’d be back for a Royston parma anytime soon.