Where - 364 Clarendon Street. South Melbourne
Price - Around $24-$26, depending on the variety of parma
Website - www.limerickarms.com.au
Reviewers - Lee & Nikki
I am honestly amazed at how long the Limerick Arms has flown under our radar.
I remember when we reviewed Honey back in 2014. Looking across the road at the Limerick and thinking to myself “That place looks good, I should check to see if they do a parma”, and then promptly forgetting it existed for the next 5 years. Until last week, when I got an email suggesting that we should go and check it out.
As soon as I read the email I remembered it was a place I thought we ought try, so I gathered the crew and last night we headed to Clarendon Street for a few parmas at the Limerick Arms.
A deceptively old school exterior hides a surprisingly modern pub within the Limerick. Modern, yet retaining old world charms such as coat hooks running along the bar. Whether you were there for a casual drink, a business meeting, watching the cricket (there are a lot of TV’s) or a dinner with family the Limerick seems to cater to all needs.
When we arrived at about 6:30 on Thursday the Limerick was absolutely packed. Possibly unexpectedly so, as the (very friendly) staff seemed to be struggling a little under the rush of customers.
We managed to grab a table and checked our menu for the evening…
As the menu on the Limerick’s website doesn’t seem to work I was glad to see that they even had one parma on the menu, let alone a whole subsection. I was feeling a little fancy this week so I went with the Rodriguez parma while reviewer Nikki kept things grounded and stuck with the traditional Limerick parma.
The Limerick has a lot of taps, and a tap list up on the wall which made me hopeful for a solid craft beer list - However on closer inspection the beers on tap were Furphy, Kociuszko, Hahn, Heineken, Asahi, Panhead, Little Creatures, Byron Bay, Two Suns, White Rabbit, Guinness and James Squire Cider … All the Lion beers with a couple of wildcards thrown in. Not the worst selection I’ve seen, but I definitely hoped for something a little more adventurous.
About half an hour after ordering our parmas arrived from the kitchen…
The Limerick
The Rodriguez
The first thing that struck me about the Limerick parma was the size of the schnitzel - We haven’t had a big’n like this for quite some time. Stretching from one end of the plate from the other. My schnitzel was slightly overcooked but Reviewer Nikki’s fared better. We tucked in to find real chicken, slightly dry but overall decent quality. I would have been better if it was served hotter, as the schnitzel felt a few degrees over warm when it hit the table.
The crumbing was crispy and maintained its crunch throughout. The toppings on the Rodriguez parma were stacked high - No shortage of sour cream, jalapenos or guacamole, and I was even surprised to find they had included ham as well - Normally the first thing to go when trying to normalise the cost of a novelty parma.
The napoli was probably the weakest element of the Rodriguez. It was lost amongst the other elements and (like the chicken) quite dry. I can’t help but feel that a spicy salsa would be a better fit for a mexi-parma such as this - Something for the guac and mountain of sour cream to play off.
Reports from Reviewer Nikki about the Limerick parma came back mostly positive. She had similar complaints to me about the dryness of both the chicken and the napoli, however she was impressed with the thickness of the ham slice. Overall happy but with some complaints.
The “spicy slaw” definitely lived up to its name. A mustard-heavy slaw that I really enjoyed to the point that I was a bit annoyed with my myself that I ordered the Rodriguez parma as mustard and guacamole don’t really go together. I can see it not being for everyone as it is very heavy on the mustard, but as a bit of a mustard fiend it was exactly what I was looking for in a slaw.
Chips were fine even though my first thought when my plate hit the table was “where are the rest of them?” It was a small serve but they were well cooked and seasoned. If the parma was smaller I’d have more to complain about but I couldn’t finish all of the food on my plate as it is so they get a pass this time.
“A bit overcooked and dry, but otherwise a big parma that I couldn’t come close to finishing. Not bad!”
On Wednesdays at the Limerick there is a Parma Day & Trivia night, with parmas starting from $16 (with the novelties getting more expensive from there) along with Funky Bunch running trivia (maybe - their facebook page hasn’t been updated in a couple of months). This is a massive parma so if you are looking for a cheap, massive, innofensive feed then Wednesday is your day.
I like the vibe of the Limerick, it seems like a fun pub and I’d like to head back again when things aren’t as hectic. The parma was hit and miss … but more hits than misses. A lot of my complaints (overcooked, dry, served less-than-hot) are faults with preperation and not the ingredients they are putting into the dish, which may not be an issue when they are less slammed.
I’d say definitely worth a shot if you’re a local, but I wouldn’t travel too far for it.