13 November 2011

The Doncaster Hotel: Pub Bistro, Kensington (13 Nov 2011, 26 Jan 2012)

240 Anzac Parade, Kensington NSW 2033



Pub courses near horses

The Doncaster is much nicer these days after its renovations from its former old man pub days and seems to have become a bit of a default local catchup spot with friends of late. The Cajun chicken sandwich on toasted Turkish ($18) was a generous sized meal which included bacon and my Gourmet steak sandwich on toasted Turkish ($18) also included bacon and served with chips like all other main meals. The order took a bit longer than expected due to a busy lunch crowd and when it finally arrived I noticed quite a distinct smell of fish from the dish. The steak must have been cooked on a grill that had just cooked fish — I'm suspecting the grilled salmon dish I noticed on the specials menu. A few other friends were also having the steak sandwich but theirs was OK. I tried to eat it but the smell of fish was just too off-putting to finish so I decided to let the kitchen staff know. Once they had a smell of the dish they totally agreed it was not acceptable and the restaurant manager(?) gave me back $20 for the dish and was also happy to have another one cooked for me. The replacement dish came out much quicker than the original meal and thankfully was now OK. The meat in both was probably not the most tender but you can't ask for too much in a steak sandwich I guess. It was pretty tasty and generous in size. The bread could have probably been a little more toasted for my liking perhaps. I guess the lesson to be learnt here is if you're not happy with your dish then it's good to speak up and let them know. You'll then hopefully get something more to your liking.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Plenty of seating, Nice decor and spacious atmosphere, Outdoor seating available, Bistro menu prices fairly reasonable, Bottles of house wine available for around $20, Friendly service
CONS: Need to go to bistro counter to view menu, Unfortunate steak sandwich smelt like fish but was rectified promptly when brought to staff attention
MUST TRY: Visiting the outdoor area on a nice day for a beer

13 Nov 2011 - Visit #1
Cajun chicken sandwich on toasted Turkish with chips ($18)


Gourmet steak sandwich on toasted Turkish with chips ($18)

Refunded $20 for the fish smelling steak sandwich and new one prepared


Replacement Gourmet steak sandwick on toasted Turkish with chips ($18) — much better

26 Jan 2012 - Visit #2
Cajun Chicken Sandwick on Toasted Turkish ($20.70) - decent size although bread a little soggy so falls apart when trying to eat and hands get messy

Panfried flathead fillets with green curry sauce, beans and jasmine rice ($21 specials menu) - flavour OK but fish was a bit on the dry and slightly overcooked so tasted a bit burnt

Crumbed Chicken Schnitzel with Salad and Chips ($20.70) - smallish in size but crumbing looked good

Menu
– – –



Menu board

Cook your own steak options

Upstairs seating

Outdoor seating

A close spot near the Royal Randwick racecourse

6 comments:

Sara - Belly Rumbles said...

This is a regular eat for us, but we always do the cook your own steaks. The meat is of excellent quality and I love the fun of cook your owns when there is a big group and I don't have to do the cleaning up! Unlimited salad is included too.

Shame about your first steak sandwich and glad it was rectified pronto. Have found the staff to be really fantastic and helpful on each visit.

sugarpuffi said...

shame about ur weird steak. so nice that they refunded u!

Rah said...

I've been to the Don a few times now. No complaints from me, but some local friends steer clear of it! Don't think they have a decent reason though

Simon Leong said...

hi sara, i haven't tried the cook your own steaks but there's certainly a huge grill to do it. can't complain about unlimited salad.

hi sugarpuffi, they were very good about it all which is a sign of good service and understanding

hi rah, i'd go back again as I've had other meals there before with no problem.

Ayden @ Himalayan Salt said...

steak sandwich smelling like fish would be a big blunder for me... hmmm.

Simon Leong said...

hi ayden, definitely a bit of a fail

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