Pub Of The Week: Ashley Hotel, Braybrook
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Ashley Hotel
226 Ballarat Rd, Braybrook
Phone: 9317 9257
Quick game of Family Feud. Topic – signs in pub carparks. We surveyed our studio audience and the top 3 answers were;
● This carpark is for patrons only (67 per cent, bing!)
● Please keep noise to a minimum when leaving premises (32 per cent, bing!)
● The dumping of rubbish in this car park is strictly prohibited (1 per cent)
While the first two are omnipresent, the latter was the first and only time encountered when reviewing pubs over the journey.
The Ashley Hotel, located in Braybrook near Churchill Avenue, had a fearsome reputation back in the day: So did the suburb. No you/me carpark, just lets sort this out in the front bar. Now.
Times change and the suburb slowly becomes more desirable given proximity to town. The pub too reflects this and now the Ashley, ringed by either second hand motors or wreckers of second hand motors, has a steady as she goes offer replayed ad nauseam further out in the ‘burbs across Melbourne.
Essentially one area, divided into sections – pokies, sports bar, dining room, the Ashley buzzes along 18 hours/day, 7 days/week. There’s a tradies lunch ($20 main plus pot), free pool and $18 jugs Sundays and a Thursday parma day special ($20).
And the Ashley offers the latest happy hour known: 10pm – midnight, Tuesday – Saturday, $7 schooners, $8 spirits. Woody and coke at 11:50pm? Why not.
By any measure, it’s your standard suburban pub, doing what most standard suburban pubs do. (I don’t recall a later HH in any pub).
Pokies: Yes
Tab: Yes
Smallish menus for food and wine, but all the favourites are here. For entrees, satay chicken skewers, peanut sauce, fresh herbs ($16), mac and cheese croquettes, aioli ($16), salt and pepper calamari, lemon, aioli ($16) are three from a field of 10.
From the burgers and favourites, the steak sandwich , bacon, fried egg, caramelised onion, tomato, lettuce, BBQ sauce, chips, aioli ($26) leads the pack, with bangers and mash, peas, gravy ($24), roast of the day, vegetables, gravy ($24) chicken parmigiana garden salad, chips ($29) were popular plates from the classics selection.
Thoroughly enjoyed tempura battered scallops, seaweed, lemon aioli ($16). Thin discs of tasty scallop ($6), come in a proper tempura coating, with the seaweed and lemon working well with them. Good, tasty starter.
The Ashley runs a number of daily specials and more power to them. Tried was Korean stick chicken on rice ($25) massive bowl, suitable for three.
Two tricks to be performed here; Gochujang sauce, a deep rich red beauty, giving off sweet (honey), smokey (paprika) salty (soy), and a tiny kick at the end. The pub got that right.
The Korean chicken, plentiful, just lacked that crispiness to pull the dish off; A little spongy, nonetheless, very good pub eating.
Beer was cold, fresh and $7.1 per pot. Familiar lines there. No wine list was offered when asked, just take a pick from the fridge. Happy to pass as the Carlton Draught was fine.
The Ashley has become a friendly venue, long removed from its past. Again, steady as she goes, no more or less different from most of those out in ‘burbs.
Just remember: No dumping rubbish.
SCORE: 12.5