Pub Of The Week: Tony Leonard reviews The Grapes Hotel, Golden Point

The Grapes Hotel

121 Grant Street, Golden Point.
4310 6920
The Grapes on Facebook

When? July 29, 2022.

VENUE

 If ever a pub fell into the two categories that pubgoers in metropolitan Melbourne love it is;

• Quintessential country pub
• Close to town for a perfect 75-90 minute Sunday drive

The Grapes is located in Golden Point, maybe a couple of kilometres west of the main drag of Sturt St Ballarat (basically turn left at Bakery Hill) and is the picture postcard brick country pub that we fondly remember.

Inside a spankingly glorious polished timber, sandblasted brick front bar with leadlight windows and small timber tables on the perimeter set it up for a long, easy going stay.

The dining room, warm, old school is adorned by local prints and sturdy pub carpet in a drab colour the likes of which you have seen so many times before.  To the side is an enclosed socialising area slightly away from the dining room for a general meet and greet.

No TAB/No Pokies.

But there is a determination to make your experience work from the willing staff working the floor, to the fine and clean Draught beer, to the menus for both dining room and bar. (as example and this is generally a no no, but if you want the bar menu in the dining room, then this poses no issue: you’d be surprised how often it is).

Curiously the Grapes does very little socials for reasons that surprise, best explained to me that they prefer word of mouth.(the last entry I found was 8/12/2016: Team, a bit has happened since then!!).  So best to google and you will find some information that Punters  have posted.

The menus are traditional pub offerings, the wines are sourced locally and all in all a fine hospitality package is put together.

The Grapes need to take a line from KISS about how good the pub is: Shout it, Shout it, Shout it out loud.

There is a very good story here.

FOOD/DRINK

When a bar menu, fully plated, is offered for $18, then it is your duty to peruse. Crumbed Snags, Mash,p ; Kransky, Sauerkraut, Cheese, Gravy; Fish and Chips are filling and value.

The dining room entree menu offers Arancini, w/ cauliflower, thyme, brie (3/15), Tempura Prawns, Asian dipping sauce, (5/18) as part of a 7 starter range while the mains have a Chicken Parma (25j, Salmon fillet w/roasted chats, seasonal greens, lemon caper sauce @ $28.

Beer is heavily CUB, with Carlton D @5.5/pot, (yay) Furphy, Carlton Dry with a Coopers Pale for the different. Wines are (mainly) sourced from Ballarat/Beaufort, from producers such as Michael Unwin, Nitingbool, Tomboy Hill (Pinot Noir, $12pg, very nice).

The average (dining room) prices are;

• Entrees – $15
• Mains – $26
• Desserts – $12

Tried was;

• Tempura Prawns, Asian Dipper. $18. Good starter, with Plump fresh prawns in a light crisp batter ( as they should be but rarely executed in a pub), sauce gives a tangy lift.
• Rissoles, Mash, Veg, Gravy. $18. Two belch-inducing rissoles, juicy, seasoned, moreish come with a gravy the colour that Jed Clampett found all those years ago, with great mash. The Grapes tell me this is its most popular dish: No surprise.
• Central Highlands, 300g Scotch Fillet, mash, vegetable, pepper sauce. $ 38. Asked for rare and so it was. Plenty of excellent seasonal veg, again on nice mash. pepper sauce had a real kick.

SUMMARY 

In a brilliant historic town, Ballarathas a stack of options to wine and dine and the standard of anywhere in Victoria.  Indeed over the journey of talking pubs, I have not struck a bad one in Ballarat (please no correspondence).

There is something about The Grapes though that totally wins me, in its own way reminding me of the wonderful White Hart pub in Longwood, only on a smaller scale.

The Grapes (not to be confused with the similarly named Bunch of Grapes in Pleasant St (which I am sure would be a great pub ) is well worth a visit, excelling on a cold Winter/Spring day.

Why they eschew socials is their business so I would be grateful if someone can fax them- wet paper – to let them know they can publish this review ; preferably on their exposed brick walls in their lovely front bar!

Score: 15.5/20