Pub Of The Week: Tony Leonard reviews the Pig and Whistle Hotel, Main Ridge

Pig and Whistle Hotel

365 Purves Road, Main Ridge.
9589 6130

When? May 19, 2023.
www.thepigandwhistle.com.au

VENUE

First time visit to Pig and Whistle in Main Ridge and the rhetorical love question that we have asked ourselves at some stage of our life springs to mind: ‘Where have you been all of my life?’

So let’s start with getting there. Located in Main Ridge, there are basically two ways; take the Red Hill turn off before getting to Dromana and follow your instincts or go into Dromana, take the long, winding and vertiginous road to Arthur’s seat (still a landmark attraction in Victoria), and head past there for a few kilometres.

The scenery forever is drop dead gorgeous. Before you head inside , take in the carefully manicured beer garden. Just beautiful. If it wasn’t so cold this time of year, that would be the place of choice.

The tavern is typical of ones you have seen overseas. Rectangular in shape, bits tacked on here and there over the journey, the small wooden bar is to the right, all timber, low lit with bric a brac dotting the walls, then through to the big dining room, the centrepiece of which is a roaring fireplace.

But that’s not all. The PAWT is a hub for the local arts community, with activities taking place in ‘The Shed’. A large, corrugated iron shed that shortly local music legend Tex Perkins will grace.

Combine this with a second restaurant, and a jewellers shop (yep, and not sure why), winery in background, and space for all manner of function and celebration and mostly, but not all have the picture.

Go and see for yourself.

The pub is very well run with all elements of a good hospitality package to the fore. The staff has been working together for many years and there is a feel of family run in evidence.

Good everything here at the Pig and Whistle, Main Ridge.

FOOD/DRINK

The Tavern mixes Pub Classics up with Big  English favourites, served up most generously. Meals tend to be a couple of dollars above the median, but this is more than offset with the size and quality of the meals.

In essence, there are a couple of entrees (unless on special) that fall under the Bread / Oyster category as the concentration is on main courses.

But if it is a share for a group, the PAWT offers a Ploughman’s Lunch on a long board, that has includes Pork Pie, Chicken Liver Pate, English  Stilton, Mature Cheddar, Ham, Branson Pickles. $40. There are 4 types of Ploughmans offered.

To the mains,  Beef  and Guinness Pie is massive ($ 34), with plentiful mash and peas in support. Apple cured Gammon Steak, grilled pineapple, C&S, is 32, and no English style tavern worth its soul would not have a curry on: here it is Chicken Tikka Masala, Rice, Mango Chutney, Papapdums (32).

There’s a Burger, Parma, Fish and Chips as part of the menu.

Carlton Draught, Brick Lane, Kilkenny, Main Ridge Apple Cider,  form the basis on the tap offerings, but  the wine list uses the locals in abundance.   Foxeys Hangout is over the back fence, so their Rose, along with Paringa Estate Shiraz (15pg) from Red Hill were fine examples of this outstanding wine region.

The average meal prices (dining) are;

• Entrees – not really
• Mains – $32
• Desserts – $16

Tried was…

• Chilli Prawns, shallots and Rice. (On Special 4/26). Of all the stuff pubs do, anything with  chilli is merely a hum, rather than a proper bang for the tastebuds. Thankfully 4 good sized prawns arrive in a pool of chilli oil with proper heat, coated in a brittle, thin batter making the prawns the star. As close to the legendary ones serves at Rubiras, this is a must order when available.
• Cumberland Sausage , mash, peas, gravy. $32. Very Good. One large coiled Pythonesque pork sausage, fabulous peppery taste, sits atop a massive splodge of mash, sweet red onion and peas, the gravy below is dark and rich. Cold outside, you’re next to a fireplace, life’s good, must have.
• Scotch Fillet, 350g, Broccolini, winter Vegetables, Potatoes, Pepper Sauce. $46. Charred perfectly on outside, MR as requested, the steak’s deep and rich texture was a cut above your normal stock standard. It is a luxury item now given the price, but this was a quality piece and worth the extra.

SUMMARY

The PAWT Main Ridge is something special in Victorian pub life, but trying to pinpoint why this is so can be somewhat elusive.

The beautiful, warm, authentic old style English Tavern would equal any of its type here but then there’s  the massive beer Garden so lush with all manner of vegetation, the space  to wander (or sit) with a glass of your favourite and take the scenery in with the winery in the background, or the majestic coastline taking in Portsea and Queenscliff.

But in hard nosed pub – bang – for – buck terms , this pub serves up a package of food/drink/hospitality that doesn’t shrink by comparison. It is a “destination” pub so you as you have made the effort to get there, your reasonable expectation is it will be matched by something very, very good.

It does. Pig and Whistle Tavern, Main Ridge.

Score: 15.5/20