The Maid and Magpie

At $18.90 ($3 extra for a parmi), you’re getting to the stage where you expect to be getting a pretty good schnitzel. And this one certainly didn’t disappoint. The maid schnitties get all of the bare essentials right – nice and thick, tender meat, crisp coating, good chips, thick gravy and a decent salad.

It wasn’t good to the point of being extraordinary, but this was a meal I would happily eat any day of the week. It ticked all the boxes and didn’t leave me feeling violated and overfed afterwards. I could be fussy and say that perhaps the salad should have come in a separate bowl, or complain that some of the chips were stuffed under the schnitty, but I feel that would be a bit unfair. It was a good meal, and one I’d certainly recommend.

The Maid and Magpie is a ripper of a location as well. The eastern suburbs have some excellent pubs, and this place is certainly right up there. Good service, nice architecture, plenty of space, quality food – do yourself a favour and get down there.

The verdict: Good pub, good schnitty. Not the cheapest one going around, but well worth it.

Taste: 4.5/5, Size: 4/5, Value: 3.5/5, Sides: 4/5, Dining Experience: 4.5/5
Overall: 82%

Café Fellini

A few things were wrong right from the start here. Firstly the price - $23.90. Really? Secondly, the chicken parmi was the only option – no beef, no gravy, no Dianne sauce – only a chicken parmi. And when I asked for one without cheese, It arrived on my table adorned with a mountain of parmesan (which I’m pretty sure is a type of cheese) on top.

Still, enough negatives – this was actually quite a nice feed. A thick, tender piece of breast chicken, a decent slice of ham, and a good dollop of nap sauce. A generous salad, and a massive serve of chips (although I tend to prefer thicker chips rather than fries) complemented the schnitty nicely. The meal was quite satisfying, although probably not worthy of such a hefty price-tag. Value for money was definitely the downer in this case.

Nice restaurant as well – probably the sort of place you’d go more for a pasta meal or a wood oven pizza followed by a coffee, but overall it was a pretty good experience.

The verdict: Steep price, but not a bad meal.

Taste: 4/5, Size: 3.5/5, Value: 1.5/5, Sides: 4/5, Dining Experience: 4/5
Overall: 68%

Birkley’s Tavern

This place is officially my new pre-footy dinner venue (for the next fourteen months while games are still being played at Aami Stadium). Fifteen dollar schnitties and a free buffet on the side – who could say no to that? Given that the food at the buffet was pretty good and the chips were also to a good standard, sides were always going to rate pretty highly. And although it wasn’t the highest quality schnitty of all time (this probably isn’t the place to go on a first date, unless your girl is a mad keen Crows fan and you’re on the way to the game), it was an adequately filling & palatable feed.

Not the most outstanding of venues, but certainly nothing to complain about.

The verdict: If you’re off to the footy tonight, why not smash a schnitty here first?

Taste: 3.5/5, Size: 3/5, Value: 4.5/5, Sides: 4.5/5, Dining Experience: 3.5/5
Overall: 76%

The Britannia Hotel

Apart from having to drive through that ridiculous roundabout to get in here (not to mention the heavy emphasis on pokies and horse-race betting), this place provides an enjoyable experience for the seasoned schnitzel-eater. Actually, it’s a pretty good spot for pub meals in general. Every night there seems to be a special on something, whether it’s schnitzel, steak, squid or whatever else. And the place itself is decent. The front bar and restaurant section has a good feel to it, there’s outdoor seating and pretty much everything you’d really want in a pub.

We made a rookie error by missing Wednesday ($7.50 schnitzel day) and coming on Thursday instead. Pays to do your homework, I guess. Still, for only $15 (I think) we got what I would rate as a pretty decent meal. But when the waiter assured us that the Wednesday schnitzels were equally as good, we knew that a return visit was non-negotiable.

And so round two began.

On my next free Wednesday, I ventured back to the Britannia. And for $7.50 (you don’t even have to get a drink with it) you’re unlikely to ever have a better schnitty. It was a generous size, quite tender, very meaty and at least as good as the one I’d had on the previous occasion. The salad was reasonable as well, given the low cost. And while there were less chips than last time (and the gravy was pretty average), this is definitely a meal deal to take advantage of.

The verdict: Wednesday is the day.

Taste: 4/5, Size: 3.5/5, Value: 5/5, Sides: 3/5, Dining Experience: 4/5 (Based on Wednesday special)

Overall: 78% (probably more like 72% any other day)

The Queens Head

The Queens Head is one of several pubs in North Adelaide which looks small and seedy from the outside, but is fantastic once you walk inside. You definitely feel like a classy member of society eating in a place like this.

The quality of the schnitzels also turned out to be quite good. Thick, moist, very tasty. Chips were quite nice, although unfortunately hidden under the schnitty. Salad was pretty much all lettuce, but at least they were generous with it… at least I feel healthier eating a meal with so much green in it!

At $16.90, the price was certainly not exorbitant, and I feel as though I got value for money. Great place to grab a feed and watch friday night footy!

The verdict: Pretty good meal that one… maybe chuck a bit more tomato in the salad though?

Taste: 4.5/5, Size: 4/5, Value: 3.5/5, Sides: 3.5/5, Dining Experience: 4/5
Overall: 78%