Simon Wilkinson reviews old-school pub the Golden Wattle

An old-school pub with big serves and genuine hospitality has been opened by a bunch of mates in the most unlikely of settings.

The Golden Wattle

Those were the days, eh. ‘Mad Max’ was rocking the box office. Aussie-made family cars came with spoilers and big donks. Our cricketers wore pale yellow, skin-tight kits but still walked with a swagger. And a meal out meant a choice of burger or schnitty, with gravy of course.

This sudden wave of nostalgia is brought to you by The Golden Wattle, a new establishment in the heart of the city that has many of the qualities of your friendly neighbourhood boozer or country town pub. Circa 1980.

And I’m talking about more than the gallery of daggy framed pictures on one wall (they haven’t gone straight to the pool room, mind you – the table is up on
the mezzanine).

On first impressions, The Golden Wattle has a stack more going for it than the previous tenant in this space, The Office.

The structural bones of that long-lived but unmourned enterprise are still in place but they are now clad in retro-feel timber panelling and judicious amounts of green and gold – in the concrete columns, the carpet and a row of booths, as well as the staff T-shirts that carry the “GW” logo.

If it feels a little homespun, that’s at least a vast improvement on the previous corporate blandness and also a good reflection of the bunch of six mates who have helped pull it all together.

Grilled squid at The Golden Wattle

Without going into the finer details, between them they boast experience in a host of places that are good to drink and/or eat, including The Exeter, The Metropolitan, the Port Admiral and Midnight Spaghetti.

The common theme between all, I reckon, is the thoughtful, everyone-is-welcome style of hospitality and, even though orders here are taken at the bar, staff will do more than grab your cash. Recommend a dessert, for instance, or bring water when it is needed.

The single-page menu is split neatly between pub classics and more contemporary thinking dishes that make good use of a newly installed (but second-hand) charcoal grill in the open kitchen.

A quick look at the snacks will show the playful game afoot. The roasted carrot dip with pita crisps is bang on trend, but there is also a fritz and sauce sanga in which a stack of specially commissioned bung is jammed between two slices of crustless white bread.

An initial lunchtime appraisal is promising. Flapping fresh grilled squid tube and tentacle is tossed with a mix of torn radicchio, rocket and other leaves, as well as citrus segments that perk up the dressing.

Deluxe burger at The Golden Wattle

More sophisticated is a serve of Coorong mullet in peak condition, slathered in a harissa-style paste that has plenty of spice but keeps the heat in check. To the side is a big dollop of a smooth almond cream, as well as a mix of heirloom carrots that are charred on the outside but could be cooked through more.

Two generous serves of quality seafood at well under $30 a pop – who could complain?

A second visit, in the evening, isn’t so convincing. Korean pork ribs are coated in a sweet, sticky glaze but the kimchi slaw is bland and heavy with mayonnaise.

Slow cooked lamb shoulder arrives barely lukewarm and dried out in parts. The meat sits on a “fattoush” salad of chopped tomato and cucumber that misses the tang of sumac. The flatbread that should be mixed in there, soaking up the juices, is instead presented as triangular fried crisps, poked in the top as if it were nachos.

The “deluxe” burger looks a better option, the patty properly charred and stacked with plenty of bacon, pickles and salad in a sesame seed bun. Chips can’t be faulted.

To finish, two barbecued bananas are delivered in their blackened skins, so the fragrant mush inside can be scraped out to eat with chocolate ice-cream and tooth-breaking caramelised popcorn.

It’s a reminder of family camping trips and bananas left to soften in the coals. Cue more nostalgia.

THE GOLDEN WATTLE

110 Pirie St, city, 8223 7874

OWNERS Damien Kelly, Tom Byrnes, David Blumberg, Peter Curtis, Josh Phillips, Ben Quici
CHEFS: Peter Curtis, Josh Phillips, Ben Quici

FOOD Pub/contemporary SNACKS $5-$12
STARTERS $12-$14 MAINS $16-$30 DESSERT $12
DRINKS 10 whites, 10 reds and a pair of roses from smaller SA producers, plus a few interlopers.

Open for BREAKFAST Mon-Fri

LUNCH Mon-Sat

DINNER Mon-Sat

SCORE 7/10