The Mouth: Does the Banksia have the best potato scallops in Sydney?

He needs a future hangover to be sure, but The Mouth thinks a humble hotel harbours Sydney’s best example of crunchy golden potato scallop goodness. The jury’s out on the meat loaf.

Colin Fassnidge's take on the potato scallop. Picture: Instagram

Who remembers the great potato scallop war of 2014?

It’s a great little bit of Australian internet trivia that takes us back to a time before, well, everything happened when every social media server in the country melted down as users fought over whether they are called “potato scallops” or “potato cakes”.

Ah, the good old days.

Fast forward nearly a decade and we find ourselves down the Princes Highway at the Banksia Hotel, specifically the Banksia Bistro bit of it, owned and operated by legendary local Colin Fassnidge.

And what are we eating? Potato scallops, which like Shakespeare’s rose are just as salty no matter what you call them.

The Banksia Hotel, which The Mouth believes harbour’s Sydney’s best potato scallop. Picture: Supplied

Which is, by the way, a good thing.

These are little gems of perfection, crispy, soft in the middle, so loaded with sodium we can hear our kidneys contemplating industrial action.

Paired with a suckling pig sausage roll, all porky goodness encased in the lightest puff pastry, we are running the numbers on this as a future hangover luncheon destination (provided there’s not an Uber surge on, it stacks up).

The whole scene is an interesting one: There is the slightly poncy “by Fassnidge” bit, and it’s all one in the same with the rest of the pub, where a bunch of gents are having a convivial time punting on the horses.

As the afternoon wears on we are happy to see the bistro bit fill out with patrons especially given its proximity to new high density meccas it should by all rights be heaving (though the, shall we say, unprepossessing street frontage does not betray the delights within).

But to be honest, we’re not sure everything is firing.

Chef Colin Fassnidge … the man behind the golden crunchy potato scallop goodness. Picture: Toby Zerna

This column has more secret loves than a Renaissance pope but we are quite open in confessing our affection for good old American style meat loaf.

So we were a little put off by the Banksia’s version which came topped with a fried egg (huh?), and not just a big scoop of colcannon (great!) but also some sort of pumpkin puree (why?).

Now that the weather has taken a turn for the chilly we will be attempting our own version which also makes for wonderful sandwiches the next day.

The best we have ever tried is at a restaurant in Manhattan’s theatre district years ago. Google “Joe Allen Meatloaf” and you can do likewise.

Banksia Hotel, 288 Princes Hwy, Banksia

— The Mouth is an anonymous critic and bon vivant who pays his own way around Sydney and beyond.