Dinner at Shamrock, Bendigo

Shamrock

Address: Corner Pall Mall & Williamson Street, Bendigo
Phone: (03) 5443 0333

We were in Bendigo for the weekend and decided to visit the pub for dinner. We sat at a table next to the window and slowly perused the enticing menu. For starters T ordered Warm Turkish Bread ($8) with 3 'homemade' dips. The bread was delivered to the table warm and wrapped in paper, it was very impressive. The dips (spring onion, hummus & tzatziki) were nothing mind blowing but this entree was a very nice start to the meal.

I thought I'd lash out and go for the Ocean Trout ($27.90) served on an asparagus risotto with seared scallops and fennel remoulade. Unfortunately it seams our meal was sitting around for a while before being brought out to us because when the dish arrived the scallops were lukewarm and completely flavourless. The skin of the trout was no longer crispy and there was very little colour on the plate. On the upside, the fennel was interesting and the risotto wasn't too bad but overall, I was very unimpressed and felt rather ripped off.

T had Lamb Risotto ($17.50) cooked with rosemary and Gold Fields fetta cheese, finished with garlic yoghurt. I don't recall ever seeing lamb risotto before but it sounded interesting and looked rather tasty. There were a few whole garlic cubes which wasn't really appetizing and the serving was quite small but T enjoyed it.

The service was pretty good and the hotel was neat and well presented but overall, we had expected more from the Shamrock. Pub meals seem to be a bit hit and miss and this one was no exception; great starter, ok risotto and disappointing fish.
Perhaps next time we're in Bendigo we'll dine here again and hope for a better meal but I don't imagine we will be up that way anytime soon.