The Pony Club in Mount Lawley (Perth)
by Rob from Gyroscope
Back home after a few weeks of touring, last Friday night gave both Brad and I a great opportunity to catch up with some friends (Markus & Johnny) and also sample a Tapas bar I had heard a fair bit about.
The Tapas bar in question is 'The Pony Club' situated at 620 Beaufort St in Mt Lawley. The first thing you notice is The Pony Club has a really great vibe to it. There are black and white chandeliers around the place with a great mural on one feature wall. On one side is the bar and the overall feeling I get from this place classy but not pretentious. I really dug it. We grabbed a seat on a couple of chesterfields and proceeded to enjoy a few cocktails and beers whilst Ryan or friendly waiter prepared our table. To kick things off we nibbled on a few olivies and almonds. A good promising start!
I love the sharing aspect at Tapas bars and the four of us dived headlong into the menu all ordering a dish. I decided to go with the Baked fig, goats curd, Spanish ham and fig Vincotto ($15.5) Brad was happy to see some vego options and he went for the Grilled Haloumi, Pomegranate molasses, orange and spinach ($10.90) Both were really fantastic with special mention going out to the Baked Fig combo which provided an absolute knock out punch of unique flavours. Good stuff! Johnny went for the Chili Salt Squid ($15.90) and Markus the grilled half shell scallops($17.90). The squid was mouth watering tender and the Scallops whilst not my thing tasted great too. Chef Scott Maizey has done a great job incorporating some really adventurous flavour combo's.
In no great rush we decided to try a few more beers, in between ordering a few more substantial dishes. The bar had a great beer list and a I always enjoy trying a beer I've never heard of and the Morettie from Italy was top notch. Markus tried a Alhambra (Spanish Beer) which according to the man was great but at 6.5% you'd want to be making sure someone was driving you home.
The mains arrived at our table and little did we know just what a treat we were in for. Markus went for the twice cooked pork belly ($29.90) and upon completion of his meal said it may well have been the greatest meal he has ever eaten. Its a big call I know but I heard it with my own ears. Johnny went for the white rocks veal Spanish rack ($32) Its worth noting the excellent portion size and in the spirit of sharing I had the privilege of sampling it and it was fantastic too. Extremely tender with a great tomato & ximinez sauce on top.
I went for the Rabbit rellenos with pea puree and peperoacini salsa ($29.9) which didnt quite have the tenderness of the pork and the veal but was very tasty nonethless. Finally our resident vego Brad went for the Vegetable Tangine ($24.5) which by all reports was a winner too! Four great mains after four great Tapas and we were on a roll...
Some more great drink recommendations from our waitress Yasmin (who provided great service) and we ordered some desert. The Churros ($12.5) were fantastic as were the poached pears with mascapone cheese ($13.5) The perfect way to end a fantastic dinner.
3 hours after we arrived we were finally ready to leave. The ambiance and vibe of The Pony Club really encourages you to chat and hangout with friends. Its not too noisy and there were some groovy tunes played throught the night. Of course when the food is this good you're in no rush to leave either.
10 out of 10 to The Pony Club
Rob
