Pheast recently opened in Manuka replacing what was Charlie Blacks. There are specials written up outside on the bi-fold glass doors – 2 for 1 dinners on Mondays and Tuesdays as well as $10 lunch specials look like good bargains.
Located on the corner of Furneaux and Franklin Street, the fit out is pretty much identical to Charlie Blacks minus the piano. A mix of wooden high tables and stools in front of the bar with tv screens for sports-loving diners, casual tables on an elevated platform to the side, lounge style seating on the other side (a good spot for evening drinks) and outdoor seating in the front courtyard.
The menu looks like your typical pub style fare with steaks, fish and chips, chicken parma and schnitty, burgers, chips, pizza and pasta. The full sized Texas pork ribs for $42 would be good to try but I’d have to share this with someone as there is no half size option.
I started off with a soy mocha ($4) but was really disappointed with it. Weak coffee and overly milky. My friend’s flat white was similar – not enough coffee and too much milk.
We shared the hand cut chips with gravy ($9) which came on a massive plate. This was a larger portion than expected for an entree. The chips tasted superb – nicely seasoned, really crunchy on the outside with fluffiness on the inside. I didn’t think there was enough gravy in the small bowl but we didn’t end up finishing the chips anyway.
For my main, I decided on the single slow braised lamb shank with rosemary, garlic and Mediterranean vegetables ($24). All mains come with sauce (mainly for steaks) with a side of creamy mash, chips, seasonal vegetables or salad. I chose the creamy mash with my lamb shank. The large single shank was enough for me though there was quite a bit of fat to cut around. The jus was fantastic – slightly sweet with yummy caramelised onions that went perfectly with the shank. What was lacking were the Mediterranean vegetables stated in the menu. I couldn’t see any vegetables except onion and spring onion. The creamy mash came out a little cold with no seasoning so I added some salt and pepper to it.
My friend originally ordered the prawn and chorizo linguini but was provided the linguini matriciana instead. The waitress apologised for the mix up but didn’t offer to take the dish back for the correct dish. My friend didn’t want to make a fuss and just ate the linguini matriciana consisting of pepperoni, capsicum, tomato and chilli, and asked for some prawns to go with it. The dish wasn’t spectacular and only half was eaten.
I’m 50/50 on this one. Substandard coffee and pasta, a wrong order, a decent lamb shank but with vegetables missing, and yummy chips. The chips were the dish of the day as there was nothing wrong or missing! Pheast has only been open about a week and a half so there could still be teething issues. We went to pay for the bill at the bar and waited at least 15 minutes as other people were buying beers and the efpos machine took a while to work. At least we were allowed split billing.
I’m curious to see how Pheast cooks its steaks and ribs but I’d take advantage of the 2 for 1 dinners on Monday and Tuesday nights for a cheaper meal. It may be worthwhile checking out the $10 lunch specials too.
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Foodgasm 5/10
