After trying the breakfast pizza at The Meating Room in Weston Creek, I couldn’t wait to head back for dinner. Mainly for the deep fried mars bar cheesecake that I keep hearing about. A friend organised dinner there one night and I was happy to tag along. I was glad that a booking had been made as the place was absolutely packed out! A mixture of diners from families celebrating birthdays (there were quite a few that night), friends gathering for food, booze and gossip, and those wanting to watch the rugby game over food, booze and gossip. A big screen at one end and televisions around the eatery helped rugby fans keep up with the score.
The dinner menu offers a large range to choose from. There are $10 tapas, Asian dishes such as laksa and sizzling prawns, pizza, burgers and meaty dishes such as steaks, lamp chops, cutlets and fish of the day. I love arancini balls and can never pass up ordering this from a menu so I was glad a friend was willing to share it with me (more room for dessert!). The arancini balls are part of the tapas menu ($10 for 5 pieces) and are made with roast pumpkin and green peas, covered in panko crumbs and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. The panko crumbed crust is brilliant and crunchy as I cut through it. The rice itself was too gluggy for my liking but I did like the soft roasted pumpkin and pea mixture. The accompanying aioli is paired wonderfully with the arancini balls..if only the rice wasn’t so soggy.
For my main, I ordered off the Specials menu when I saw the 6hr braised beef short ribs with house garden salad and thick cut chips ($32). The two ribs were massive (bigger serves than I thought) and the succulent beef easily tore away from the bone. The meaty and fatty short ribs were rich and provided great depth of pure beefy flavour. I only managed to eat one of them and shared the rest. Special mention to the side house salad – fresh crunchy vegetables like they had just been picked from the garden and lightly drizzled with olive oil and balsamic. Simple but fantastically satisfying. Tasty crunchy chips too.
Some friends ordered the fish burger with lettuce, tomato, Spanish onion, citrus aioli and chips ($16) as it was strange to find that on a pub menu. I believe the fish is covered in panko crumbs as well.
Another friend ordered the quinoa salad with lots of veggies such as fennel, peas, carrot, tomato and cucumber ($14.50) and added some chicken (extra $4). She was really pleased with the freshness of the salad and light dressing.
Now onto what I was waiting for…the deep fried mars bar cheesecake ($14) with caramel popcorn and house made raspberry sorbet. The cheesecake sits on what looks like tiny sugary crystals. One of the owners told me that this is the caramel popcorn that’s been blitzed in a blender. With popcorn desserts being done all over Canberra, they wanted to differentiate themselves from the pack. The deep fried cheesecake is crispy to cut through before revealing warm and super soft cheese cake. Crushed up mars bar chocolate and caramel chunks are mixed throughout the cheesecake providing that necessary chocolatey contrast. This was decadent from the first bite, and I knew I had made the right dessert choice! The sensation of melt in your mouth warmth in a dessert, mixed with cheesecake goodness, then the richness of a mars bar, all in one bite. It rocked my world. Special mention goes to the fresh raspberry sorbet that is made in house. It tasted unbelievably fresh and natural, with some raspberry seeds left throughout, giving the otherwise heavy dessert an injection of freshness to the palate. The blitzed caramel popcorn adds a sweet crunch to the dessert. This is everything I never knew I wanted in a deep fried cheese cake.
A friend ordered the pina colada dessert ($14) of caramelised white chocolate mudcake, coconut and pineapple gel. A very moist mudcake topped with coconut ice cream and a subtle undercurrent of pina colada. I thought this was another great dessert in terms of both taste and presentation.
Another friend ordered the chocolate mousse ($14) with raspberry sorbet and caramelised white chocolate sprinkled with peanuts. The same raspberry sorbet as the one with the deep fried cheesecake is used and you can’t go wrong with chocolate and raspberries. I didn’t rate this as highly as the other two, but then again I’m a bit biased as I prefer cakes to mousse. Still a good effort to combine smooth sweet chocolate, crunchy peanuts and refreshing and tangy raspberry. This was thoroughly enjoyed by my friend.
Everyone at the table enjoyed dinner at The Meating Room and most of us were surprised at the amazing desserts available at this gastropub. The Meating Room is a welcome addition to the Weston Creek food scene as there isn’t anything similar to it that’s open late every night of the week. Advantages are that it is family friendly (there’s a dedicated kids room) with enough space around tables to fit a pram, plenty to choose from the menu (including a kids menu) and prices are typical for most pubs. A chicken parma will set you back $18.50 and a sirloin steak is $30. The six pizzas on the menu come in two sizes $12-$16 for a small and $20-26 for a large.
I like the fact that the owners want to set themselves apart from the rest by introducing different items such as the beef and blue cheese burger, and butterflied grilled chicken that comes served with various dipping sauces; and techniques such as the blitzed caramel popcorn (to set themselves apart from the Eightysix signature caramel popcorn sundae). The Meating Room has its own herb garden and use fresh produce which they source as locally as possible. Most things are also made in house such as the sorbet and the mousse.
Please note that at this stage, steaks and pizzas are only being offered during the dinner service just until the kitchen staff find their feet. The lunch menu is limited so I recommend going for dinner. Remember to make a booking.
The Meating Room is open seven days a week at 45 Liardet Street at the Weston Creek shops. See my previous post of The Meating Room for more info and photos of the interior. Check out The Meating Room menu online.
Foodgasm 8.5/10
Value for money 7.5/10
Service 7/10
FPJ score 23/30
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