Some friends and I headed to Knuckles restaurant in the Harmonie German Club for some German food for dinner. There was a bit of a wait at the door to sign people in / sign up for membership, but we had luckily booked a table so there were no problems there. Orders are paid for and taken at the counter upstairs (not the bar area on the ground floor).
I wasn’t in the mood for a pork knuckle, and decided to try the beef roulade ($25.50) instead after tasting one at Zierholz earlier in the year. The roulade consisted of beef fillet rolled and stuffed with carrots, bacon, and onion, served with buttered spaetzle and red cabbage with red wine sauce. It sounded amazing.
Sadly, the beef fillet was very dry, the stuffing quite bland and the spaetzle was very mild-tasting. There wasn’t enough red wine gravy to assist with the dry beef either. It’s not a meal I would try again at Knuckles.
Mr FPJ and some of our other friends had pre-ordered the pork knuckle ($29.50) that afternoon (as advised on the menu). This came served with mashed potato, red cabbage, sauerkraut, fried onions and red wine sauce. We asked for a small bowl of regular gravy (which I ended up using most of to offset the dry beef roulade). It was a big meal and J was happy to go halves with one of his mates as he couldn’t have finished it off on his own. Note he is a light weight. Everyone that ordered the pork knuckle said the crackling was the best thing. The pork itself was tender and plentiful but the mash was a little cold by the time the meal arrived. All in all, pretty good value for what you got.
My friends ordered the apple strudel which came with custard and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It looked pretty darn good!
Personally, I prefer the Zierholz pork knuckle which I found was a lot larger with more generous sides, though a bit more expensive. The no-nonsense service was quick from ordering the food and getting drinks at the bar. Although all the meals didn’t arrive together, they arrived within a short period of time. It can get loud inside depending on where you’re sitting but it’s a family friendly restaurant with a lot of space. Though I didn’t enjoy the beef roulade, I’d go back to try the schnitzel or another item on the menu. Bookings are recommended.
Foodgasm 5/10
Value for money 7/10
Service 8/10
FPJ score 20/30
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