Not so long ago the Checkside Tavern was in a prime position to attract customers into its bars or dining areas. Unfortunately in 2014 football games moved away from AAMI stadium to the newly renovated Adelaide Oval. In doing so taking with it a majority of the Checkside Tavern’s match day customers.
For our international readers, Australia has its own brand of football. Australian rules football, or AFL is our national football competition consisting of 18 teams from around the country. A few years back AAMI stadium at West Lakes was the main football stadium. South Australia’s two national teams, the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power shared the ground each week to play their games throughout the AFL season. Sadly, all the AFL games are gone, but AAMI stadium remains the training ground for the Adelaide Crows and the Checkside Tavern still operates.
Ourworldinreview decided to head off to the Checkside Tavern recently to see how they were coping since the halcyon days of football.
The Checkside Tavern is located at Turner Drive, West Lakes and is attached to the exterior of AAMI stadium. I can still remember during game days the tavern thriving with local supporters. Those days are gone and the tavern mainly relies on the support of its local residents and West Lakes Shopping Centre customers. When arriving at the tavern you can see that the loss of football has had an effect on its popularity. Although it still has that football feel to it, with large photos of the local SANFL (South Australian State football league) teams in action. Additionally they also have a few signed guernseys framed on the walls to maintain the local football theme.
The tavern is a long thin building with function rooms, a gaming area including a horse racing outlet and of course the dining area. We noticed a steady stream of older patrons utilising the facility for a quiet evening meal and conversation. Checkside offers affordable pub fare with no frills, and all meals come with access to the all you can eat salad and vegetable bar. They also have special meal deals on certain days like;
- Tuesday – AUD$18 Steak night
- Wednesday – AUD$19 Burger and Beer
- Thursday – AUD$15 Schnitzel night
- Sunday – AUD$15 Sunday Roast
Checkside’s menu isn’t extensive but there is sufficient options for customers to select from. Vegetarian customers only have two dishes to select from, but have full access to the salad and vegetable bar.
Checkside has counter service, so once you have selected your meals you will need to line up and order. We decided to order four dishes to try. Our choices were the Grilled Barramundi, the basic chicken schnitzel with gravy, their Chicken Burger Old Fashion with the Lot and the Moroccan Encrusted Lamb Rack. Once the meals were ordered we sampled the salad and vegetable bar. It was well stocked with either fresh salad dishes or warm delicious vegetables.
The mains arrived quickly and weren’t fancy. No decorative flair here. That’s okay, because they’re just trying to be a normal pub, selling standard pub food. Quickly the chicken schnitzel with gravy was the first to arrive and the verdict was the chicken was cooked nicely and the smooth textured gravy was beautiful.
Next came the Chicken Burger Old Fashion with the Lot consisting of a seasoned chicken patty topped with bacon, egg, beetroot relish, mixed lettuce leaves, Edam cheese and tomato with a side of chips and aioli. It was a large burger, so it was awkward to attack at first. Our recommendation is to cut it into portions for easy handling.
The Moroccan Encrusted Lamb Rack was served on a bed of buttered mashed potato with mushroom scented jus. Again a basic presentation but the lamb was nicely cooked. My only fault was the buttered mashed potato was slightly lumpy.
Our final dish was the lightly seasoned grilled barramundi fillet served with chips and side salad. The fillet was nicely cooked, so no complaints all round.
Overall the Checkside Tavern is your standard pub offering no frills affordable meals. The meal presentation isn’t great, but that’s not what they are trying to be. They know they are a pub. This is probably why a lot of their customers are of the older generation, because they can get a good meal at a cheap price.
Although many people have forgotten about the Checkside Tavern, they haven’t forgotten about us. So if you are looking for a quick no fuss, no frills cheap meal, then visit the Checkside Tavern. Their friendly service with a smile is welcoming and honest.
If you are in the city the best way to get to West Lakes is by taxi or you can catch a public bus to West Lakes. Once you get there remember to tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!
Checkside Tavern Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)
Decor = 6 Atmosphere = 6 Service = 7 Price = 9 Food = 6
Overall = 7
