It’s that time of year again in Australia when the cricket season is winding down and the football season is starting to gain momentum. The city of Adelaide has two Australian Football League (AFL) teams, Port Adelaide Power and the Adelaide Crows. Both teams are vying for the ultimate season prize, the premiership cup. Training is well under way and the clubs are currently finishing the pre-seasons JLT series to finalise their game plans. Ourworldinreview decided to head into the Port Club to test the food they produce for their loyal supporters.

The Port Adelaide Football Club is in Alberton situated in Adelaide’s Western Suburbs. The club was founded in 1870 and has been a dominant force in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) with 36 premierships, which happens to be a SANFL record. With the club’s entry into the national competition in 1997 Port Adelaide also known by their other moniker “The Power” have had some success, winning the 2004 premiership against the Brisbane Lions and competing in the 2007 Grand Final against Geelong.

An extremely proud sporting club, upon entry you are greeted by their 2004 AFL success, the premiership cup. Directly to the left after entering is the Port Club’s store. Here supporters can buy the clubs merchandise for the upcoming season. To the right of the premiership cup is the membership counter to obtain your season or game passes. Walking further into the Port Club it opens into a major dining area to the left and the clubs bar and poker machine area to the right.

The club rooms are nicely decorated with club’s history and memorabilia on full display. So there is no doubt you are in the Port Adelaide Football Club.

The main dining area is nicely spaced and the service counter is well attended for that initial greeting and subsequent seating. The menu has a good range of dishes available at a fair price. As the hard working history of Port Adelaide being in the club’s mindset, it makes sure not to alienate its core supporters by overpricing their menu. The welcoming atmosphere and the friendly staff oozes pride in this football club.

Our main meal purchases consisted of the Cajun crusted chicken from the daily specials menu and their vegetarian lasagne. We also opted to try some of their available desserts and selected the banana nut sundae and the cookies and cream cheesecake. All food ordering is done at the main service counter and drinks are bought from the bar area. Any purchased main meals come with access to the Port Club’s well-stocked vegetable and salad bars.

As we arrived quite early during the meal service the main meals arrived in a satisfactory timeframe. The first meal to arrive was the Cajun crusted chicken. This spicy chicken is served on a bed of baby spinach and lettuce with fresh salsa and sour cream. The chicken was evenly flavoured and succulent and the combination with the sour cream and balsamic dressing made for a tasty dish.

Our next meal was the vegetarian lasagne, and it arrived as a large portion covered with cheese and a serving of chips. Unfortunately, the lasagne lacked flavour. Consisting of eggplant and zucchini layers with a thick layer of ricotta cheese, the lasagne just didn’t impress.  The eggplant and zucchini was hard to cut through and the dense layer of ricotta was too much. Ideally other  vegetables needs to be added to improve the dish or change the core vegetable groups. As a suggestion, by adding some grated carrot or layering it with some roasted butternut could give it more appeal. Additionally, if they add some herbs or chopped wilted spinach to the ricotta layer it would also change the outcome.

Once the main meals were cleared away we waited patiently for our desserts to arrive. After a little wait, with more and more patrons starting to roll into the club, the two desserts arrived. The banana nut sundae, was like any other store bought nut sundae, a serving of vanilla ice-cream covered with banana topping, a dollop of cream sprinkled with crusted nuts and a couple of wafers. Nothing to boast about, but it was sweet, tasty,  a good size and value. These nut  sundaes come in different flavours and  would be a real hit with the kids.

The cookies and cream cheesecake was once again a nice portion served with vanilla cream and strawberry compote (topping). Although, I suspect it to be supplier made to guarantee a homogenous product, it was still worthwhile.

The Port Club is full of history and tradition, and the club provides honest food at a low-cost for the club and value for its patrons. The staff and service are good and the dining area is well maintained. You’d expect the atmosphere to be buzzing during the football season, therfore bookings will be essential. Although we found the vegetarian lasagne rather plain, the Cajun crusted chicken was excellent. The Port Club’s menu offers a good range of dishes, so patrons should be able to find the right meal for them. So, pop into the Port Club during the season, have a meal and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information for the Port Club