I have always liked going to Victor Harbor. The relaxed lifestyle with the possibility of seeing whales frolic and socialise or visiting Granite Island’s local penguin colony, has always held some amazement. Usually after exploring the conservation areas, we seem to always end up in one of the pubs for a drink and a quick meal. This trip we ended up at the Hotel Crown for lunch to see what they have on offer.
The Hotel Crown overlooks Warland Reserve and the causeway that leads out to Granite Island. From the outside it is a beautiful historic two storey building. Once you enter you find yourself in a large dining area. We end up sitting next to some glass windows that lookout into a water featured pond and check out the sizeable menu.
The Hotel Crown offer an average range of pub fare. This includes salads, burgers, schnitzels, seafood and other meat dishes. Food prices range from AUD$12.90 for a plain small schnitzel or roast to the Seafood for 2 platter for AUD$49.90. They also provide a good selection of wines with a per glass cost of AUD$4.50 – AUD$10 and bottles ranging from AUD$20 – AUD$50. Each meal comes with access to the salad bar and daily soup.
We couldn’t resist the sensational value of the Seafood for 2 platter option. It consisted of Natural Oysters, Grilled Scallops, Baked Mussels, Crisp Fried Squid, Grilled Prawns, Crumbed Salmon, Chips, Aioli and a Bottle of Morgan’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc or Shiraz – Cabernet. Exceptional value!
We help ourselves to the salad bar and tried their chicken and sweet corn soup. The salad is fresh and the options are very good, which is a positive for any vegetarians as I could find only one vegetarian main course, their AUD$17.90 Falafel Burger. It isn’t too long before our Seafood for 2 platter is brought out and from a visual inspection it looks good.
The natural oysters are a perfect start with a squeeze of lemon juice. Next is the grilled scallops, which are covered with a crumbed baked, and immediately on taste you lose the subtle flavour of the scallops as they are simply overpowered by the seasoned crumbed bake. We follow that up with the baked mussel, which again is covered with a crumbed seasoning, but this time it works, the strong flavour of the mussels isn’t drowned out by the topping.
The grilled prawns are fantastic, they hold in the moisture and are not dried out and are excellently cooked. The crumbed salmon is fine, it’s like you get in most fish and chip shops minus the litres to oil. The chips are a good size and the tartar and aioli sauces are also okay. Unfortunately the big loser of the dish is the crisp fried squid, it had a burnt oil flavour. It was like it started out as a salt and pepper squid. It was then deep fried and overcooked leaving the taste of burnt oil and seasoning. We had to leave the squid mainly untouched. My recommendation is for the Hotel Crown to reconsider their presentation options of some the the platters elements. The Morgan’s Bay Sauvignon Blanc was young but a good quaff.
The Hotel Crown is good pub, and from the amount of patrons visiting at lunchtime it is a popular one. Its location is fantastic and their dining area is large with tables dotted around the room with plenty of mobility, so wheelchair access is favourable. Like most pubs in Australia they have counter service and except most major credit cards. They are also in Adelaide’s entertainment book which offers 25% off the total bill up to AUD$35.
Overall the Hotel Crown is a friendly pub, which offers average pub fare. Honestly, we were a bit surprised by the Seafood for 2 platter, because it is exceptional value. They have plenty of things going for it, like a play room for children. Thankfully young parents can have a bit of a rest while their children entertain themselves. Another generous offer is that from Monday to Friday, children eat free for lunch and dinner. All we can say is give them a chance but don’t expect too much and if you do visit, tell them Simon for Ourworldinreview sent you!
Booking Information
The Hotel Crown is located at 2 Ocean Street, Victor Harbor.
Victor Harbor offers various affordable options for accommodation.
Hotel Crown rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)
Decor =6
Atmosphere = 6
Service =6
Price = 9
Food =6
Overall = 6.5
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