Belair Hotel

Food - Duck pie at the Belair Hotel. Picture: Supplied For Simon Wilkinson Source: AdelaideNow

The meaning of bistro, as the dictionary reaffirms, is "small" and "unpretentious" bar but this and most of its ilk in the modern gastropub is neither of those. Cavernous would be a better description of a room that is dressed in the latest designer garb of a central fireplace enclosed in glass, oversized lampshades, wooden panelling and a palette of taupe, sand, charcoal and other colours that avoid being colourful. In the lounge area, couples are getting up close and personal as they share a platter, while off to one side groups at the tall communal tables can choose from a wall of TV screens as they eat.

At both entrances, there are hugs and kisses as family and friends of wide-ranging ages arrive clutching gifts, and are shown to their places in the main dining zone. All 200 seats are soon filled. It's a place where it pays to book early.

So, this is clearly a thriving business with a winning formula that has definite appeal to everyone from whippersnappers to grandma, a feat recognised just last month when it shared the national "best bistro" award from the Australian Hotels Association.

The owners are understandably chuffed. Our experience, however, might give them reason for pause.

We have come to the Belair with another family so there are four adults and three young'uns who, once they've decided between the wraps, the pizza and the pasta on the kids menu, quickly find their way to the video screens in the play room. This gives us a chance to settle into our prime position table, next to the window at the end of the room, looking out over the rail tracks and a small outdoors setting that would be pleasant on a sunny afternoon.

Between the menu at the table and a hard-to-read specials board, the offerings encompass everything from burgers and schnitters, to pizza and pasta, to more exotic choices including components such as soba noodles, truffle butter and paratha.

We'd been given the heads-up (in a friendly way) to get our order in before another large group, so sort ourselves quickly and join the line leading to one girl and her cash register.

It's pretty efficient really, five minutes or so, and all but one item arrives as requested.

Drinks are picked up at the other side of the bar, and there's also a self-serve stack of water bottles and glasses, so waiting staff are left to ferry out the meals and sort any dramas which they seem to do with a minimum of fuss.

Their first drop includes a platter of baby squid bits, coated in a slightly heavy salt and pepper concoction, with a hedge of salad greens and potato wedges. Those crispy tentacles are more-ish and a lemon mayo has a good tang.

There's also a pizza, with a vibrant sauce of roasted tomatoes and provolone, that hasn't been cooked long enough to make the cheese golden or the crust nice and crisp. Our third option, the oyster special, arrives later, after a query, and is a sound combination with soba noodles at the base of the shell, the oyster meat and a dressing with ginger and wasabi roe.

While the oyster feels fresh and supple, it has lost all its brininess, which perhaps is how many punters prefer.

The mixed fortunes continue with our main plates. The best dish is a pork curry, its coconut-based sauce with a complex and well-balanced spiciness that's light on chilli but doesn't suffer for it.

The accompanying sambal is commendably authentic with its fishiness but the paratha has gone beyond grilled and is blackened and unappealing.

A seafood hotpot is quite generous in its selection of prawns, mussels and other bits and, while the spicy creole sauce lacks the nuances of the curry, no one is complaining.

The pastry on my duck pie is another matter. I can't remember any worse.

Leathery to touch, the dark brown top actually peels from the rest like a sheet of plastic and what's left is bland and mealy, with not a hint of buttery goodness.

It's a shame because the filling in the dish beneath is full of tender duck meat, whole mushrooms and other veg, and is deep flavoured and satisfying.

The kids, meanwhile, have devoured decent, healthy looking wraps before I get near them. I do get a taste of the pasta, though, a large bowl of penne with cheese melted on top. The serve is generous but the tomato sauce has clearly caught on the bottom of the pan and has a strong, acrid taste that nevertheless doesn't seem to bother the five-year-old too much.

By now, only 90 minutes since we arrived, the room is less than half full.

Even some of the larger party tables are empty.

We stick around to share an upside-down apple cake with plenty of yummy, gooey caramel and a rhubarb creme brulee with pistachio ice-cream, and are some of the last to leave, though it isn't really all that late.

It would be nice to join in the celebration of the Belair, a pub that clearly has a market for its flexible approach.

But the kitchen will need to fix a few quality issues before it wins any gongs from my crew.

HOW IT RATED:

BELAIR

HOTEL BISTRO

The food..........11/20

The staff............6/10

The drink.............2/5

The X-factor........3/5

The value...........7/10

The total

out of 50

29

Address

141 Main Rd, Blackwood;

ph 8278 8777

Food

Flexible menu of

pub favourites and modern Australian

Drink

Licensed

Hours

Lunch: Mon-Fri, noon-3pm; Sat-Sun and public holidays,

noon-9pm

Dinner: Mon-Fri,

6pm-9pm

Head chef

Daniel Lawrence

Owners

Brett Matthews

and partners

Parking

Car park and

street parking

Prices

Entrees: $8-$16

Mains: $18-$30

Desserts: $10

Snapshot:

National award-winning hotel has a broad menu that should appeal to all tastes, but some oversights in

the kitchen let the side down.