A minor gripe about the share platter serving sizes at Grosvenor Hotel was one of radio personality Karl Langdon's few complaints after he visited the Hay Street pub as part of his quest to uncover Perth's best pub.
But it turns out Langdon's dissatisfaction that "eight blokes" didn't get at least one piece of each food on the sharing platters might have been thwarted by fellow radio presenter, Bazil Zempilas.
![Three of the main dishes eaten by the Radio 6PR team during their lunch at The Grosvenor Hotel.](/web/20161126122236im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/x/x/x/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsxxb1.png/1480058518774.jpg)
Speaking with Radio 6PR morning presenter Gary Adshead, Langdon's weekly pub review on Thursday was done during a 6PR team lunch, allowing Adshead to offer his own take on the popular pub.
"We had the mates [share] plate to start, $44, and the hungry buoys [share] plate, $44," Langdon said.
![Bazil Zempilas (right) with Radio 6PR breakfast co-host, Steve Mills.](/web/20161126122236im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/p/l/l/i/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gsxxb1.png/1480058518774.jpg)
"Now it came with a share of crispy skin barramundi, grilled squid, smoked salmon, half shell scallops, tempura fish, lime dressing and chips.
"The problem is if you've got eight blokes, there should be enough for each person to have a piece of each of the items on the platter, so for me, whilst the food was nice, I marked it down a little bit for that.
"You would think if the waiter is taking eight main plate orders, that the share plate servings would be on par with that."
But Adshead was quick to come to the recently renovated pub's defence.
"You know who ate most of those platters don't you? Zempilas," he said.
"Did you notice how he was just into that, couldn't stop himself.
"And then when someone left and left some of their steak, he ate that too."
While the share plates may have fallen slightly short for Langdon, he had only praise for the main dishes the group enjoyed, with Adshead adding the kitchen cooked his fillet steak "to perfection".
"I had the Pad Thai," said Langdon.
"I thought it was quite good, it was $28 because I added prawns to the dish.
"I try to compare prices of menus - $24 for a steak sandwich, $28 for the chicken parmagiana - if you think about the pubs I've already reviewed this year, that's about average."
The venue itself and table service also fared well in Langdon's books, but Adshead was disappointed in the beverage prices with a pint of James Squires One Fifty Lashes costing $12.50.
During previous pub reviews, he has launched an attack on Perth pubs that charge exuberant prices for beer, claiming venues needed to realise "the boom was over".
"Ok, look, that [price] is too expensive in my book, got no doubt about it and I'll keep repeating it," Adshead said.
"But I suppose when I'm doing a review with you and the bill's being taken care of it wasn't so painful but I still reckon it's too much, I still can't understand how they come to those prices."
Langdon summed up the pub as having "good food, good service and lots of dining and seating options."
He is nearing the end of his Radio 6PR Pub of the Year 2016 search, with the finalists expected to be announced soon.
Frontrunners to take out the competition include the Ashby Bar and Bistro, The Duke Bar & Bistro, the High Wycombe Tavern, The Whistling Kite, The Kewdale Tavern, Odin Tavern, The Currambine Bar & Bistro and the Cornerstone Ale House.
The Grosvenor Hotel rating: 8.5 / 10