My pal who lives near the St Peters Station tells me that the pubs have some of the best food in the area. It’s the quiet end of Newtown and King Street is dotted with restaurants, but it is true: it’s hard to know where to go. This pub, the Botany View Hotel, is apparently famous for letting dogs have the run of the top floor, and I have to say I loved the neighbourhood vibe. A young couple managed to have a nice night out with a toddler, there were some folks who might have been taking a break from gambling, there was a guy at the bar with a full mullet. It was fantastic.
The food’s not half-bad either, and the drinks, bought from the pub, are nice and cheap (compared to the CBD or Surry Hills). My pal had a salad with tempeh (vegetarians know what this is). It was supposed to have a ginger jalapeno sauce, and it tasted a bit of ginger but of peppers not at all. But it was tasty and nicely presented.
I had a seafood linguine, and while the pasta was regular dry pasta, cooked al dente, and the sauce was not thick enough and sort of milky, they’d somehow imparted on the seafood, which was perfectly cooked, this fantastic chargrilled flavour which elevated the dish to really quite good.
I’ve give this place a solid four stars, but since I notice there are two mean ones, I’m going to give it a five as a protest (against the ones).