Tuesday, August 6, 2013

The Penny Back

420 Sydney Road

Set in the old Brunswick GPO building on Sydney Road, we visited The Penny Black on a grey Sunday during winter. The transformation of the building is much more pronounced inside with a vibrant slightly grungy fit out, and a stage at the front, which ended up being slowly filled by a band assembling their kit during our meal, it certainly seemed a more strenuous way to spend a weekend afternoon! There are more tables out the back, but it seemed a little chilly for us out there. We found a table and grabbed a menu, offering share plates, 'bigger tastes' as well as pizza's, in addition there were specials up on the wall, then ordered at the bar.

The potato pizza was the first main to arrive, and picture doesn't do justice to it's size! The thin crispy base was topped with rosemary, sea salt, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, caramelised onion, spinach, sour cream and mozzarella, and despite initial predictions it all disappeared. I didn't even get to try some, so will guess that it was pretty good. The Sunday roast of two lamb shanks was also generous with two decent sized hunks of lamb served on plenty of veggies and a lake of gravy! I went for the veggie burger, which came with some classic fries was again a decent size. The pumpkin lentil pattie was just a little on the soft side, which along with the proportions, made it a challenge to eat! The burger also featured a roasted mushie, peppers, vegannaise and  rocket which combined well. The service was friendly and just a little disorganizsed, our dishes seemed to come out over about 5 minutes. The meals though were good value coming in between $12 and $17 each. Although there were quite a few diners it didn't feel busy and vibe was relaxed, and it's a good place to grab some straightforward tasty grub.
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