Review : Razors Bistro

Razors Bistro
Queen Victoria Hotel
167 Enmore Road,
Enmore

Bistro:

Monday-Friday Lunch: 12noon -3pm
Monday-Friday Diner: 5pm until late
Saturday: 12 noon until late evening
Sunday: 12 noon until 9pm

à la carte dining on Level one:

6pm until 10pm Friday & Saturday


Razors Edge was a restaurant that we had visited quite a few times over the years.
We had gone there for the Sunday roast, the schnitzel & the risotto...one memorable night we accidentally stumbled in on a performance by the 'Cunning Linguists'...a feminist poetry slam of sorts!
So while the food was not what you would term spectacular, it was always consistently good. The roasts were a standout as was the creme brulee.

Whilst driving down Enmore Road recently I spotted a sign for 'Razors Bistro' outside the newly re-furbed Queen Victoria Hotel, the name & location led me to one conclusion..."this must be where the boys from Razors Edge have moved to".
After then checking their website & confirming that this was indeed the case, we headed there for dinner to celebrate C1's birthday.
Their website claims, "Razors Bistro at the Queen Victoria Hotel is not your average pub bistro", with this in mind we were hoping for an above average meal.

The chalkboard menu includes:

'Light meals'....Chilled king prawns with wasabi mayonnaise; Goujons of barramundi crumbed with panko & sesame seeds with lemon sweet & sour dipping sauce & so on;
'Main meals'....Lamb shanks braised in white wine, lemon & thyme with parmesan risotto; Sirloin steak with sautéed field mushrooms, roast tomato & hand cut fries, Oven baked chicken schnitzel filled with brie served with rocket & balsamic salad & fries, plus the usual suspects of various burgers, sausages etc;
'Desserts' features the likes of Creme brulee; Cinnamon & Orange Chocolate mousse & various puddings.

C1 & I opted for the Sirloin steak with sautéed field mushrooms, roast tomato & hand cut fries. This dish was underwhelming to say the least, I have had this done much better on $10 steak night at my local pub....and I mean MUCH better. The steak was cooked medium rare as requested (so that was good), but the meat was a little on the 'toughish' side & didn't have much flavour. The smattering of mushrooms were a little chewy & had none of that gutsy 'earthiness' to them and the few handcut chips were a limp & soggy mess. An absolute letdown.

Buggles went for the Lamb shanks braised in white wine, lemon & thyme with parmesan risotto... mainly because the old Razors Edge restaurant used to do a mean risotto. The risotto here though, was very gluggy & bland with not much in the way of parmesan flavour. The shanks, while anaemic looking (thanks to white wine instead of red), were not too bad, if only mildly flavoured, they did comply when it came to 'falling off the bone'.

For dessert I predictibly chose the Creme Brulee. The Creme Brulee was a dish I remembered fondly from Razors Edge... it was lush, silky & full of rich vanilla goodness. What I sampled at Razors Bistro was a travesty; never, ever have I been presented with a dish that was so completely & utterly devoid of flavour; it literally tasted of nothing. I didn't think it was possible to entirely strip a dish of flavour, but I assure you it is.

C1 faired no better really. Her Cinnamon & Orange Chocolate mousse was at the opposite end of the spectrum, with way too much cinnamon that completely overpowered the dish, you couldn't make out any other flavours at all. The texture was a bit strange & grainy as well.

Buggles did best with her choice of Coconut & Mango pudding. The pudding was on the lighter side and it was easy to distinguish the coconut & mango components.

I am a little perplexed by Razors Bistro. If you look at their website the impression you get is that Ray & Wayne (chef & manager) from Razors Edge are running the show, yet the food would seem to tell a VERY different story.
Perhaps they are only involved with the à la carte dining room? But if that is the case this should be made clearer to patrons.  That said, we will visit the à la carte in future to see how it stacks up.

So what about the claim "Razors Bistro is not your average pub bistro"....well not entirely accurate, it is average.....very average.


Squeak