I know, you must be thinking, ‘Why is he writing about a pub / hotel? There are millions of them around Sydney and Australia!’. But the fact is, the Royal Hotel offers really great food! And if you go there for lunch, they are ridiculously value for money! It is without a doubt one of my most frequented joints because my Friday pub lunches with my colleagues happened almost exclusively there (in my memory we had only skipped Royal once, and the next week we unanimously decided to go back).
What is its attraction? You may ask. Well first of all it situates at an extremely convenient location at the Randwick Junction right next to the Prince of Wales Hospital and The Spot. Now with the light rail terminus nearby, it becomes even more convenient to get to. Another aspect I liked is that it is quite family friendly at times and it has live music on Friday and Saturday from 8pm and Sundays from mid-day (although I don’t know whether that is still happening during this pandemic as I had restricted my going out at the moment mostly for essentials).
But then it is about the food that I like there. I usually go to the Royal (that’s what we local call it) for lunch. For lunch meals, as I said earlier, they are extremely value for money. I first started going there for the steak, as they made great steak, and very consistent too. No matter I wanted it for medium rare or for well done, the came out exactly how I liked it. Also, as per most places, you have different sauces to choose from, and none of them disappointed. Initially I had doubt about the black pepper sauce, as in most places, it tastes like burnt toothpaste. But at the Royal, while it has the hit of the black pepper, the sauce is still flavoursome. Also, the steak always comes with a nice salad that without failing I would finish it, and a choice of chips or mash. The other day, I found out from my colleague that you can even opt of thick chips instead of the standard thin ones, which is even more reasons to get more of those steaks.
Another favourite of mine is the beef pie. Oh my, that beef pie was so huge and juicy that every bite of it is so fulfilling! I dislike small tiny whiny pies but the Royal pie is like, as it said a royalty. It is proper in size (for me) and the edges of the pie was never burnt or too thick. Every time you made the first cut into the pie it was crispy and flaky in a way I liked it, and when the contents gushed out and mixed with the mash under it, every bite of it was heaven. For me if I order the pie, cleaning up every last drop on the plate is an order.
Of course, not everyday I want huge chunks of meat for lunch. On the days I wanted something light I would usually go for the Warm Thai Beef Salad. Thai beef salad is something I could never replicate the dressing at home, and unfortunately a lot of time whether it tastes good relies on the dressing. I have since given up trying to make Thai beef salad at home and look for a good one at a reasonable price somewhere else. There are lots of Thai restaurants around Randwick that makes a good beef salad, but then most of the time they are not very filling in size and amount of food on the plate. This problem was solved when I first saw one of my colleagues ordering the Royal Thai Beef Salad. The amount of salad and beef on that plate looked like a dream came true. When he was raving about how good it was, I decided to order it the following week. The vege was crunchy and fresh but the beef was just cooked to that tender perfection and just warm enough without turning the salad into a stir fry. In a lot of places, the beef tasted stale because it was served cold, but at the Royal, because of its decision to keep the beef tender and warm, it was a great match for me. Together with delicious dressing that is citric enough without overpowering the spices in it, it is one of the most fulfilling salad dishes one could have both in quantity and quality.
For dinner, as a person who rarely wants to fork out over $20 for a dish unless it is a special occasion, if I do dinner at the Royal, I will usually order their prawn linguine with cherry tomato and chilli. I like my prawn; I like my cherry tomato (yeah, I eat a lot of them fresh) and I like my chilli. So, this is a perfect combination if I want to have a nice sit-down dinner after a long week and on a Friday evening. Also, the live music makes the experience a lot better too.
Lunches at the Royal ranges from $12.50 to $25 (that’s for the lobster, so considering that it is not too bad at all). For me that is a reasonable and acceptable price range. It is a convenient location up the road and my colleagues like going there too. For dinner they have weeknight specials but I personally haven’t tried them because as I said, I usually go for the prawn linguine if I go there for dinner.
For me the Royal is a perfect lunching and munching place, with or without company. They have a great selection of beers on tap too, so you will not feel lack of choices to accompany your food.
The Royal locates at 2 Perouse Road, Randwick, right next door to the Prince of Wales Hospital and at the entrance to The Spot. If you want to find out more about the place, you can visit their website.
