The Pony Club
Over the years, Mt Lawley has slowly established itself as the state’s foodie Mecca with the suburb boasting a smorgasbord of eateries ranging from the top shelf to top value. One of the region’s newest gastronomic fixtures, The Pony Club (nee Infusion Noodle Bar) opened its stable doors three weeks ago after a three-ish month renovation period and word quickly got around about the inner city’s latest tapas haunt. Being tapas tragics, Marie and I were quick to experience the restaurant for ourselves.
An early Friday afternoon phone call secured us a 6.30pm (the restaurant’s opening time) booking for two on the proviso we were out of there by eight for another booking. No problemo. After a quick pit stop at that most funky of Mt Lawley haunts, Must Wine Bar, for an exorcising end-of-the-working-week drink and quick chinwag with sommelier Emma, we quickly necked our Perrier Jouet and wandered up the road to ensure we were in time for our booking. Two strokes past half past and we were there, only to be warmly welcomed by a closed gate. To cut a long story short: we thought the restaurant still hadn’t opened and it was only when other people rocked up and let themselves in through the gate that we realised it was open. It’s now about quarter to and we’re approximately 15 minutes into our dining time.
In terms of fit-out, no shortcuts were taken and the interior was nothing but class with chandelier-type light fittings and a minimal, pared-down theme running throughout the venue. In Mt Lawley, venues are labeled either as fringe or funky and The Pony Club undoubtedly belongs to the latter fraternity.
But no matter how good any place looks, to me food is the main measure of any eatery’s worth and The Pony Club’s cuisine is without doubt its forte. I’ll be honest, I was mildly pissed off about the front gate debacle but the campari and raspberry smooched oysters helped take my mind off things. The light and fluffy crispy sumac squid improved my mood by the forkful and by the time I had gotten onto the meatballs in the tomato, chilli and apple cider sauce, all had been forgiven – no mean feat for a grudge-carrier like myself. Such is the power of a good, richly-flavoured tomato sauce.
Unfortunately, the meal ended the same way as it started with more clock-bleeding as we waited patiently for the churros we ordered for dessert. Admittedly, the restaurant is only three weeks old so these sorts of hiccups are to be expected in any venue’s infancy and to our waitress’ credit, she didn’t charge us for dessert which finally arrived 25 minutes after we ordered it.
The wine list marries interesting French, Italian and Spanish drops with boutique Australian wines including esteemed names such as Kooyong and Margaret River’s own Pierro. A reserve list is also available with no wine costing more than a hunje, and cocktails, beers and other spirit-based drinks are also on offer.
With the foodie temples of Jackson’s and the aforementioned Must a few minutes down the road, The Pony Club and its owners certainly have their work cut out for them if they are to maintain the steady pour of diners walking through – and getting knocked back from (all the weekend bookings are gobbled up by the middle of the week) – its doors. In my mind, The Pony Club has all the ingredients necessary to attain grand cru status among Mt Lawley’s gastronomic faithful – once some minor teething problems get sorted, you can expect to see the restaurant’s name feature prominently in culinary winners’ circles. www.theponyclub.com.au
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