Monday 23 July 2012

A Return to "The Pier" + A Weekend of Sport


I would never bother watching the golf but I laughed when I listened to the commentary about Adam Scott blowing his chance to win the latest competition. The Newcastle Knights led by the man who never smiles, Wayne Bennett, managed to beat the Kiwis in the NRL despite a strong start by the Warriors. I can only imagine Andrew Johns having a bit of a party on the sidelines.

"Disappointing" is the politically correct word that comes to mind when I think of the announcement by Cricket Australia with respect to the forthcoming summer of cricket. After we were spanked by the South Africans in Australia four years ago, I wasn't too surprised that their forthcoming tour of Australia will only be three games. A second Sri Lankan tour was also announced to follow up our impending loss which will include matches at the MCG and SCG. I can watch virtually any team play cricket but I think the Sri Lankan team is boring and have never been interested in watching them so I will not be busting down the gates of the MCG or the SCG to get a seat. It will almost be painful to watch on the television as I am fearful that I will fall asleep in my beer so I may have to retreat to the Whitsundays and work on my tan and not succumb to the frustration that is our national cricket team is.


Although I never demonised The Pier in my recent musings on this blog, I did state that I would be keen to return in the future to enjoy their soft shell tacos and also the offerings out of the tap at the bar. On Saturday, I decided to meet two others at this place as a substitute for attending the Collingwood-Hawthorn game at the MCG. A mate was flying in from Sydney and knowing that he as landing at Tullamarine at 1:20PM, I figured it would be rather dramatic for him to attend the game before the second quarter. As we are both Collingwood supporters, we toasted my decision later at The Pier in Port Melbourne as it would not have been very fun to watch the Magpies get their collective arses kicked.

Before retiring into the lounge at The Pier to (enjoy) the game, we indulged in soup, soft shell tacos and fish tacos in the restaurant. The tacos are very tasty but I do prefer the soft shell offering compared to the fish. My only criticism of this dish is that they continue to use toasted flour tortillas instead of corn ones. The dish is simple and no wacky sauces are introduced to obscure the flavour of the crab. We did not want to venture away from the "Starters" despite being quizzed multiple times if we have decided on our mains. Being quizzed incessantly about Mains is a pet hate of mine. We probably would have ultimately ordered a main (for me the duck risotto looked interesting) only because it was a late lunch, we had other dinner plans and because we also wanted to retire to their lounge to watch the Magpies lose.

Their lounge is relaxing and comfortable. A fire rages on a wall and a couple of televisions are erected for viewing sport and also silly television shows. I wasn't sure that they planned to broadcast the AFL as when we arrived Zac Efron was singing about something in what I assumed was High School Musical so I was elated to find the AFL being broadcast when I later returned to the area with a beer. Although they do not provide table service in the lounge, both the bar and the toilet are in striking distance and it is not inconvenient to hang out and watch the sport at this place. When I previously attended The Pier, I thought that it would be a good candidate for a relaxing Saturday afternoon so I was pleased that I was not disappointed.

The ramblings from my previous experience at The Pier can be found here

The Pier, Port Melbourne

The Pier
Link to review
1 Bay Street  Port Melbourne VIC 3207
(03) 9646 3990
http://www.thepier.net.au
My Rating: 12/20
Service: 3/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Quality: 3/5
Value For Money: 3/5
Comment: The lounge is quite relaxing



Twitter: @epicurean3006
e-mail: epicureanofsouthbank (at) gmail (dot) com
web: www.epicureanofsouthbank.com

At the time of this writing, 56% of the punters who reviewed The Pier on Urbanspoon liked it.

Pier on Urbanspoon

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