When Canberra and Germany meet.. and make beer and food.

As most people are aware, Adelaide is the home to fantastic micro brewed beer. From Handorf to the Barossa Valley, you are guarenteed to find some good beers. So with our move to Canberra I was worried that I would not find anything close to what I had left behind. A family friend had mentioned that Canberra does a micro brew festival around March... But that's months away! So one night, while I was at work, my wife went searching and found Zierholz. I couldn't wait to try it and even better yet, there was a restaurant attached to is so let's get to it!

Today's venue was: Zierholz (German/Australian)

Service:

Well, we got there right on the opening lunch time so we were greeted warmly. Not a lot to say about service in general though as it was so early. Two quick notes to make though. Firstly, we were a little unsure if we to order at the bar or at our tables as there was no clear indication. We ordered at the bar, yet a group that came in after us, had their order taken at the table. Not a big issue however. Secondly, I really liked that the waitress knew what she was serving alcohol-wise. I overheard explaining the beers and process to a different table and I loved that. Everyone involved in the process from chef's to servers SHOULD know what they are giving the customer.

Atmosphere:

It was difficult to find as it was in, well I would say an industrial area, but an area surrounded by big building and had no signage out one the street. You want people to be able to identify you straight away. The room itself was super basic. Simple chairs and tables and no real decor on the walls. This place has a real unique product to sell to it's clients. Make it appealing to eat/drink at. My thought it is if they were to move to somewhere not quite off the beaten track and jazzed it up a bit, add some warmth to the walls etc. you could have an amazing restaurant. A venue which would quite easily rival some of the ones back home.

Food:

Alrighty, this is where it gets good. Tania had the Crackling Roast Pork Belly served with creamy mash, braised red cabbage, gravy and apple sauce. I had the Otto Kause Burger with a chargrilled beef patty, extra sharp cheddar cheese, pickles, caramelised onion, tomato, haus (how German) made special sauce served on a gourmet bun with chips. Firstly, how amazing do both of those dishes sound. I'll start with Tania's dish. A-maze-ing. The pork belly was beautifully seasoned and moist which was the complete texture opposite to the crackle which I loved. Too often when you go to pubs or restaurants that offer crackle with the meals, you get this cold, bland piece of cardboard that you can't even separate unless you have a jackhammer. This crackle was crunchy, salty and let you wanting more. As for my burger, brilliant. I have had a lot of burgers in my time, but this is the first one in a long time that actually melted in my mouth. Too often you get a patty that has been dried out and the chefs depend on the condiments to make the dish really pop. Not this burger as the patty was cooked to perfection. Everything worked well to make a slightly unique burger and one that I would easily have again.

Dessert was a Apple Strudel with ice cream and a strawberry sauce. I felt like it could have been cooked a little more. Sometimes you want that pastry to have a slight flaky texture. Not to say I didn't like the dessert though as it was still delicious. The strawberry sauce was amazing and really rich. 

Overall:
I really, really liked this place. The food is incredible. Sure the place doesn't look the greatest, but the service was really nice and friendly which can make you completely forget about where you are sitting. They serve a Slow Roasted Pork Knuckle which I saw being taken past me and I would love to go back and try that. Plus, I didn't even talk about their beer! I think I should start a new blog just dedicated to beer because beer is delicious.

Service: 4/5
Atmosphere: 2/5
Food: 5/5

Recommendation: Go there and eat, drink and be merry. Just don't mention the war.