The Byrneleigh

Our last venture into the "GT" was nothing to write home about, with the food and atmosphere at the Captain Stirling a bit of a let down. This time we headed to the Byrneleigh, which is just around the corner from The Cap S, but might as well be in another world. We stopped into The  Byrneleigh for a late lunch and a few Sunday arvo frothies.

The pub is quite a lot bigger than it seems from the outside, the bar area itself is a decent size and there are a fair number of tables spread across a few different areas including; a small outdoor beer garden, a restauranty type setting and a number of secluded booths, we chose to sit at one of the booths that run down the side of the pub. Full table service was provided, which was a pleasant change from some of the other pubs we'd been to lately. I can't express my disdain for those annoying buzzers that some places see as an acceptable way of serving their customers. Our waiter looked genuinely happy to be at work and was helpful at explaining a couple of things on the menu. The menu had a good range of food and drinks as far as pub menus go, with all the pub classics as well as a few uncommon offerings. I ended up ordering the chicken BLT sandwich and Matt went with the fish and chips

We only waited about fifteen minutes for our food to come out, a perfect amount of time to to sink a few 'oh no we have work tomorrow' beers. There was a decent selection of tap beers on offer, including some local craft beers  as well as some old favourites. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy trying new and interesting craft beers just as much as the next guy, but sometimes you just can't beat an ice cold VB fresh off the tap on a warm Perth day (maybe only for nostalgic purposes, but still, I think I'll always be a fan.)

Our food looked great as it came out, neatly presented on rustic looking slate 'slabs'. Just from looking at it, you could tell that this was no ordinary pub grub. It was obvious some care had been taking in plating up the food not thrown onto the plate as it was heading out the kitchen door. The chips still had their skin on and were cooked to perfection, the chicken BLT was packed full of flavour and the chicken breast was anything but dry. Matt's fish and chips were in his words: "The best Fish and Chips I've ever had". The batter was light and not too oily and had a great beery flavour.

Not only was the food and service great but the prices were fairly decent for 'upmarket pub grub'. Our meals and beers came to less than $65 which, considering the quality of the food and the friendly service, is up there with some of Perth's best value for money pubs. I thought the prices were going to be quite a bit higher given the amounts of disposable income floating around the Western Suburbs. If you're after a change from standard pub grub and sub-par service, why not swing by the Byrneleigh the next time you're in the area.