NSW Sports Club, Sydney

10 Hunter Street, Sydney
Reviewers present: Joe Blogs and Dr Smash
Time of review: Lunch

"Baverage"

On second visit to the Hunter Street venue, we are sadly disappointed. Below-average food and for a 'club', no cheap beer in sight.

Take a step off Hunter into an old office building, wait at a small lift up to your destination, and enter the world of flags, oldies, casual shirt and slacks business folk, and a small sea of high tables over looking the office buildings on the other side of the street.

We ordered up a Carlton Draught ($5.20), smalll bottle Bulmers ($6), and two "Grilled Chicken Ceasar" burgers ($14, and yes, "ceasar" spelled incorrectly). As we waited for out burgers we tried naming all the country flag hanging overhead. More casual shirts and slacks enter the establishment. No one, including us, bothers to sign the club book. Tucked away on the opposite side of the lifts is a pokie room with a handful of suckers loading up the machines. Up the back of the room, where the bar is located, are a bunch of dining table and chairs. There's a couple of televisions for sport ("sports club" after all), an ATM, and buried in the belly, the little boys and girls rooms.

Sydney Pub List have visited here before, like a few of our previous review venues, prior to launching the blog. That time around we found a table perched up against a front window and we played a game called "wave at the people in the office across the road and see if we can get people to wave back". It was a fruitful game.  On that occasion we ordered up a few burgers (beef, I think) and a schnitzel, and while not the most exciting meals in the world, they were ok. Passable.

This time around we weren't as lucky. The chicken burgers served up to us were burnt on top of the bun as well as inside. The filling couldn't overcome this simple fuck up. We were doomed from the get-go and so were they.

The chips on the plate were okay but also couldn't make up for the burger's poor form. Availability of sauce for the chips - non-existent as far as we could see. And this meal needed sauce. Average burger, average meal. Put off by the burnt bun, inside and out, bitter lettuce and slightly weird looking chicken, I couldn't finish mine. Dr Smash saw it as a challenge and struggled his way through.

Overall, a pretty dismal experience. SPL should be rating them a 1 but based on our previous, slightly more positive experience, we're going with the 1.5. Trying to give them the benefit of the doubt also and hoping this was a one off failure for them, although looks unlikely.

They have a few options on tap - VB, New, Carlton D, Tooheys Old Dark, Blonde, and Cascade Premium Light - but the prices aren't really that low for a club, member or not.

Dr Smash: "The more I think about that chicken burger experience, the less I am impressed."

Sydney Pub List rates NSW Sports Club 1.5, but only just. Don't bother to hurry there.