The Horse & Trap's tagline is that they are a "stable of social relaxing". When we visited on a busy Friday evening, this was certainly the case. It was pretty packed, with after-work suits, girls pre-loading for town, and an intriguing mix of middle-aged suburbanites.
The 100 year old building that the bar is housed in has a lovely feel to it; spread across 3 floors with plenty of private function rooms and outdoor areas, this venue can hold a crowd. As a Monteith's bar, your tap selection also includes their range of ciders which makes for a refreshing summer tipple.
We were planning to just grab a drink or two, but looked over the menu & decided to stay. 1 of the 2 man-sized appetites I was dining with had a hankering for a burger, and the Horse & Trap Burger was calling his name. Served with pepper relish, battered onion rings & fries for $20, this was a man-sized burger. It even had the Kiwi touch with large slices of beetroot adorning the filling. The pattie appeared to be homemade, which is a big thumbs up for a busy pub kitchen. The chips were well cooked & seasoned, onion rings crispy & the relish was tasty. The only minor complaint was that the burger had been zealously seasoned - a touch too much cumin & coriander overpowered the other flavours. Otherwise the burger craving was well sated, and the request for extra aioli was happily met.
Our other dishes included the Pulled Pork Quesadilla with black beans, cheese, guacamole & salsa ($18). Again this was heartily-sized for a quesadilla. The filling was tasty, but the guacamole was more like pureed avocado as you can see from the photo. It was a little too smooth & runny to qualify as guacamole.
The last dish of the 3 was the Open Steak Sandwich with caramelised onion, gravy & fries ($19). Often times you'll get served a rubbery minute steak or flaccid schnitzel in a steak sandwich, so I was pleasantly surprised to have a decent cut of steak, cooked medium-rare. The gravy & onions complemented it very well; all-in-all, pretty damn good pub grub.
It's not the cheapest night out at the pub, but the food shouldn't disappoint. Maybe that's why the mostly middle-aged clientele are proud to call this their local. read more