The Rainbow Hotel

You can plan meticulously for a great lunch and yet some of the best happen serendipitously.  Take our lunch at the Rainbow Hotel a few weeks back.  Our plans had revolved around going to the Fitzroy Market.  I had only been to the Rainbox once before many years ago in the evening.  Yet I knew it was close and worth a try.  It was just the spot for a convivial and relaxing afternoon.

The Rainbow Hotel is in a small side street off Brunswick Street.  We sat in the beer garden and enjoy the spring sunshine.  Having two young children meant that we appreciated the bench seats and the space for them to run around.  It is pleasing to feel a sense of space generally around Fitzroy, and the beer garden certainly has this, despite the modern flats opposite.

Originally we decided to just go for a drink.  Soda lime and bitters for me.  Then we had a look at the menu and before we knew it, a delicious lunch was spread before us.  I was busy trying to keep an eye on Sylvia and didn't spend much time looking for myself.  Corn croquettes were at the top of the list and vegetarian and not the usual fare.  That would do.  They were excellent.  Crisp on the outside and melting with gooey (mozzerella?) cheese on the inside as well and corn.  The sauce was a bit spicy for me but others enjoyed it.

For Sylvia we chose chips.  I loved the modern presentation of all the food.  The chips came in a piece of greaseproof paper in a bucket.  Hot and crisp, they were very popular among our group.  As well as the chips, we ordered what the menu describes as "Victorian cheese board w house made crackers & stout glazed muscatels".  I enjoyed it but don't remember the cheese terribly well.  I remember the apple slices being refreshing and my mum raving about the muscatels.

Everyone had a great time.  You can see some of the beads purchased at the Fitzroy Market which the kids loved playing with, as well as Sylvia's new dolly.  We were also entertained by a dog that I think we called twitch.  The owner seemed to work at the pub and asked if the dog was bothering us.  He wasn't.  He was just gorgeous the way he can and sat beside my dad and looked so interested in the food but so patiently waiting for an invitation to enjoy it.

It was such a different experience to my last visit.  We had first gone there years ago with vegetarian friends who raved about the burgers.  I was interested to read Cindy and Michael's account of their recent experience of the burgers with portobello mushrooms for burgers.

I wish I could remember the burgers we had in more detail (before blogging of course).  They weren't mushrooms but they were huge and messy and I think they were in turkish bread.  The interior of the pub was dark and full of poky corners where you could go for some privacy.  After two very different but both very satisfying visits, I am looking forward with interest to my next visit to the Rainbow.

The Rainbow Hotel
27 St David Street Fitzroy
03 9419 4193
www.therainbow.com.au