I’m sure we’ve all done it, gone out for dinner only to be underwhelmed by the options.
You look inside a place that seems to have good takeaway traffic, labelled it a “takeaway” and moved on in search of greener pastures, and perhaps a little bit of cutlery.
You might even have parked the place in your memory bank for the next occasion you want something reliable when you’re dining in.
Covid-19 has proven that there’s a very important place for takeaway, and that it can be done well by chefs who might previously have thought themselves above the concept.
Pizza Palace opened a few months ago at Browns Plains and has tables on the streetfront. There are also a few tables inside, parked just in front of the kitchen.
It has a loyal takeaway following.
But anybody who looks deeper at the expense the owners of this restaurant have gone to in order to provide a dine-in option will be pleasantly surprised.
Along one side of the restaurant there are booths, American diner style, and the tables are clean and comfortable.
Then, there’s the food. There must have been a time in history when everyone along the east coast opened a Turkish restaurant because there’s such a broad range of quality – takeaway or not – from the franchised kebab shops to some fairly well-established fine dining.
Pizza Palace is up there with the best. They’ve bought a well-designed wood-fired oven for pizza, pide and bread. They have an open kitchen, and they have a coal pit where shish are cooked to perfection.
The shish options are top shelf, and if you’re looking for a hearty meal with all the trimmings, they’re hard to pass. Charcoaled chicken or lamb, either minced or chunks, are spiced to perfection and carry through the smokey flavours of hot coals.
Sauces are homemade and salad is freshly picked.
That doesn’t mean the rest of the menu is a dud. There will be many a reluctant traveller keen to leave pizzas to the Italians, but the Turks – in this place anyway – know how to give them a run for their money.
There are two spicy options, and both have fresh chilli and jalapenos along with a smattering of capsicum and onion. The pizza is cooked so the cheese melts and the crust is crispy on the outside, soft in the centre.
It’s refreshing that the chefs here don’t kill all the goodness out of the vegetables by overcooking.
There’s pide, gozleme and burgers. But look around the restaurant and you’ll see most are here for the shish, for very good reason.
