I’ve been coming to Griffins ever since my university days. With it’s close proximity to Adelaide University, it was always a stop off point at all my pub crawls. Nowadays, the place has undergone renovations and is now more sleek and stylish, which is in line with other trendy pubs around town.

I like a place that puts a bit of effort with their food presentation, and Griffins certainly does it. Unlike Paul, I take pictures of all my food. People might look at me strangely, but I tell them I’m a food critic.

As I always do, I ordered the Chicken Parmi. My dish came out 15 minutes after ordering and all meals came out at the same time. As expected, the dish was nicely presented and my chicken was perfectly cooked. While the chicken schnitzel was large in diameter, it was slightly thinner than I had expected. The Napoletana sauce topping was a bit bland but had appropriate coverage over the chicken. The schnitzel was overloaded with mozzarella topping with stringy bits of cheese going everywhere with every bite. The amount of time the schnitzel spent under the grill was adequate as the cheese was a beautiful golden brown.

The chips were perfectly cooked and a generous amount was provided. The chips were nice and crunchy on the inside while soft and fluffy on the inside. Usually I prefer the beer battered steak cut chips, but these chips weren’t too thin and came a close second. The salad was fresh as the vegetables were crispy and crunchy. The vinaigrette dressing was a nice touch to what would have been a boring salad. I liked the way they didn’t put the salad in a separate bowl. This allowed the dressing to infuse into the chips which actually made them nicer.

The service was good and the atmosphere was relaxed. One thing that did annoy me were the people smoking in the outdoor dining area. I’m not sure what the law is regarding this, but it did dampen what otherwise would have been an enjoyable dining experience. I did think the pricing at Griffins was a bit higher than other pubs. The real eye opener was the cost of their steak which was close to $40. I remember having the same steak a few years back for only $25.

The pub does have food specials each weeknight so I would strongly recommend you take advantage of those. If you are going to eat here, I would also recommend you eat inside to avoid the passive smoke. Otherwise, it’s not a bad place for a drink, and it is close to the busy Rundle Street precinct which will give you other options for your night out.

WHERE: 38 Hindmarsh Sq, Adelaide