I’m pretty sure I’ve been to the Mansions several times when I was at uni. Each time was during a pub crawl, where I was so drunk I could vaguely recall being here. Those bitter sweet non-memories!

Feeling a bit nostalgic, I decided to check out the food here. The venue does a two parmi’s and two pints deal for $24 every Tuesday and Thursday. Being an aficionado of chicken parmi’s, it was a done deal.

Upon entering this place, the first thing I noticed was the number of $11 lunch deals they have on offer. My coworker and I were literally surrounded by uni students, just about all of them having the 300g Rump Steak deal.

The decor is a bit different from what I can remember, but as the other reviewers suggest, it’s been recently renovated. They’ve tried to make the place sleek and modern, but there’s still something not quite right.

The atmosphere is relatively relaxed, but the dimly lit lights with the 70’s love songs playing in the background make it a boganesque establishment. The service here is a bit slow, particularly during lunch times. With two bars at the venue, there was only one person behind one of the bars providing service.

My chicken parmi arrived 15 minutes after ordering and both meals arrived at the same time. The presentation of my parmi was OK, and the schnitzel itself appeared to be of a decent size.

The chicken was well cooked, the meat was tender and succulent. While the schnitzel was nicely crumbed, the chicken breast was deceptively thin. It looked like it had been flattened out with a tenderiser to make it appear larger in size.

The Napoletana sauce was a major disappointment. While the sauce was thick in consistency and had appropriate coverage over the schnitzel, it was too sweet. Somebody had mistaken this sauce for a dessert.

While other establishments like to include a slice of ham under the cheese of their parmi, the Mansions uses processed shredded ham. This is the stuff they use at el cheapo pizza joints. I didn’t mind it too much as I like a bit of variation in my chicken parmi’s now and then.

There was a sufficient amount of cheese on top of my parmi, however it wasn’t mozzarella. With each cut into the chicken, the stringiness of the cheese wasn’t there. The schnitzel could have also spent a bit longer under the grill as it wasn’t golden brown as I would expect.

The salad on my plate looked limp and the vegetables were at least a few days old. The dressing was almost nonexistent as I couldn’t really taste anything. The amount of vegetables was adequate to provide enough green in my diet.

The chips were also disappointing. Not the beer battered steak cut chips that I am used to, but more the overweight French Fries you would find at McDonald’s. The chips were warm and soggy which indicated they had been cooked at least a few hours ago and were just sitting there in the warmer. The chips were also being crushed under my lightweight schnitzel.

Sadly, you pay for what you get at this place. One of the worst Chicken Parmi’s I’ve had in Adelaide.

WHERE: 21 Pulteney St, Adelaide