The “Hotel Royal” should not be confused with the “Royal Hotel” which is another venue located on the outskirts of the city, but in a different direction. The Hotel Royal is located on Henley Beach Road in Torrensville, amongst a variety of cafes and shops. The venue is considerably large for its location, and from what I could tell, there were 3 entrances; via the front bar, the pokies area and through the rear carpark. The menu offers your typical pub fare with a few mediterranean and middle eastern influences.

For lunch, I ordered the 180 Beef and Bacon Burger. 180 represents the number of the premises. The house made beef patty didn’t use premium quality mince as I came across bits of fat that weren’t broken down properly. The meat was nicely seasoned, however, it was over cooked. The beef patty was of a nice thickness and was of the same circumference as the bun. The streaky bacon was a nice lean cut and it was fried until it was nice and crispy. The tomato and lettuce were fresh, and the house made barbecue sauce and beetroot chutney provided a nice subtle sweetness. The sweetness was contrasted by the sourness of the dill pickles, and the the combination of ingredients seemed to work well. The burger bun was nice and thick, and held all the ingredients well. Eating this burger reminded me of a glorified Whopper from Hungry Jacks. The battered chips were perfectly cooked; nice and crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside.

My friend had the Gourmet Chicken Pizza (chicken, proscuitto, sage, spinach, bocconcini cheese, napolitana sauce) which I was fortunate enough to try. The pizza was about 9 inches in diameter and based on the imperfections you could tell the base was hand made. Nice, thick chicken breast pieces were used, however they were over cooked. The ingredients on the menu appear to differ to what was actually on the pizza, as I saw the presence of cherry tomatoes and Spanish onion. The amount of toppings was acceptable and you could tell the vegetables were fresh. For me, the napolitana sauce didn’t have much of an impact, and the pizza tasted bland. It just wasn’t very good.

The staff were friendly and the service was good. Drinks arrived promptly and plates were cleared as we finished. The atmosphere was relaxed and the pricing varies from reasonable to expensive. Entrees start from $2.50 for an Oyster to the most expensive main being $36 for a 400g Porterhouse Steak. The burger set me back $19 which is a bit on the higher side considering what you get. The burger was average in size and you really needed the chips to get you over the line.

Verdict: Average food at royal prices.

WHERE: 180 Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville