Review: Meating Room, Weston

Meating Room in Weston is a spirited new venture run by a trio of well-known food and hospitality types, Robii Khalil, Hamish Walkerand Phillip Sacksady, with Brendan Sedaitis (Fish Shack and son of Canberra restaurant legend Alby Sedaitis) in the kitchen.

Nestled under the Weston Creek indoor cricket centre, in the space that used to be the Western Basement, the space has a groovy kid, graffiti art aesthetic, with milk crates as light shades. So there's lots of craft beer and Facebook chat - as is the fashion these days – but relax, these guys are pros. 

Meating Room stands out from the rather average crop of places that call themselves gastro pubs in Canberra for a couple of reasons: the food and the service. These guys want you to love their place, they clearly do, and make it pretty easy to follow suit. 

The feeling of genuine hospitality starts the minute you walk in the door. A little wedge of space is set aside for kids to play, and an older couple have set themselves up in the nicely set up outside "garage" warmed by their dog and industrial strength heating. The place feels welcoming and inclusive. 

The menu reads like many others, with burgers, ribs, sliders, steak pizza, arancini balls. Arancini balls ($10) have become the new beer battered chip, cropping up on pub menus everywhere, and often are simply deep-fried rice stuffed with cheese of pumpkin, or bolognese, and they are meant to use up the leftovers. But these balls are the real thing, the kind of fried treat you'd knock over your grandmother for. Really crisp on the outside - proper risotto flavour and creaminess inside - and simple. A generous plateful makes a great start. 

Chicken wings ($10) are nicely dusted in mild spices, plentiful, fried crisp with no trace of remaining oil, and juicy flesh inside. A dish of lemon and coconut poached chicken ($16.50) is clean and tender, a nice alternative to fried treats, the only slight issue a lack of salt, but that can be added. 

The fish burger is a highlight; a terrific piece of juicy white flesh fish, expertly fried. It spills out of a good bun, adorned with citrus aioli and lettuce. This is a great burger, and chips that come with it are the real kind, oddly shaped, properly crispy, and tasting like potato rather than cardboard. Full marks go to the beef and blue cheese burger also, a juicy flavoursome patty with caramelised onion. I could have done with a little more blue cheese, but the combination is good, and again, real chips round it out. 

Ribs ($32) are on the specials board, and should not be missed. Fall-off-the-bone tender, and dark with spicing and slow cooking, they are exactly what ribs should be - crispy on the edges with all the fat rendered away, and all the flavour that comes from a true rib dish. This is the dish of the night, and worth a trip out for on its own. 

Drinks and food are ordered at the bar, but meals are delivered by friendly and efficient staff, who ask if you are ready for mains. A good range of craft beers is available on tap and and reliable Australian wines as well as a full bar of other options, at fair prices, leave you with plenty of good value and interesting choices. 

By now we know that chef Sedaitis is a classy cook, and a magic deep-fryer, but this latter skill is, usually, little called upon at the end of the meal. Meating Room is different. Deep-fried cheesecake ($14). Three words to make even the most iron-gutted of us afraid. Quite pretty on the plate, it sports an enviably crisp crumb coating, a bit like a chickenkiev, except, well, with cheesecake inside. The creamy cheese cake (biscuit crust and all) is surprisingly unaffected by the frying process. A nice sorbet adorns it but really can't compete. 

My question is why?  Well why not and while I may not choose to eat this dish it is surprisingly good. Everyone else in my party thinks I am a terrible spoilsport as they wipe the plate clean. In the end, it is a bit of fun, executed well. 

Chocolate sundae with salted caramel ($14) comes in a martini glass, the good ice-cream topped with crispy bits of salted caramel making an elegant combination. All round, Meating Room is a terrific place to eat and hang out, a vibrant addition to the Canberra and Weston Creek eating scene.

•  
• Features - Licensed, Wheelchair access, Vegetarian friendly
• Chef(s) - Brendan Sedaitis
• Owners - Robii Khalil, Hamish Walker, Phillip Sacksady
• Cards accepted - EFTPOS, AMEX, Visa, Cash
• Opening Hours - Breakfast and lunch seven days a week; dinner Tues-Sun
• Seats - 174 inside, 62 outside 

Source: Good Food, Catriona Jackson, 4th August 2015
Originally published as: Meating Room, Weston