The Como

Some says Como Hotel serve one of the best pub food south of the river. We were there on a Thursday night, without a reservation and was quite confident that we will get a table. We arrived at 7pm with our friends, later to find out that they were actually fully booked that night, unless we don't mind sitting out at the verandah (it was a very cold night) or at the bar. With that, we chose to dine at the bar, but we wouldn't get any service from the restaurant staff. We didn't mind as we were expecting a to go for a late night movie. So, no table service, no fancy table set up nor comfy chair and we have to order food at the bar. It was our fault entirely as we didn't make any reservation, so remember to make booking next time when you're planning for a dinner at Como Hotel.

Kangaroo loin (med-rare), with truffle oil and portobello mushroom risotto with plum chutney and pepperberry sauce ($26.90) 

Their menu shown a good mixture of cuisine influence from India to Jamaica. With not just the food from their menu on offer, they have a list of daily special for you to choose too. Fear not, this ain't your ordinary boring pub food, their menu does sound slightly interesting with things like burnt honey and lavender salmon, a boring pub food veteran will be intimidated. They also boast about the good quality produce they use such as Timber hill Pork, Grazier Steaks and Ofe Olive Oil.

Shitake and three chesse ravioli filled with braised leek, shitake mushroom, pecorino, ricotta and parmesan with semi-dried tomatoes, spinach, green onions and a lime & macadamia nut pesto sauce ($20.90) 5 prawns added ($7.50)

The portion was massive, we were competing who has the biggest meal of the night, best of all non of the dish was above $30. Due to an enormous amount of price hike in Perth these days, it's quite rare to pay that little for this kind of food

Special of the day - Braised lamb shank with mash and jus ($25.90)

Despite using good quality local produce, some fine tuning needed in terms of execution. The ravioli had too much big flavour on one plate, although it does show generosity. However, the kangaroo was cooked to perfection, it was tender right down to the throat but the risotto that comes with it didn't quite hit the mark. Braised lamb shank was tender but the outer layer looks a bit dry, as was the mash, it wasn't creamy nor fluffy enough but sure is real potato.

Timberhill 300g pork ribeye on sweet potato mash with oven roasted beetroot, buttered spinach and orange & rosemary glaze ($27.90)

On the other hand, the pork dish was the star of the night. Timberhill pork ribeye was melt-in-the-mouth and the sweet potato mash and roasted beetroot complimented well all together as a dish. It was also the most colourful dish of the night!

Pub food being pub food, we can never compare pub food with contemporary fine dining, but hey we were only paying $81.82 for all the food we had at Como Hotel after having enjoyed the discount from entertainment book. What a good bargain to cure hunger.

Food Quality: 3 outta 5
Ambience: 3 outta 5

The Como
241, Canning Highway
Como
(08) 9367 6666