The Ship Inn

Fast and effecient during peak service hours and food is beautifully presented. Our group of 25 last night was well served and we were all very happy with everything!

Some colleagues and I met for lunch at The Ship Inn last week. I went into the meal quite skeptical...my past experiences have been mediocre at best, but I was advised that they've completely revamped their menu in recent months.

Myself and two others ordered the Beef Cheeks, while others in our party ordered the Chicken Wrap, Halloumi and Pumpkin Salad, and a couple Burgers.

Much to my happy surprise, the Beef Cheeks were tender and delicious! The Beef Cheeks themselves rated a 4, but unfortunately the mashed potatoes they sat atop were absolutely chocked full of spring onions (scallions) and rated a 2. Overall, the dish rated a 3. Some creamy, buttery mashed potatoes and this dish would have been 4+.

I also ordered a large order of Chips with Gravy and Ketchup. These were really nice and were enjoyed by many. These rated 3.4-4.

The other dishes rated above average (3.5) to very good (4) according to most of my colleagues.

The Ship Inn may not be my first choice at South Bank, but it has definitely improved greatly!

*****
15 June 2016
Rated 2.5

Conveniently located between the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital and South Bank, the Ship Inn has all of the ingredients to be a great go-to gastro pub.  Unfortunately, it misses the mark for me.  I've been here four or five times over the past 18 months and have never once left thinking that the food (or dining experience) was anything better than average to slightly below average. I keep trying different dishes hoping to find one that will hit the mark, but thus far the beef cheeks, pulled pork burger, Philadelphia chicken, salads and steaks have all come up short.  Will likely try one more time...really is convenient (and much less expensive than the restaurants around the corner at South Bank).

Great for a large group, generous portions and good wine prices, the selection is a little limited but when you are with friends it's not that important. I had porterhouse with prawns. Friends had chips, vegetarian salad, nachos and rice.

One of the oldest still-standing places for a meal in Brisbane, the Ship Inn has quite the history to it once being a watering hole to the sailors (plus the vicinity to the Maritime Museum to boot) transforming overtime to something all residents are at least acutely aware of. It is a long way from being the rowdy drinking den that it was in the olden days, and now is a two-storey hotel with multiple dining options available. There are a lot of the basic staples of the usual pub-dining experience, with a few cosmetic changes - without the noise of sports or music, this i the modern version of a pub personified.

My friend had a particular hankering that day. It was a case of doing a crawl along South Bank's restaurant strip, looking at the different possibilities on display. What the main idea was for the food he desired involved having something big and substantial, also keeping in mind for price. One of the possible ideas was something along the lines of steak, or pub grub. Well, a few places were in mind that I had and it was the usual walking tour - knowing this place fairly well, going a far away from the crowds came to here. It seemed right to him, so here we are.

Getting the look of the place to a description depends on where you are. For the actual restaurant part of the whole establishment, i.e. where the two of us were eating, is bar one of the areas. This whole place is massive and can be seen from a great distance. It is an old Queenslander with two stories and a balcony that wraps around the perimeter. Being among the flowers and plants, it gives a real fresh feeling and smell to the area that other competitors nearby severely lack.

When it comes to the service here, you are also in good luck. There is not that much to extensively discuss beyond the fact that the waitstaff are laid-back, and quite friendly. One guy was always in constant motion, even when it was not so busy at that time, so if you wanted something else you had to be quick to beckon him. It definitely had that local pub feeling, and the form of service was by the counter and pay afterwards.

For the food they serve, there is a bit of this, a bit of that, more or less some usual suspects. What is guaranteed is that something exists for everyone here, and everyone who is someone should well be satiated afterwards. Start off with some basic bar snacks (or have them as sides ... there is also a sides section, but whatever is good for you), then next is a range of salads, sandwiches/burgers and plenty of big, meaty dishes - steaks, different cuts of meat, pub classics et al. A few desserts are there to sweeten up the deal. For drinks, there is the usual selection that can be expected - a range of beers, wines, sodas and whatnot.

Going to kick off the meal and the review, the order was for drinks. As per usual, the attempted order was for coffee which they did have. And the same old order of a doppio was what I got. The coffee that they use here is from Aromas. I am not as familiar with that one as some others, though I have tried it a fair bit beforehand. From what I have had, it is decent enough. I won't have much bad to say about it, however it rarely comes to mind with what a really good brew is to me. That being said, the coffee produced was good enough - strong, extracted well enough, there was a decent crema on top of it, essentially what was needed was there. At the end of the meal, I got a second one of them.

Starting off with an entree, asking my good friend what looked good he decided upon the garlic bread. This was topped with parmesan cheese, which was a fantastic touch that made it even better. The bread was hot, and had a crusty texture, the butter sauce had infused very well into the dough, plus the cheese on top of it was a bonus. It must have been something great like a baguette they used, and a few herbs to make a really good starter. This would have been fantastic with pasta.

What I ordered was the Philadelphia Chicken. Think like a kiev, it was a plump breast crumbed, then filled with a cream cheese and parsley mixture and finished with a red wine jus. On the side was potato au gratin and vegetables. It was delicious. The chicken meat was very tender, and the cream cheese oozed out like hot treacle. Resting on the bottom was a range of vegetables, such as carrots and zucchinis. These were crunchy and slightly caramelised. On the side was a generous small tub of gravy, which was rich and had a red-wine base to it. Then we get to the potatoes, and the serving size again was considerate. It was cooked really well, the potatoes tender and hot, the cheese melted into a good crust and heaps of cream and herbs mixed throughout it. What the basic consensus for this meal is is that we are onto a winner, a wholesome winner that is in the ranks of comfort food.

In all honesty, this was one quite wholesome meal, if not one that will be talked about much later down the track. Going a bit above most other pubs, it has the location and heritage going right for it. What also helps, here and in general with pubs, is the generous size of the portions, where the meals are often without pretension and just honest food. The 4.0 is a reasonable score, as it shows that this is a lot better than most places that are available, it is decent in both service and setting, along with having some sort of distinction, and the reasons already mentioned about the food.

I have eaten here a few times. Not only is the food amazing but the venue itself is very beautiful & has great vibes. The staff are friendly & every time I have been with friends there has been no complaints. Definitely a favourite place of mine to eat!!