Thursday night is burger boy and I’s “date” night, it’s the night before burger boy starts his working week so we always head out – the other week we went to check out the new bar in Maylands, Swallow. It was described to us by burger boy’s bro @gypsyciderkid as being very similar to Gerald Bar in Melbourne and he was absolutely right. It’s a tight venue, no more than 3 metre wide but it goes right out to the back. There’s 1 bar, booth seating and not an inch of space is wasted.
We were keen to have dinner but the stools that were available by the kitchen gave us very little bench space (see below, just enough space for a beer & my tiny bag):
I was absolutely starving so burger boy winged it and ordered us corn beef croquettes to share and a beef bourguignon each.
The corn beef croquettes were really tasty, the beef just fell apart in the same way my signature pull pork does and the beef was nicely balanced with the sweetness of the corn…
Just before our beef bourguignon arrived, some diners were leaving and offered us their premium table 🙂 it was very nice that they had noticed we were in desperate search for a table. Throughout our time at Swallow Bar we noticed that as new people arrived, everyone already there including ourselves would offer spare seats / invite others to join their table. Something that I don’t ever see in Perth…maybe it was the tight space, maybe it was the no booking policy but whatever it was everyone was super friendly.
Our premium table…
The burgionon beef cheeks was hearty and delicious, it was like the osso bucco dish I used to cook (since opening Crust, home cooking has been less frequent and when I do have time it’s quick easy recipes).
The beef cheeks were super tender, the meat just fell apart and the perfectly cooked vegetables soaked up all the flavours of the stew.
Swallow Bar is well worth a look, I go as far as saying it’s the friendliest bar in Perth. It’s a goer for a hearty meal, a drink or two and the company / ambience.
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