Nicholson's Bar and Grill, Perth, Australia

You know a place is worth trying when you get three independent recommendations from friends on how good it is. I've not even heard of this place in all my years of living in Perth, I guess it's a pretty well-kept secret but I was pretty impressed on my first visit with their fare, generous serves and wide variety of beers on tap.

The bruschetta here had a lot more in it compared to the one at Zanotti (very good in her own right as well). Served on a large slice of crispy bread, a generous amount of fetta cheese, fresh tomatoes, semi-sundried tomatoes and black olives was stacked on it before a tasty olive oil dressing was drizzled. There was even salad on the side, which I thought was pretty amusing since bruschetta is almost like a salad to me.

This photo does not do justice to the magnitude of this bowl (basin?) in which the chili mussels were served in.

The huge bowl was necessary because the mussels in it were huge as.
Fresh, plump and succulent mussels bathed in a sea of tomato-white wine broth. This was definitely one of the better chili mussels I've had in a while.

Then came the entree of grilled chicken and mushroom carbonara. Creamy white sauce with al dante fettucini. The serve was decent enough for this to be a main (come to think of it, I think people do order this as a main).

The chicken parmigiana sits on top a mountain of their signature beer battered chips.

I don't know where they source their chickens from but this has to be one of the thickest slabs of chicken breast I've ever seen. Thankfully, it wasn't tough at all. Tender chicken breast topped with bacon, tomato gravy and lots of melted cheese. This is highly recommended for first timers at Nic's.

The fisherman's catch is essentially a plate stacked high with various tasty grilled morsels from the sea, topped with a creamy white sauce and roasted almond slivers. Not too shabby an alternative for those who shy away from real meat.

The fried shrimp platter was decent but other than that, rather unremarkable. Fried shrimp and chips was the description and that's exactly what we got.

Now, this is what I call a slab of ribs. This rainbow of meat above a bed of smooth mash was indeed what the doctor ordered. Smoked to tender perfection and accompanied with a tangy hickory barbecue sauce, this was definitely good rib.

Rump steak with bacon served with a huge halved beef tomato.

Although the cow was very slightly overdone, it was still tender enough for a comfortable bite. The creamy garlic sauce helped accentuate the beefy overtones.

The seafood platter is essentially the fried version of the fisherman's catch with a little bowl of those chili mussels on the side. Although this was ordered as a main it works just as well as a starting appetizer for more than one.

My ideal steakwich is one where a slice of bread is sandwiched between two steaks but till that is done, I'll just have to settle for this. Tender ribeye, bacon, a fried egg and smokey barbecue sauce in crisp well buttered bread; this is a sandwich I won't mind having.

We ordered the veal parmigiana on fettucini just to see how it differed from the chicken version. Well, the only difference was the veal was noticeably thinner. Go for the chicken, funny that the veal seemed to lack flavor (as a red meat) compared to the chicken. Then again, it is veal afterall.

The sticky date pudding is one way to finish off the meal. Served with whipped cream, ice-cream and heaps of caramel sauce this would be any dessert lover's dream.

Sticky date pudding is one way to finish the meal because the other way would be with their blueberry and apple crepes or heck, just do both like I did haha. Although the crepes here were a tad bit thick, there was enough blueberries, apple, whipped cream and ice-cream to ensure it wouldn't be a boring feed.

Hey wait, why is there a third dessert here? That's because this isn't a dessert but the beverage I ordered - iced chocolate. Looks almost like a sundae doesn't it? Extremely rich and milky, this will be a fun alternative for the non-beer drinkers... or then again... just do both!

Of course all this food could not have been consumed by me alone but with a little help from my friends.

"Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high (on food of course) with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends "

D