The Boulevard is more upmarket than a pub yet more casual than a restaurant. The bonus is that the service we received on a recent Friday night was of restaurant standard. We didn’t have to leave our table at all with the waiters regularly checking if we wanted more drinks. As a party of six, this was lovely because no one was missing in action for extended periods of time fetching drinks from the bar. Thumbs up for great service.
Twice baked goat’s cheese soufflé with scallops and tomato
Pizza chicken, garlic, chilli, roast pepper and coriander
Onto the food. The menu offered nine choices of entree, eight of mains, and five different pizzas as well as a handful of salads. Two people in our party found it difficult to choose, not because the offerings all sounded amazing to them, but rather because none of them did. Both opted for pizza ($21.80) which in my opinion was a fundamental error – ordering pizza in a pub – an up market pub at that – was never going to satisfy a food-lover. As proven correct, both were underwhelmed with their pizzas, after all, it’s no wood-fired Neighborhood Pizza!
Beef carpaccio
One couple opted for serval entrees to share between them instead of going for a main, which included the special for the evening – twice cooked goat’s cheese soufflé. They also ordered salt and pepper squid ($16.60), beef carpaccio ($21.80), and ended up with the pumpkin and feta arancini on the house after an order mix up ($13.80). The arancini were crispy on the outside and filled with oozy rice, sweet from the roasted pumpkin complemented by the saltiness of the feta. Delicious! All dishes got the thumbs up from the foodie couple.
I went for the prawn spinach tomato linguine ($24.80). For pasta in a pub, and pasta with seafood, I admit, it was a risky choice on my part but I was very pleasantly surprised. It was garlicky, which I didn’t mind, but I could imagine that others might. The prawns were firm and not mushy – cooked perfectly. The pasta was aldente and I’ll go so far as to say that it was a very enjoyable satisfying meal.
Linguine with prawns, tomato, spinach, basil and garlic
Another friend had the roast chicken, pumpkin, beetroot, orange and feta and said she thoroughly enjoyed her meal. It certainly looked great on the plate.
Roast chicken with pumpkin, beetroot, orange and feta
All mains were reasonably priced, the quality of food was good, and the presentation was lovely. The pizzas looked great but fell short in the taste-stakes for the boys. Having said that, Zorba is a pizza fanatic and if it is not classic Italian style thin base, crispy with an utterly amazing tomato base sauce, he thinks it’s crap.
The wine list was long yet disappointing. Not many recognisable WA wines featured on the wine list and everything seemed expensive. House wine was $38 per bottle and most wines were upward of $50 per bottle. A bit rich, even for a nice pub.
The lounge area. Photo from The Boulevard website
The decor is lovely and the outdoor beer garden is a beautiful space. Millions of dollars were spent about 15 months ago on the upgrade to the old ‘Floreat’, and it still looks the business. Inside toward the back is the seated area designed for eating, and toward the front is comfortable lounge area.
We had a great night and were with fun friends who were all in fine chatty form. Thanks guys for a great night out!
We stayed until closing, which happened at 11pm quite abruptly and came with a side serve of attitude from the staff. It was unnecessary really and left a bitter taste in our mouths. As a result, we probably won’t rush back.
Verdict: For a reasonably priced decent pub meal with fantastic attentive service, you can’t go wrong at The Boulevard as long as you don’t have pizza and are happy drinking beer with your meal. And want to have an early night.
FACT FILE
The Boulevard Hotel
Corner The Boulevard and Howtree Place, Floreat WA
Tel: 08 9284 1199
Bookings not taking, tables given on a first come first served basis.
