pig & whistle tavern

food, glorious food.. it could have been the weather: a cold autumn day late in may. not windy, but a crispness just after noon accentuated by the moist road and heavy fog that adorned mt dandenong last saturday, as we drove up for the day from melbourne.
it could have been the thick wooden tables, the warm, rich carpet that decorate this olinda establishment that contributed to the feel this gastropub emitted. or the open fire crackling in one corner, at which my partner at i stood next to while reading their hand-written specials board containing traditional yet bold meals, such as lamb shanks cooked in port, or a traditional british christmas affair: turkey and roast veggies swimming in gravy, topped with stuffing.
but before we get to the food, let's discuss their drinks.
a nice selection of wines were offered, though what makes thisplaceshine is their selection of beers on tap, ranging from eurpoe's most recognised establishments to local micro-breweries, and a nice selection from little creatures's brewery.
i opted for a pint of german beer, which was rather stout, a great accompaniment for what was to come.
my partner decided on trying different pots from little creatures: a bright ale and a golden one. delicious in their own right.
then it was time for ordering food.
feeling rather hungry and not knowing what i would be about to experience i ordered a sourdough bread to arrive before lunch.
not long after i ordered, an enormous bread roll appeared, with a knife stabbed through its heart, and a regular selection of butter, olive oil and balsamic viniger as accompaniments.
the bread was still warm from the oven, it was crunchy on the outside and moist, warm and gooey inside.
if the meal was to end then, i would have left happy.
but shortly after my turkey (aptly introduced as "not quite christmas christmas meal") arrived.
a massive plate filled with gravy, turkey swimming therein, and more roasted vegetables that i would generally eat in a whole day, topped with delicious stuffing.
my partner decided on an irish steak pie. equally large bowl of food topped with flaky pastry hiding some of the most tender pieces of meat i have dare tasted, surrounded with fat crispy chips.

don't get me wrong. its deliciousness and charm comes not from the quality of food, presentation, or decoration of the locale. it doesn't come from its waiters, who don't wear ironed shirts and shiny shoes. it comes from its soul. it comes from knowing who they are and boldly adapting a menu to accompany their location, their demographics and clientele. it's a lovelyplacethat i'll gladly visit again. and again. and quite possibly, again.
and i'm certain their food and service will remain consistent, as will the dandenong's crisp, cold days which will demand the services the pig & whistle offer.

great little gem located up in the dandenongs have been here numerous times and never disappointed all i can say is get the pork belly it's amazing great selection of drinks and food a great little cozyplaceto visit on a cold night

one of my favourite places to eat out! would highly recommend popping into "the pig" for lunch or dinner anytime. great during winter because they have a big open fireplaceto match their rustic traditional english pub fare. enjoy with a pint of newcastle brown.

oink. i love the pig & whistle. go there quite regularly and am never disappointed. even when it looks as though there are two people working and they have a full house they still manage to be warm and friendly and are prompt with service. the food is amazing!!! i will keep going back and ill keep bring my friends. definitely aplacethat doesn't disappoint.

lovelyplacefor a pub meal! will go back again for sure if we're in the area. the serving sizes are huge too!

such friendly and accomodating service found at the pig and whistle. ordered the piggery platter, the small serving of the pork belly and the chicken and veg pot pie. all parties very happy with everything that cane out of the kitchen. tasty and with decent prices! i would def rec thisplaceto not just those driving by, but those willing to make a trip out :)

generous servings and a nice cosyplacefor a meal in winter. i had a chicken and leek pie which was delicious & my partner enjoyed his parmigiana.

cosy, welcoming pub up in the hills. generous food at reasonable prices and friendly staff. there's a front room with screen that would probably be ok for pints and the footy, but this is probably not theplacefor a big night out. the rest of theplaceis filled with tables. nice spot for down to earth pub grub.

i really enjoy this place. service is a bit better than average but i love the english family pub atmosphere. especially in winter. getting a table by the fire and the enjoying a nice cold beer and a good pie. if your after a low keyplacefor a casual catch up with a mate then this is a goodplacefor that.

thisplaceis a fair way out of the city, and we were hopeful it was worth the drive.
theplacehas a warm and welcoming feel the second you open the door. it's rustic, old, and far from modern, and we were taken with the atmosphere. the staff were great, lots of them and vey attentive.
the entrees of garlic and pesto bread were good, not amazing but good and generous serving size.
then the mains arrived. there was no visible space left on any plate, the amount of food was staggering, and the five mains were very hit and miss.
the salmon was the pick of the table, the fish and chips was bog standard fare, and the pan seared prawn linguini was the hit. off the specials board it was really flavoursome, plentiful and left a lingering taste. and then there was the piggy parmy.....no. a smashed thin deep fried chicken "breast" with an horrific sauce under circular ham taken from a don supermarket ham packet. on a bed of 3,000 thin fries this looked like a meal for henry viii but was on a parmigiana scale barely scored 2/10.
we decided to go elsewhere for dessert and coffee, but for a catch up with friends in a great setting, pick wisely as you will either love it or hate it....

biggest parma ever.
delicious food
very quietplacebut great service
we're out of a couple of items on the menu which was disappointing.
wanted to try the famous pork belly :(

i have always been a really big fan of this place. the food, the atmosphere and the service have always in my opinion been fantastic. however lately i do not have as many nice things to say about it. a few weeks ago we visited for dinner on a tuesday night. we were seated quite quickly and our drinks order was taking about 5 minutes after that which was a good start but that was about as good as it got. we were seated near the desk which would not have been a problem if not for the 3 female staff members who spent most of our time there talking very badly about the place. at one stage one of them actually commented that they were going to turn people away because she "couldn't be bothered dealing with people tonight".

now on this occasion i must say the food was still delicious but our main meals arrived not even 5 minutes after our entrees had been served which made it very difficult and very squeezy on the table. once finished it did take them a while to clear the table but i was happy to over look this as they had become reasonably busy. we asked to see a dessert menu which then took about 25 to be given to us but the dessert did certainly make up for that.
i left thinking that the service was prettt bad but the food definitely made up for that.

well after visiting again last night i can't say that anymore. once again seated quickly and drinks order taken, well we never did see those drinks even after asking twice about them. we had the same issue with the timing of the food arriving at the table but this time it was pretty horrible. the curry really had no flavour, the pasta was just noodles and meatballs, there was no sauce on it at all and the pumpkin soup which is a favorite of mine was inedible the milk and cream had gone lumpy all through the soup.
this time round i didn't have the energy to try and save it with dessert, so after arguing with the staff member about the drinks that we never got that she tried to charge us for we left. incredibly sad that aplacethat was once so delightful is now nothing more than a very average pub.

went there in the past and the tasting platter was amazing..
went there this weekend 9/01/16 and the platter was poor. their food used to be displayed on a nice wooden board with surrounding their cob bread. this time the cob came out on a small wooden board, and the rest of the platter on a plate which looked like the chef just threw everything on the plate. also less food was served from what i remembered.
when paying the bill the bloke at the counter just said oh we've just changed our menu yesterday, but what does that have to do with the way its served. 

i actually took my mates there on the basis of bragging about what a niceplaceit is to sit and eat and the way they served their food, but was very disappointed this time. will re consider going there in future.

thisplaceholds its own as a greatplaceto get a nice english pub style meal. the onion gravy is delicious. delicious comfort food but it is a little high in price.

one of the reasons i like visiting the dandenong ranges - thisplaceis great! we ordered the chicken parma, fish and chips , pork belly and lemon lime and bitters - it all tasted great.  the portions are huge and the price is okay for the quality and size of the dishes.