I had not visited Crown, aka the casino formerly known as The Burswood since, well … since it was no longer The Burswood. A recent visit to Perth put me at The Crown Promenade so I had the chance to check out the area.
I have to say that I was impressed, now it actually looks and feels like a destination spot rather than a there’s-nowhere-else-open-at-3am-for-a-drink spot.
My partner and I decided to check out The Merrywell for dinner after which we rolled, full bellied and smiling, back to the hotel.
The inspiration for The Merrywell is loosely based on a kind of American diner feel, mashed up with lots of wood and dark browns, and thankfully without all the gaudy diner paraphernalia.
It was the usual beer list mystery bet when opening the menu. Will there be anything crafty or will it all be generic? Whilst it’s not a craft beer lovers delight it’s certainly got a few notables to keep you away from the bland end of the scale. Great names like White Rabbit, and Mountain Goat are there and there’s even long necks of Swan Draught.
I picked White Rabbit White Ale as my beer for the night, something soft and refreshing with lovely subtle spices and banana. Most of the dishes we selected had very bold flavours so the White Rabbit found it hard to match up with the assertive foods like BBQ Pulled Pork Quesadillas and Lollipop Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Fondue. However, it was a decent partner to the Pink Snapper Tacos, a slightly softer flavoured meal with subtle spices and White Rabbit also washed nicely over the Mini Beef Burgers.
girlplusbeer.com 
I’ve been trying to convince my beer-loving friend to try the Merrywell but he can’t get past his frustration that it’s yet another better-but-not-quite-good choice for beers. Whilst I totally agree with his frustration (White Rabbit & Mountain Goat are a good start, but do something different, y’know?), I feel like I might be able to lure him in with pulled pork quesadillas and mini burgers. Incidentally I’m loving the new White Rabbit. It tasted like death for a while – too many spice flavours, too complex for me – but it’s really light and smooth now. Definitely a good drink with food.
Yeah, I do agree about the beers but it’s a start so I guess I’d like to think that in time it will only get better (I’m a forever pint-half-full kinda gal!)
Also agree that White Rabbit White was pants for a while there. I worked at Little Creatures when White Rabbit White Ale came out and I turned my nose up at the first bottle but it’s come leaps and bounds 🙂
The food at The Merrywell is worth the visit, drag your beer-loving mate along! I’d love to know what beer/food match you do.
Thanks for reading!
That’s what I keep telling him – this is a start, it’ll get better 🙂