Albies (Busselton)

The Food
By far the best thing about Albies is the complimentary salad bar that comes with all mains. Unlike other places (Sizzler!) the salad bar only contains meat free options, and goes well beyond the standard green salad and coleslaw offerings. For a lunch time outing, it would undoubtedly satisfy a moderate vego eater’s hunger on its own.
We went on a Monday night after a long day of wineries and breweries. My friend had been the DD (designated drinker) which left me sober and not that hungry to begin with. I ordered the vegetarian filo for my main ($21), but Albies had at least two or three other vegetarian options on offer. After being very impressed with the salad bar as an entree, my eagerness to continue my dining experience diminished when a bland, slightly burnt, filo came out with crusty chips by its side. The relish on top was far too spicy for my liking, which is one of my biggest gripes with non-vegetarian restaurants. Too often they substitute meat for spices presumably compensating for the “lack of flavour” left after taking the meat out of a dish. I scraped the sauce off, which left the filo very dry and left me feeling very disappointed. However, the content of the filo was quite nice. So on another night, with a different sauce, I’m sure it could have been a completely different dining experience.

The Meat
My friend ordered the porterhouse steak with mushroom sauce for her main ($28). The portion was generous, the meat cooked perfectly to order and she too loved the salad bar.

Atmosphere/Service
For a Monday night, it was impressively busy with all diners in good spirits, making for an enjoyable atmosphere. Our waiter was very young and didn’t yet appear confident in her job. Nonetheless, aside from a sizable wait to pay the bill, everything else was quite good. I loved the simple colour scheme of Albies, although this success appears to be more due to laziness than any real attempt to impress. However, the layout of the restaurant had us situated in a thoroughfare of sorts with waiters buzzing backwards and forwards. This became increasingly annoying as the night progressed, but is probably unavoidable.

In general
Having only visited Albies once, I’m prepared to give it another try. However, if you’re only in town for a short period as most people are, I would pick The Vasse for a guaranteed satisfying vegetarian meal.

Food 8/10 (salad bar); 3.5/10 (main)
Value 5.5/10
Service 6/10
Atmosphere 6/10

Update (Bacongate)
I returned to Albies with my extended family for a Saturday lunch on a scorching hot day. I ordered the pesto gnocchi for my main. I’ve never been a huge fan of gnocchi but it was the only option aside from the vegetarian filo. With that in mind, it was okay but I wouldn’t order it again. The main reason for the update was a little saga my brother named “Bacongate.” There are three options listed under Vegetarian on the menu: Vegetable Filo; Pesto Gnocchi and “Salad Bar Only”. Now, as noted above, the salad bar was exceptionally good on my last visit. Importantly, it is listed under the vegetarian section. I must have missed the potato salad on my last visit, as half way through my salad bowl I found myself chewing on something particularly foreign to my tastebuds. On further inspection, I picked a reddish strip out of my salad bowl and asked my friend to tell me what it was... “Yup, that’s bacon.” I felt quite sickened at the thought that I’d just had pig flesh in my mouth for the first time in a very, very long time. Most salad bars have dishes that contain meat and I’m usually very cautious, but Albies listed the salad bar under vegetarian and had no markings next to the dishes to indicate otherwise. We spoke to the waiter who apologised and noted that she would bring our complaint to both the chef and the manager’s attention. I definitely will not be keen to return any time soon.