Cindy read about the newly renovated Carringbush Hotel on Messy Veggies before it opened and we headed down with some friends soon after they were up and running. The new folks in charge (the gang from The Old Bar) have turned it into an entirely vego pub, with a cosy and welcoming fit-out. There's a front bar, a couple of indoor dining spaces and a cute little courtyard out the back. It seems like The Carringbush is going to be mostly about the food - it didn't seem like there was any space for live music etc.
The food options are pretty diverse - fancy salads, burgers, pasta, plus a few other bits and pieces. More than half of the menu is vegan and there are heaps of gluten-free options as well. We started out on the bar snacks menu, with a bowl each of the root vegetable crisps ($7) and crispy wonton skins ($5). These both came with fancy salts - cumin salt for the wontons and rosemary salt for the root veggies - and were incredibly addictive.
We split a serve of the excellent vegan smoked potato and eggplant dumplings with a soy/lime dipping sauce ($14) and then picked out our mains.
Cindy ordered the beer-battered cauliflower with chips and tartare sauce (vegan, $18.50). This is basically fish and chips for vegos and it really hit the spot - perfectly crunchy batter and a great vegan tartare. It might be wise to pair this with one of the salads next time though - it's a lot of fried.
I wanted chips with my meal as well, so I got the falafel and hummus burger with herb salad, tomato, pickles and herb yoghurt (vegan, $21). This is a solid pub burger - it's not life-changing, but the herb salad and pickles add some nice flavours to a pretty standard assembly.
We really enjoyed the food at The Carringbush, but even more we enjoyed the vibe - it's a lovely space for a quiet Sunday afternoon meal. We sat around doing the crossword and chatting and just soaking up the relaxed atmosphere. We'll be back!
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The Carringbush Hotel
226-228 Langridge St, Abbotsford
9191 0149
bar snacks, main menu
facebook page
Accessibility: There's a small step on entry. You order and pay at a high bar. There's a mix of tables with low seating as well as bar seating. We didn't visit the toilets.
Hmmm need a trip to Abbotsford. This looks like an interesting place to visit and I like the look of the menu including a kids menu I reckon would suit us! They seem to like their cauliflower but that's good with me - your cauliflower and chips looks excellent!
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