Retreat is Right

After initially getting excited about a grungy Sunday afternoon catch-up with an old friend at the Retreat Hotel Brunswick, I realised that what we we were actually doing was having a grown-up, leisurely lunch at the Retreat Hotel Abbotsford! Just as exciting - nowhere near as cool... In fact the Retreat in Abbotsford was the pub that propped up the menfolk from TV series 'The Sullivans' - I don't think much has changed much since. This is not a bad thing. Drinks are cheap, food is well cooked, reasonably priced, and tastes like real food - you know what I mean... The atmosphere is all that was slightly lacking. We had been told to book a table for Sunday lunchtime but honestly, while we were there only one other couple ate in the restaurant section and a few people ate in the bar - that's it (and not many other people were around to make up numbers either...) which was fine for us two girls who wanted nothing more than an ununterrupted natter to while away a sleepy Sunday afternoon in Spring, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it anyone looking for action! We ate mains only - I had the slow-cooked Lamb Shanks which were great, dark as dark and falling off the bone, only complaint - the 'greens' turned out to be one Bok Choi a vegetable to which I am not particularly partial. My friend had the shiny boiled meat - sorry, I mean Corned Beef! to which I am totally impartial to the point of extreme dislike, but which she said was quite agreeable. Both of us were happy with our meals, the venue and the price. Not rushing back though, if you know what I mean...