The Verdict: The Indooroopilly Hotel used to, notionally at least, be my local hotel albeit I confess that in the 10 years I lived in Indooroopilly I had never eaten a Chicken Parmigiana there.  After this Parma I will not be back for another one quickly. It is a shame that the side dishes of this Parma were so bad because the chicken part of it was actually pretty good.  The rules though are clear: you can’t win the “Robert” Parma without the side dishes also being good. 

Parma Pic:



Chicken: Yes it was burned on the edges in a couple of places but that aside this piece of chicken was quite good.  It was succulent, perfectly cooked and well crumbed.  It was difficult to fault but for the small bits of charcoal. 

Tomato Sauce: This Parma’s sauce was extremely good.  It covered the Parma well enough and was very tasty.  This was the best part of the dish. 

Ham: The ham on this Parma was ample, albeit it did not cover the whole of the piece of chicken.  It complemented the other parts of the chicken portion of the dish quite well. 

Cheese: The cheese was perfectly melted and was quite thick across the parts of the chicken it covered.  My only criticism is that there needed to be more of it. 

Side Dishes: This is where this Parma went right off the rails.  The chips were, frankly, almost bad enough for me to send back.  They were undercooked, undersalted and extremely underwhelming.  The salad was bland and just did not taste good.  What little dressing there was could not mask the ordinary flavour. 

On the Plate: This Parma, like many have gone before, failed to present well.  Look at the size of the plate it came on and then ponder why the chicken was placed on top of the chips.  The only reason I can think for that is that the chef was hoping the chips might cook a bit more with the chicken on top of it. How hard is it to use the whole of the plate for goodness sake? 

The Venue: The Indooroopilly Hotel is on Station Road in Indooroopilly near the Indooroopilly train station.  It has a couple of large bar areas as well as a large TAB.  This Parma was priced at about $20 which was about right given the size of the chicken portion of the dish. 

Davo (Junior Parma Reviewer) says: I looked forward all day to eating another Parma with my uncle. Unfortunately the Indooroopilly Hotel left me feeling disappointed. On a happy note, the Parma was a good size and although I liked eating it was too big for me. Unfortunately the chips were cold, there was not enough sauce and some parts of the chicken breast were burnt.  When I’m invited for another Parma in the future, I hope there are no burnt bits and the chips are not cold!

The Final Word: The side dishes to this Chicken Parmigiana were, for want of a better term, terrible.  Undercooked chips and ordinary tasting salad killed this dish for me.  I did not finish either which is about as bad a review as I can give.