Restaurant owner hits back at outrage over $38 chicken schnitzel
A $38 chicken schnitzel and salad has been widely criticized by the general public and television hosts alike, but the Sydney restaurant owner is having none of it.
The refurbished Five Dock Bowling Club opened its doors last week but has already caused controversy over the price of its pub meal.
Skinny Tony’s charges $28.90 for a plain schnitzel with an $8.90 side salad, a cost that prompted Today host Karl Stefanovic to lament “That’s why Sydney has lost the plot. It’s not even good there. I’m really upset about the schnitty. How many breadcrumbs?
“That’s why we stay home and make our own food. Parmies, schnitties, $40, that’s crazy.”
Social media also blew up.
“No chance,” one woman wrote on Facebook. “I could get a kilo and a half [of chicken] for that.”
“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” another said. “You are getting conned,” added a third.
However, venue manager Pierre Moio hit back telling Yahoo News Australia that the restaurant was now a more upmarket restaurant, not a bowling club and is no longer subsidised by poker machines.
“It’s now operated and owned by a private entity as a family friendly venue.”
The restaurant which has a 90-year history kept the original name to honour its history.
However, the venue is now considering a name change.
“As restaurateurs that invest in creating venues for people to come in and enjoy, there's a certain responsibility from our point of view to ensure that we put on an experience for people,” Moio said. “But at the end of the day if there's a cost there to do that at some point, the consumer needs to realise that.”
“If we don't do that, then the farmer and the small guys are continuously going to be affected, and if we're not happy to pay those prices, then is it a slap in the face down the food chain? All along the way, there's people that are losing their livelihoods and everything else around these devastations and I think responsibility needs to be shared across the whole spectrum.”
Jonathan Jackson - 22-2-23
