Papi Chulo, Manly – Give me the meats

Meats and meats.

Bibs on and good to go. It was pretty obvious we weren’t from Manly.

Smoked hot waaaangs with comeback sauce. Not sure what’s in the sauce but I’d “come back” for it. Hawhaw.

Corn on the cob – we nearly spent $45 on corn! Crazy.

Mushroom croquettes – crunchy on the outside, cheesy on the inside.

Not a bad view.

Curly fries. Very curly.

Coleslaw – a very welcome side to BBQ.

I’m not a pickle person but I like how they look. Like a bouquet of pickles!

Sticky, smoky, a little blurry, fall off the bone pork ribs.

Say hello to the Papi Chulo burger.

Inside Papi.

Passionfruit and mango sorbet with the choc chip cookie in the background.

Adding to the ever growing list of Merivale restaurants, Papi Chulo has opened its first restaurant on Manly wharf. Called a smokehouse and grill, they serve a range of BBQ meats and other dishes that make it hard to order because you kind of want everything.

A group of us made the trip on the ferry for a very early dinner – 5.30pm! Senior citizen time! We had to do this because it gets BUSY and they don’t take reservations for dinner after 6. Which is kind of crazy because isn’t dinner after 6? But it worked out well because it was nice to be there while the light filled restaurant was still light filled so we could enjoy the view.

We went a little nuts on the menu because it all looked good, and I’m glad we did. Generally I get the vibe you can order almost anything here and it’s going to be good. The BBQ platter at $86 seems a little overpriced but you get a good selection of meats and once you share it between a few of you, it ends up being reasonable. The pork ribs on the platter were insanely good and I could have eaten the grilled corn on the cob with smoked cheese and lime all day. The mushroom and heidi gruyere croquettes were a hit and all reports say thumbs up to the Papi Chulo burger.

If you’re of the dessert persuasion, don’t miss the chocolate chip cookie that’s been heated up so it’s a little gooey on the inside and then dolloped with a healthy scoop of vanilla malt ice cream and butterscotch sauce. Good lord.

The decor was kind of confusing – was I in a boat house? Was I in Mexico? Was I in the deep South? However after overhearing some casual racism (“OMG there are Asian people here?!”) I was quickly reminded that I was in Manly. Good old Manly. This was also just before someone, I’d like to think out of misguided helpfulness, offered to take our (mostly Asian) group’s photo on the wharf. Sigh. Thanks, but no thanks.

Overall the food was good, our waiter was very likeable and I could see myself spending long and boozy lunches here. I’m hoping that with the opening of Papi Chulo will mean more smokehouse BBQ joints opening up around town.

Papi Chulo’s details

Address: 22-23 Manly Wharf, Manly, NSW
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: Lunch: 12:00pm – 3:00pm; Dinner: 5:30pm – 10.30pm; Reduced menu available 3:00pm – 5.30pm
Saturday: 11.30am – 10.30pm
Sunday: 11:30am – 9.00pm
Website

The post Papi Chulo, Manly – Give me the meats appeared first on Fashimi.