Gabrial Arnold

Situated at the main entrance of Mount Isa is the Overlander Hotel. When I asked a colleague if this place was worth a visit I was quickly told “not unless you want to get stabbed”, while I wasn’t stabbed on this occasion, nor the last, I did purchase a mediocre parmi despite the menu stating it would be “grilled to perfection”. The cheese and sauce were flavourful and the chicken was moist but it was a weird rubbery texture this evening, while I powered through for the sake of a review, I don’t know that I would again. I think the cheese could have been a cheesy sauce on top, however I will leave this to the next brave reviewer to confirm. The chips were slightly above average at best and soggy and unseasoned at worst, I’m not sure what happened here, to inconsistently deep fry a load of chips is pretty impressive, however there were some good ones which should be commended. I personally enjoy a coleslaw, it stays very cold throughout the meal and is a good palate cleanser between mouthfuls. But I’m not sure I want to allow this to be considered a reasonable “salad” for a parmi, please let me know in the comment section. If I am to go back to the overlander hotel i don’t think I’ll be giving this another chance. Also considering the rumours of mice in the kitchen I’m not sure why I came here to begin with. Overall a mildly above average parmi when considering the location it is offered.

At the dead centre of the Devils asshole (Mount Isa) lives the Isa Hotel. Half the pub is outdoors which is a spectacular way to spend a few hours in a cool 48° heat after a long day on the tools. Now the parmi. For $33 it comes in at one of the more expensive dinners in town and unfortunately it’s not large enough to justify this most of the time (massively inconsistent portions). However the cheese coverage is generally very good, along with the flavour of the sauce. But the soggy and hardly salted chips do let this down. You might think “maybe you went on a bad night”, but this was one of the good ones. I should also add that I did opt for the Hawaiian topper, an extra $3, not exactly justifiable with just 5 pieces of pineapple. Overall this is a slightly above parmi that is serviceable for Mount Isa, but with the option I am choosing an alternative venue to spend $30 at.

Hidden in the outback oasis of Mount Isa is the Buffs Club parmi. Which comes down to $27 with a membership card, which provides discounts for meals, drinks and pokie machines. This parmi is thick and does not lack in any categories, breading is crispy on arrival and doesn’t fall off the chicken, sauce is flavourful, chicken is tender and the cheese is melted, although it could have done with some more browning on this stint. it is my favourite in Mount Isa and can be enjoyed in the sports bar with a view of live sport on the 300 inch LED screen. The gravy is something to call home about, perfect for this gem in the dusty outback of Australia.