Schnitz, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

I've been a bit curious about the Schnitz chain.  It's definitely popular with office workers in search of lunch.  For those who are not familiar with this chain, they do a whole range of schnitzel - chicken, beef, pork, fish and veg - and it comes as a wrap, roll or salad form.


I was more intrigued when one day, I spied a colleague tucking into a takeaway box from Schnitz - there was an appetising golden schnitzel with equally tasty-looking chips.


So one lunchtime, I joined the queue.  I went for the fish and chips.  Upon opening my tuckerbox at my desk, my first impression was, is this it?  There was a lonely fillet of fish.  I'll start with the good points: I liked the nice wedge of lemon and the crumbed batter was light and not oily.  However, it could not distract the fact that the fish was obviously frozen and had been frozen for quite some time - it had that bland taste and cardboardy/chewy texture with a whiff of fishyness.  It was that unappetising that I did not finish it.

The chips were okay and while I liked them initially, I ended up not finishing all of it.  Again, I'll start with the good points: I really did like the 'diamond-cut and beer battered' chips - the shape of each chip was aesthetically pleasing.  The secret seasoning is morish, but I found it to be too salty and I suspect that there is MSG in the seasoning... the chips left an icky layer on my palate and tongue, and left me quite thirsty.

Verdict
Food - 5.5
Service - 6.5
Ambience - 7
Price - 7

Overall
I had hoped that I could include Schnitz into my roster of go-to places for a quick, reasonably priced work lunch.  However, as I ended chucking most of it away, I will not be coming back again.

Address
Schnitz
Level 2, Dining Hall
Melbourne Central Shopping Centre
Telephone: 9560 6883