The best schnitzels of the Barrington Coast

Schnitzel und Bier sind für Sie gut (Schnitzels and beer are good for you).

Schnitzels und Bier

Australia has a love affair with Italy (our most popular food is pizza and pasta, the most popular beverage is cappuccino, and yes please another glass of pinot grigio and prosecco) so sometimes it feels like we’re Big Italy.

But then you see the menu at every pub across the country that reveals our Germanic roots: schnitzels and beer.

Craft beers brewed in Forster by David and Helen Black from The Coastal Brewing Company.

Firstly, something about beer

Maybe pizza, pasta, coffee and vino are your favourite Italians but it’s good to see some robust German food to accompany a refreshing German beer. Yes I know the ancient Sumerians invented beer and the Romans drank it but everyone knows the Germans perfected it. They even passed the Beer Purity Law of 1516 in Bavaria (the ancestral home of the biergarten and Oktoberfest of course) that’s still in effect today.

Read more below about our best craft beers, made with love in Forster by the Coastal Brewing Company.

And if you’re looking for biergärten der Barrington-Küste, check out our selection of Barrington Coast beer gardens here.

But back to the purpose of this story: the best schnitzels of the Barrington Coast.

The beloved schnitzel

Lovingly called schnitty across Australia (it was Macquarie Dictionary’s Aussie Word Of The Week in February 2021) and claimed by cultures across the world, the schnitzel is deemed German by its very name: Der Schnitz, a verb in the German language referring to a slice or a cut. Although elsewhere it can be pork, veal, beef or turkey, in Australia the schnitty is definitely chicken: crumbed and fried in all its glory with a side-pile of chips and salad.

Can it get any better? Why yes, in Australia it can… add a tasty topper for a few dollars more.

Tasty toppers

The most popular topping, unsurprisingly, honours our beloved Italy: the schnitzel parmagiana (topped with tomato sauce and cheese) which ranks as Number One Schnitty In The Universe. It even has its own pet name: the Parmi, Parma or Parmo (depending on your state) plus followers... are you part of the Parmi Army?

Most of the Barrington Coast eateries listed below allow you to be your own Meisterkoch, choosing your own sauce to transform your schnitzel to another level and often taking your tastebuds around the world: Parmi, pepper, Diane, garlic, mushroom, plain gravy, pepperoni, Hawaiian.

Schnitty Nights

Sometimes the schnitzel is on a burger plus there’s even a vegetarian option with a crumbed thick slice of butternut pumpkin with tomato relish, for a whole new chapter in the history of the schnitzel.

Special prices midweek are an extra incentive for a schnitzel dinner at your local eatery, so Schnitty Nights are now an Australian custom.

And as much as we love Italy, Pollo alla Parmagiana will never be the same as Schnitty Parmi.

Local beers from The Coastal Brewing Company

While we’re talking schnitzels and beer, you really can’t go past Forster’s very own brewery, the Coastal Brewing Company.

Owners Helen and David Black have been brewing craft beer delights here since 2017 and have made over 80 different types. All their beers are named after localities across the Barrington Coast and of course you’ll see German-style beers in their range: Diamond Beach Pilsner, Myall Marzen, Wallis Weizen, Wallingat Weizenboch and Submarine Kolsch.

Helen and David’s local watering hole for a schnitty is Hallidays Point Tavern, which also has their Palms Pale beer on tap, nice and icy. It’s perfect with any schnitzel, especially with a schnauzer at your feet.

Here’s a fun activity for your next beer garden gathering with family or friends: did you know you can describe your beer in more than 40 ways?