Brisbane Brewing Co., West End: Boundary Street’s beloved microbrewery has been a fixture of Brisbane’s best parmy lists since it opened and it’s not about to lose ground now. Guests make regular pilgrimages to Brisbane Brewing Co. to get a fix of a panko-crumbed chicken breast that’s been crowned with bechamel, Napoli sauce and leg ham, plus some garlic potatoes and salad on the side. Vegetarians are in the mix too – a house-crumbed eggplant steak gets the same treatment. Minus the ham, naturally.
The Prince Consort, Fortitude Valley: This gastropub is still relatively new in terms of its tenure in Fortitude Valley, but it’s wasted no time strapping its take on a parmy to a rocket and sending it soaring up the flavour rankings. TPC’s kitchen plates up a sizeable slab of chicken breast and adorns it with sauce, ham, cheese and a sprinkle of pickled garlic scapes and micro-herbs for a tangy twist. Creamy slaw and fries complete the trinity, which we think is best enjoyed with a tap beer or a chilled glass of rosé.
The Boundary Hotel, West End: One of the highest vote-getters is West End icon, The Boundary Hotel. Since scoring a makeover in 2019, this multi-faceted pub has upped the ante in regards to feeds. The chicken parmy here is a classic interpretation and it is accompanied by fries, cos lettuce and lemon. What’s most special is members of the Boundary can enjoy 10-per cent off all meals, which we reckon is a great excuse to sign up.
Story Bridge Hotel, Kangaroo Point: Although it boasts a plethora of kitchens that pump out an assortment of upscale and casual fare, many deem the Story Bridge Hotel’s chicken parmigiana as one of its big-ticket items. The panko-crumbed beauty can be found between the beef-and-Guinness pie and the beer-battered barra in the ‘House Favourites’ section, and comes with your choice of sides – including buttery mash and veggies!
Tingalpa Hotel, Tingalpa: Any spot that boasts an award-winning chicken schnitzel already has a head start in the parmy stakes. Tingalpa Hotel’s menu has an array of pub favourites, but only the schnitzel (and its parmigiana topper upgrade) comes with a blue ribbon. Here the famed house-made chicken breast is coated with Napoli sauce, premium leg ham and mozzarella – a simple combination, sure, but you can’t argue with the results.
The Wickham, Fortitude Valley: Though small, The Wickham’s Container Kitchen packs a punch when it comes to its menu of pub faves. The Mega Chicken Parmy in particular has received a lot of love, and it’s not hard to see why. A sizeable slab of perfectly breaded and cooked chicken is topped with the holy trinity of toppings, while a fresh garden salad and scoop of chippies ensures all bases are covered.
The Calamvale Hotel, Calamvale: When it comes to parmy parties, we say the more the merrier! The crew at The Calamvale Hotel clearly agrees, as its bistro menu has five varieties to choose from. Of the selection, we’ve got our eyes on the Godfather (chicken breast topped with bocconcini, prosciutto, tomato salsa, mozzarella and crispy fried sage) and the Clive Parma (chicken breast, ham, bacon, beef strips, salsa, mozzarella, and barbecue sauce).
Brewhouse, Woolloongabba: It should go without saying that the sibling of Brisbane Brewing Co. is no slouch in the parmy stakes either, but sometimes the point bears repeating. Brewhouse’s menu is home to a divine parmy option, which sees a breaded hens breast fried to golden perfection before a slice of shoulder ham, a hearty dollop of Napoletana sauce and melty mozzarella is applied to the top. The dish comes with fries and your choice of salad or slaw, while vegan eaters can slice a knife through a similarly sensational crumbed plant protein alternative.
The Manly Hotel, Manly: Brisbane’s bayside contingent weren’t shy when it came to voicing its collective opinion in our parmy poll – The Manly Hotel’s Sails Bistro popped up plenty. In the ‘Bistro Favourites’ section of the menu is where you’ll find the goods, with a golden-fried chicken schnitzel given the parmy treatment (Napoli sauce, leg ham and mozzarella) accompanied by crispy thick-cut chips and leafy salad.
The Pineapple Hotel, Kangaroo Point: When we put the call out for folks to tell us about primo parmies, many people pointed to The Piney. The Pineapple Hotel has a rich tradition of pub fare excellence, and naturally the parmy is the yardstick by which we judge quality. The offering here sees a hand-crumbed chicken breast lathered with Napoli sauce, bacon and mozzarella cheese, with chips and a house salad on the side. So simple, yet so satisfying.
Felons Brewing Co., Brisbane City: A cold beer, a nice view and a killer parmy – is there a better trio going? Unlikely, which is why Felons Brewing Co. has made the list. This riverside hub does a parmigiana that’s a little bit fancy, with crumbed breast topped with prosciutto instead of ham, bocconcini instead of mozzarella and rocket for a bit of green on the side. It still comes with chips though, which is very important.
Runcorn Tavern, Runcorn: While we understand there are some purists amongst you that wouldn’t dream of tampering with the traditional parmy combination, others don’t mind a bit of variety. The Runcorn has a whole section of its bistro menu dedicated to parmy variations, starting with the traditional Napoli, champagne ham and cheese option and also including the Queenslander (which adds pineapple to the mix), the Dirtie Birdie (creamy garlic prawns, bacon, fresh avocado and Hollandaise sauce) and the Hangover (a meat feast boasting chorizo, bacon, salami, pepperoni, seared beef, barbecue sauce, cheese and a drizzle of chipotle). There’s also a vegetarian-friendly option featuring a double-crumbed eggplant schnitzel.
Osbourne Hotel, Fortitude Valley: The Valley isn’t short of solid pub-feed options, but the Osbourne Hotel manages to score extra marks thanks to the quality of its parmy. The crew dress a parmesan-and-thyme-crumbed schnitzel with the necessary accoutrements then drop some simple salad and a serve of rustic fries into the mix. Keen to try? Cruise over on a Wednesday when the parmies are $15 all day long.
Milton Common, Milton: Forget wing Wednesday, at Milton Common hump day is dedicated to chicken parmigiana! From 4:00 pm, you can tuck into a crispy breast fillet with the usual toppings, plus chips, sauce and salad on the side for $15. That means you’ll have some change to put towards a schooner of craft-beer to wash it all down.
Brisbane German Club, Woolloongabba: The schnitzel’s Bavarian origins are well documented, as is Brisbane German Club’s Zum Kaiser Restaurant’s take on the crumbed chicken delight. Those dining in can savour the club’s parmigiana of the day, which offers a primo schnitty dressed in a chef’s selection of toppings and served with chips and garden salad or with mashed potato and seasonal veggies. You can’t go wrong with this choice, especially if you’ve got a stein in hand, too.
Dalgety 2.0 Public House, Teneriffe: If you like to live (and eat) large, then we’d like to introduce you to the XL chicken parmigiana at Dalgety 2.0 Public House. This plate-sized marvel is the kind of hunger-busting beauty that we’d happily skip lunch for – and it only costs $20. If you’d rather not test the limits of your stomach capacity, Dalgety 2.0 also serves a regular-sized parmy boasting tomato sugo, smoked ham, mozzarella, slaw and fries.
Archive Beer Boutique, West End: The bird is the word at storied West End boozer Archive Beer Boutique. Cop a schnitzel coated in house-made Napoli sauce, shaved ham and mozzarella for $24 at night, or pop in during the week and get it cheaper as part of Archive’s weekly lunch specials.
The Paddo Tavern, Paddington: A parmy-lover’s mecca, The Paddo likes to put a few tasty twists on the pub staple. In addition to the traditional parmy, The Paddo’s kitchen also serves a Mexican (tomato salsa, jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, corn chips and mozzarella cheese) and a Hawaiian (salsa, shaved leg ham, pineapple and mozzarella) variation.
RedBrick Hotel, Woolloongabba: This landmark pub has been in operation for more than 130 years, and while chicken parmigiana wasn’t on the menu when it opened in 1890, we’re sure the team here has had many years to perfect its interpretation on the classic dish. One thing we know for sure is that sometimes bigger is better – RedBrick’s menu offers diners the chance to upsize their schnitzel to a one-kilo monster, which can then be dressed up parmigiana style with Napoli sauce, premium leg ham and mozzarella. Got a cluckin’ big hunger? Conquer it here.
Honourable mentions: We seriously considered making this list 50 entries long. In the end, we decided that we’d keep to just the top vote-getters, but also include mention of some other standouts. The Breakfast Creek Hotel, West End Hotel, Darling & Co., Algester Sports Club, Trade Coast Hotel, The Bavarian, Everton Park Hotel, and Yavanna’s plant-based parmy all got plenty of shout-outs.
