In Search of the Mixed Grill

It is completely and utterly naff to start with the dictionary term for the subject you’re writing about, but in the case of the mixed grill, it does bring some context.

a dish consisting of various items of grilled food, typically bacon, sausages, tomatoes, and mushrooms
Dictionary.com

When I was a kid, you couldn’t walk into a pub bistro without hearing multiple dads talking about the mixed grill. “Are you getting the mixed grill?” they’d say to each other ad nauseum. And when they got to the counter you could expect along chat about what’s on the mixed grill today.

I vividly remember seeing the words “Mixed Grill” on the hand-painted menu above the counter at the Victoria Hotel in Alberton, a place where I had many a meal in the 1990s. My order was almost always the pie and chips.

The mixed grill in all its glory, in its natural habitat.

The mixed grill was prevalent throughout Australia in the 1990s, but these days it’s very rare to see it on a pub menu. There are probably a few parts to it, the changing of our eating habits, the move toward less food wastage, and less meat in the diet. Regardless, the mixed grill holds a place in Australian culture.

Here’s where to find a mixed grill in Australia right now.