Mulga Room, Meekatharra: dinner first, then the casino room
The kitchen at Mulga Room opens its doors on High Street in the evening with saltbush lamb, camp-oven stews, marron, damper and a pavlova that has outlasted several menus. Beyond the dining tables lies a long casino room with two roulette wheels, two blackjack tables and three poker tables, played in person on chips that carry no cash value. Reserving dinner and requesting a place at the tables are two distinct matters, and the booking form lets you ask for either or both. Nothing is played online; the house has no pokies, and guests must be 18 or over.
A table in the Murchison
“Nobody drives to Meekatharra by accident,” Simon Novak likes to say. “They come for a reason, and when they arrive they deserve a proper table.” After twenty years of feeding mine crews and station hands from a mobile kitchen, he opened this dining room in a former goldfields drapery, with its high pressed-metal ceiling, thick stone walls and a wide front verandah.
The dining room occupies the front of the building, and the casino room extends behind it. The long room is lit by low lamps and furnished with two roulette wheels, two blackjack tables and three poker tables, each in the care of a trained croupier or dealer. We are a physical venue in the plainest sense: a place to sit down, eat well and play cards with other people.
Play is conducted on house chips with no cash value, so there are no bets, no prizes and no winnings. Nothing is offered online, through an app or on this website. Guests must be 18 or over, and identification may be requested at the door as a matter of routine.
The dining room
Long tables, a considered menu and a kitchen open until eight
The long room
Seven tables for roulette, blackjack and poker
The verandah
Shade by day, two lamps by night and a place to wait
Supper cooked for people who have travelled
Trevor Rossi has cooked in mining camps, on cattle stations and in town kitchens, and he understands that a long drive deserves a hot plate at the end. His menu takes its character from the district: saltbush lamb, beef from the surrounding stations, marron from the south, and vegetables that travel well on a road train.
The kitchen makes its own stock, bakes its own damper and prepares puddings that suit a cold night in a hot country. There is a cup of billy tea for those who want one, and lemon barley water, sparkling mineral water and plunger coffee for everyone else.
Station lamb
Saltbush-fed lamb, roasted slowly with rosemary
Camp-oven stews
Cooked for hours and served with fresh damper
Puddings
Pavlova, sticky date and a lemon tart
The address and the telephone
26 High Street, Meekatharra WA 6642
+61 8 9981 2536 · reservations@mulgaroom.com
Monday to Saturday, 17:30 – 23:30; closed Sunday
Eight rules of the house
- Every guest must be 18 or over, and identification may be requested at the door.
- Chips have no cash value and may not be bought, sold, exchanged or removed.
- Nothing is wagered, and no prize of any kind is offered at any table.
- Mobile telephones are silenced and kept off the baize while a hand is in play.
- Dealers and croupiers are addressed courteously, and their rulings are final.
- Cards, chips and wheels are handled only by the person dealing.
- Guests wait for the end of a hand before commenting on it.
- Anyone who disturbs the evening may be asked to leave without discussion.
Questions about the tables
Which games are played in the casino room?
Roulette, blackjack and poker, and nothing else. Poker is dealt as Texas Hold'em and Omaha on most evenings, with Seven Card Stud and Five Card Draw on announced nights. Every game is played at a physical table with a trained dealer.
Is any previous experience required?
None at all. Wednesday is set aside for beginners, but the dealers will explain any game at any time. Guests who would prefer to watch for an evening before taking a seat are equally welcome.
What are the chips, and can they be exchanged?
The chips are house counters with no cash value. They are issued at the archway, used for the evening and returned at the end. They cannot be purchased, sold, exchanged for goods or carried out of the room.
How is a place at a table decided?
Seats are offered in the order of arrival, and a waiting list is kept at the archway when a table is full. Anyone who has reserved a place for the evening is shown to a table on arrival.
Is the room free of pokies and gaming machines?
Yes, entirely. There are no pokies, no gaming machines and no screens of any kind. The room contains tables, chairs, lamps and people, and the only mechanical device is the roulette wheel.
How long does an evening at the tables last?
That is entirely for the guest to decide. Many people dine and play for two hours, while regulars often stay until the house closes at half past eleven. Nobody is hurried, and nobody is obliged to stay.
A look inside
The long casino room
The casino room is reached through a wide archway at the back of the dining room. It is a quiet, deliberate space: deep green baize, brass lamps hung at the same height, and a floor of broad boards that has been polished by a century of boots. The two roulette wheels stand at the far end, the blackjack tables occupy the middle, and the three poker tables are arranged nearest the archway.
Poker is dealt in four forms: Texas Hold'em and Omaha as the regular offering, with Seven Card Stud and Five Card Draw on announced evenings. Roulette and blackjack are open to every guest, whether or not they have dined. Chips are issued at the archway and returned there at the end of the evening.
Roulette
Two wheels, each with its own croupier
Blackjack
Two tables with a dealer who explains each step
Poker
Three tables of Hold'em, Omaha, Stud and Draw
Two lamps, one line, one door
Visitors to the goldfields once steered by lamps. Our verandah lights are set the same way, so that you can find us from High Street.
- Sight the lampstwo verandah lamps, one above the other
- Hold the linekeep them stacked and follow High Street
- Pass the markthe painted kerb outside the front step
- Come alongsidepark on the street, then walk in