Treacle

I'd previously tried to visit Treacle at the Grange for dinner, only to find it booked out. This time we headed back for breakfast. Although it was really busy on the Sunday morning of our visit, we managed to grab a table on the outside terrace.

Menus were brought to our table promptly, along with a bottle of water and a couple of glasses. So far, so good. The breakfast menu is pretty comprehensive, which means you should be able to find something that takes your fancy, no matter which way your tummy is grumbling.

After checking that they had gluten free toast (which they did) I ordered the zesty avocado on sourdough with bacon, halloumi cheese and two poached eggs ($16.90). I keep meaning to order more avocado dishes for breakfast, but usually forget when it comes to the crucial moment.

When my breakfast arrived, it was a good serving - two slices of toast smothered in "zesty" avocado, layered with rashers of bacon and halloumi slices, with two poached eggs sitting on the top. There was also a decent sized pile of rocket on the side of the plate, which remained untouched. I enjoyed most of the dish - the eggs, bacon and halloumi were all cooked perfectly, but I wasn't so keen on the zesty avocado. It tasted a bit like a guacamole (which is fine) but the pieces of raw red onion in the avocado mix overpowered everything else on the plate. Towards the end I began scraping the avocado off the toast, and found it more enjoyable.

My wife ordered the ricotta pikelets with lemon curd and berry coulis ($14.90). Unfortunately these were disappointing, mainly because the pikelets didn't taste like much ricotta (if any) had made it into the mix. On top of that, $15 for three large-ish pikelets with a bit of lemon curd isn't exactly great value.

We both ordered flat whites, which I found a bit weak compared to my daily Merlo fix, but were otherwise ok.

Other breakfast options include Treacle's home-made muesli with natural yoghurt and honey ($9.90), gypsy pocket filled with double smoked ham off the bone & Swiss cheese ($14.90) and
free range eggs Benedict on organic cornbread topped with fresh hollandaise, which is served with sautéed spinach and roast tomato ($13.90), double smoked ham off the bone ($14.90) or
Treacle's homemade salmon gravlax ($14.90).

While service was friendly throughout our meal, we waited a very long time for our breakfasts to arrive at the table. It was almost an hour after we had sat down when our meals were served. In my book, that's too long to wait for a couple of breakfasts.

Overall, if the service had been better, our visit to Treacle would have been so much more enjoyable. As it was, we waited too long for the food to arrive and when it did, our breakfasts didn't blow our socks off.

Treacle is also open for lunch and dinner. The lunch menu in particular looked good, and we'll have to pop back to try it out. (Sorry there are no photos - I only realised my phone battery was dead when we sat down at the table).

What does all this mean? A wide ranging breakfast menu that should keep everyone happy, but our visit was held back by slow service.

food bling ratings
Food - Ok
Service - Poor
Value for Money - Ok
Ambience - Relaxed suburban cafe/restaurant, with a sunny outside terrace
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Ok

Treacle
Shops 2-3, 8 Days Road
The Grange 4051
P - 07 3352 4144
E - info@treaclecafe.com.au
W - http://www.treaclecafe.com.au/

The Plough Inn

I can't remember the last time I actually ate at The Plough Inn. Come to think of it, I might have never eaten there at all. At least that was until recently - I was going to see the Pixies at the Convention Centre and Southbank just happened to be a convenient spot to grab a pre-Pixies dinner and drink.

Thinking that we'd be able to eat fairly quickly, I decided to meet my fellow Pixies fan at the Plough Inn. I arrived at about 7.30pm, and there was a decent crowd outside, but I wouldn't say it was crazily busy. I grabbed a G&T at the bar and sat along the side of the pub (in between plenty of overseas tourists) with a magnificent view of a few guys setting up for the markets the next day.

Luckily I didn't have to sit there too long before we ordered dinner. The dinner menu covers salads and steaks, as well as a few other main courses such as grilled barramundi ($24), oven baked king pork cutlet ($26) and a pumpkin & feta stuffed field mushroom ($22).

I was fairly keen on devouring a steak before the concert, but baulked a bit at the prices. I'd been expecting to be able to grab some kind of steak in the $15-$20 range, so I was surprised to find the cheapest cut of beef was a Barcoo grain fed 400g T-bone at $28. Other options include a Tey's 250g eye fillet ($34), Tasmanian premium 300g rib fillet ($32) and a Rangers Valley 400g grain fed rump ($30). All steaks are served with corn on the cob, a choice of steakhouse fries or roast baby potatoes and mushroom, Diane, pepper, garlic cream sauce.

I ordered a Beef City 350g grain fed sirloin, cooked medium rare. We ordered our steaks just before 7.45pm, thinking there would be plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely steak and few cool beverages before the Pixies hit the stage just after 9pm. How wrong we turned out to be. While there was plenty of time to enjoy leisurely beverages, the steaks were another story. After chasing them up twice, the steaks were eventually ready just after 8.30pm. I thought it was a bit unusual that it took the kitchen over 45 minutes to serve two sirloin steaks with a cob of corn, chips and a small green salad.

My steak was probably a little over-cooked, but not far off medium rare. The chips were fine and the corn was ok. Unfortunately we had to gobble down our meals, so I didn't even get to touch the green salad.

For a pub at Southbank, our meals were fine. Whether or not they were good value is another issue. There are now so many pubs around Brisbane that serve steaks (and other meals) for over $30. I don't mind paying over $30 for a steak at a pub, but I expect the resulting piece of beef to be something memorable. Although both our steaks were fine, I wouldn't put them in the memorable category.

While we waited a long time for our steaks, the drinks service in the meantime was friendly and snappy, which meant that by the time the steaks finally arrived, we were both well and truly in the mood to enjoy the Pixies.

The concert itself was fantastic - I'd been waiting a long, long time to see the Pixies live, and they didn't disappoint.

food bling ratings
Food - Ok
Service - Poor
Value for Money - Ok
Ambience - Plenty of outdoor seats, but not much of a view
Vegetarian - Limited selection
Wine - Ok

The Plough Inn
Stanley Street Plaza
South Bank Parklands
South Brisbane 4101
P - 07 3844 7777
W - http://www.ploughinn.com.au/

Customs House

To be perfectly honest, Customs House isn't the first place that rolls off my tongue when I think of CBD restaurants. But recently I organised a work lunch, and we really wanted somewhere with a river view. After having a look at the menu, we ended up making a booking for Customs House.

I hadn't eaten at the restaurant at Customs House for over 5 years, so I wasn't too sure what the quality of food was going to be like. If you haven't been before, Customs House is a lovely old heritage building on the Brisbane River. The restaurant is outside, on the river side of the building, with a great view over the river and the Story Bridge.

It was a very warm day, so we were all a bit hesitant when we found out that our table was outside. But there was a gentle breeze coming off the river, and the table was in the shade, so it turned out to be quite comfortable.

We only had about an hour and a half until we had to be back at our desks (unfortunately), so an executive decision was made that we'd have a main course and dessert. That meant we all missed out on entrees like seared scallops with beetroot tart, orange & fennel marmalade and creme fraiche ($22), rabbit and porcini mushroom ravioli, green olive insalata and truffle dressing ($22) and salt & pepper prawns with green papaya salad and toasted sesame ($22).

There were eight main courses from which to choose, including the fish of the day, which our waiter explained was barramundi served on a Moreton Bay bug laksa risotto ($34). Other main courses covered veal scallopine with sand crab meat, asparagus, potato mash, dill hollandaise & light jus ($34), pork loin with coriander pesto, cous cous & butternut pumpkin coulis ($34) and spatchcock served both as a seared breast and confit maryland with soft truffle polenta and broccolini. I was considering ordering the spatchcock (as I don't eat it often) but it was such a warm, sunny day I couldn't go past the barramundi.

Considering how busy the restaurant was, we didn't have to wait long for the meals to arrive. My main course was a good sized fillet of barramundi, sitting on top of a generous serve of the laksa bug risotto. The barramundi had been cooked well - still retaining a lovely moist texture. However it was served with its skin on, which I didn't really enjoy. Usually when I come across barramundi served skin on, the skin is very crispy, which adds great contrast to the fish (as I'd enjoyed it a couple of days earlier at Jellyfish). Although this piece was on its way to crispy, it just didn't make it - it was chewy and ended up being left on the side of the plate. That was a fairly minor blip though, as the bug laksa risotto was excellent. Although my initial thoughts were that the risotto had been served with too much liquid, it worked really well with the texture of the barramundi fillet. The flavour of the risotto itself was fantastic - very fishy, but with a good tang & a bit of heat from the laksa. The risotto was also dotted with pieces of bug meat. The barramundi skin aside, I really enjoyed this dish,, which turned out to be the perfect summer lunch.

Our table also enjoyed the lamb rump with broad beans, new potato salad & watercress ($33), as well as the veal scallopine, which was plated up with a generous serve of sand crab meat (and looked delicious). We enjoyed a bottle of Brown Brothers pinot grigio, which was a good match for most of the meals on the table, and was quickly guzzled down on such a warm day.

By this stage of the afternoon it was time to decide on dessert - always an enjoyable task. A few of the desserts which really interested me were the goats cheese curd and lemon tartlet with blueberries and truffled honey ice cream; creme brulee with roasted cinnamon ice cream and cats tongue biscuit; and mango carpaccio with passionfruit syrup, lychee sorbet and crystallised ginger. All desserts were $15.

After a bit of deliberation, I ordered the creme brulee - one of my all-time favourite desserts. This one was served in a large, flat dish, which meant there was only a shallow layer of the custard. The custard was also served warm, which I found a bit unusual (although that was probably the result of the custard being served in a shallow dish). The best thing about the large shallow dish however was that there was plenty of the crunchy sugar top to mix through the custard. The cinnamon ice cream turned out to be a fantastic accompaniment, without overpowering the custard.

The service during our meal was very good. Although we didn't have a lot of time for lunch, we hardly waited for either course, which allowed us plenty of time to enjoy both the wine and the river view.

If you're a vegetarian, there was only one entree and one main on the menu, both of which contained very similar ingredients. It would be worth ringing ahead to see if there are other vegetarian options available.

The menu at Customs House doesn't push the envelope of haute cuisine, but each of the dishes we ordered throughout lunch was impressive. The view from the table is very hard to beat, which means Customs House is certainly worth considering next time you're looking for lunch or dinner with a river view.

What does all this mean? High quality food and good service with a fantastic view over the Brisbane river.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Great
Ambience - Outside tables with an excellent river view
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Good
Vegetarian - Limited menu choices

Customs House
399 Queen Street
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3365 8921
E - info@customshouse.com.au
W - http://www.customshouse.com.au/index.html?page=19847

Bye Bye Bruno Loubet

I was sad to read in my Baguette newsletter this week that Bruno Loubet is heading back to the UK, apparently to open a gastro pub.

So if you haven't been lucky enough to try Bruno Loubet's food while he's been in Brisbane and Noosa, you've only got until 30 April to have lunch or dinner at Baguette. I still vividly remember an amazing dinner which I had with a few friends at Bruno's Tables a few years ago -his beetroot ravioli and the game charcuterie plate were standout dishes.

Although it will be a shame to lose such a great chef from Brisbane, he currently has a "recession busting" menu (with entrees under $20 and most mains under $30), so there's never been a better time to go to Baguette.

Baguette Bistrot & Bar
150 Racecourse Road
Ascot 4007
P - 07 3268 6168
E - info@baguette.com.au
W - http://www.baguette.com.au/

Mandarin Palace

After a few drinks at the Elephant & Wheelbarrow in the Valley on the weekend, a group of us headed off to dinner at the Mandarin Palace.

To be completely honest, the main reason we picked the Mandarin Palace was because we had a big group, and we were looking for somewhere in the Entertainment Book.

In all my 15 years or so of eating Asian food in the Valley, I'd never been to the Mandarin Palace before, so I didn't have any spectacular expectations. I also have to admit that by the time we arrived at restaurant, I'd had a few drinks, so keeping any kind of decent notes was out of the question.

We were shown to a big table in the back part of the restaurant, past the fish tanks containing lobsters and live fish. We sat right next to the karaoke machine, which unfortunately wasn't working. On the other hand, it was fortunate for the restaurant, otherwise we might never have actually left.

We ordered a few of the usual suspects when it came to entrees. I had a couple of the Malaysian chicken satay skewers to kick off the night ($5.80 for two). For some reason I always find it hard to go past chicken satays. Anyway these turned out to be ok, but the chicken wasn't exactly tender. There was plenty of sauce though, which was very tasty. Around the table we also had san choy bau with Chinese sausage ($8.40 for two) and vegetarian spring rolls ($4.40 for two). I didn't get to try any of the other entrees, but were told they were good.

There were some great sounding main courses on the menu, including lobster with ginger & shallot (market price), braised abalone with Chinese mushroom & Chinese vegetable ($49.90)and the more affordable crispy roast duck ($19.80).

We ordered about 7 main courses, which spun around the giant lazy Susan in the middle of the table. Why don't more restaurants have lazy Susans? They are perfect for sharing food in a big group. Anyway I'd picked the home made crackling roast pork ($19.50) mainly because the picture looked so good. It turned out to be excellent. It arrived exactly as it looked on the menu - thin slices of well cooked pork (which were still tender and moist) that had a great layer of crispy crackling on the top. It was so good I could have eaten this dish all night.

Other main courses that impressed the table were the Ma Po bean curd with no pork ($12.80) and the deep fried bean curd with salt & pepper ($11.80). The Ma Po bean curd was very good - the silken tofu was in small cubes, rather than the more crumbled style which I've had before.

Our meals finished with fortune cookies for all. Unfortunately, I lucked out on my fortune, which sadly wasn't "You will definitely win the lotto on Tuesday".

Service was friendly and helpful throughout the night. Considering the amount of food we ordered, our mains came out in good time. There was also plenty of steamed rice for all of us around the table.

After approaching Mandarin Palace with little expectation, I left the restaurant with a new place in the Valley that I'd be more than happy to visit again.

What does all this mean? Good, fresh & tasty Chinese food with interesting options outside the usual suspects.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Good
Ambience - Classier than your average Valley restaurant, but with tanks featuring live seafood
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Compact selection
Vegetarian - Good

Mandarin Palace
11 Duncan Street
Fortitude Valley 4006
P - 07 07 32523636
W - http://mandarinpalace.com.au/

Lab Bar + Restaurant

I've eaten at the Lab Bar + Restaurant a few times over the years and generally speaking the food has been dependably good. I also had memories of a good wine list, so I headed back there for dinner recently.

The room was pretty noisy when we walked in. If you haven't been before, there is a big, impressive looking bar which takes up one wall, with the tables located between the bar and the windows on George Street. Unfortunately our table was right against a big pillar and a large wine storage cabinet. I had the wine storage cabinet right next to me. Pretty bizarre place to put a table if you ask me, but it kept me entertained checking out the wine for a couple of minutes. Not exactly great ambience though.

We ordered a couple of glasses of wine to start. I had ordered a glass of the Pewsey Vale gewurztraminer, but the waiter started to pour me a glass of a different gewurztraminer. He didn't show the label of the bottle to me before pouring, just poured it straight into the glass. After I spotted it was the wrong wine, the waiter apologised and told me they wouldn't charge us for that glass. He came back a few minutes later with a glass of the wine I had ordered as well. Not the greatest start to the night, but at least it was handled well.

For entree I ordered the pan seared calamari with avocado salsa, baby cos & tomato gazpacho ($19). I really enjoyed this dish - the calamari was cooked perfectly, it looked great and was a good combination of clean flavours. The gewurtraminer was a great match.

We also ordered an entree of asparagus served with egg and truffle salad. This dish was ok, but the asparagus had been crumbed, and I thought the batter & crumbs overpowered the delicate flavour of the asparagus.

I had Bangalow pork cheeks with sweet potato and apple for main course. It was a cool night, and this dish turned out to be delicious. The pork cheeks were meltingly tender, and served with some excellent, crunchy crackling. Good pork crackling is something you don't come across on restaurant menus very often these days, which is a shame. For some reason, pork crackling just isn't "fashionable". I don't care if its fashionable, I just love crackling. Although it sounded a fairly simple dish, the salty/sweet contrasts between the crackling, the pork cheeks and the apple really made this an excellent main course.

My vegetarian companion ordered a cauliflower tart with rocket & figs for her main. Unfortunately the filling of the tart was runny in places and obviously hadn't been cooked quite enough. It tasted lovely, but the texture let it down. Also, the tart was served with a ratatouille that wasn't mentioned on the menu. Sadly, the robust ratatouille didn't sit with the delicate flavours of the tart and figs. Mystery ingredients which aren't listed on the menu are one of my pet annoyances, especially when they just don't complement the rest of the dish.

The wine list at the Lab is good. There is a strong selection of wines by the glass. And if you're looking to really spend some money on wine, have a look through the cellar list, which includes the likes of Yquem and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. With our main courses, we had a glass of Curly Flat pinot noir (an excellent wine) and a glass of Jimbour Station Ludwig reserve merlot. It's great to see more Brisbane restaurants supporting the Queensland wine industry.

For dessert we ordered one of the ginger creme brulees, which was served with lime sorbet and a pineapple & coconut macaroon. The creme brulee was excellent. The "macaroon" turned out to be a slice of deep fried pineapple.

None of the desserts jumped off the page at me after my excellent main course, so I decided to order the Lab kitchen churned sorbet & ice cream with tropical fruit. The ice creams included lychee & honeydew melon (I couldn't pick the other flavours), which were served with pineapple, grapes and kiwifruit. It was ok, but not in the same class as the creme brulee.

Overall the food was a bit hit and miss. My main course and entree were both very good, as was the ginger creme brulee. But overall, the food lacked the consistency across the board which would really have turned it into a memorable evening.

Service during the night was very friendly, but a bit slap-dash at times. Again, more consistency with service would have added to our night out.

Finally, vegetarians will find the Lab good value. There is a separate (although small) vegetarian section on the menu, and the vegetarian meals are significantly cheaper than the other main courses.

What does all this mean? A good selection of modern-Australian food and a great wine list, but lacking a bit of consistency in both the food and service.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Ok
Ambience - A classy dining room, dominated by the impressive bar
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Great
Vegetarian - Ok

The Lab Bar + Restaurant
Hotel Conrad
Corner George Street & Stephens Lane
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3306 8647
W - http://www.conrad.com.au/treasury/restaurants/ryans_default.htm

Pandemonium Cafe

Pandemonium Cafe has been a popular spot in Paddington for as long as I can remember. I've eaten breakfast and lunch there plenty of times over the years, even when it used to be a bit further up Given Terrace.

Pandemonium has a retro/70's feel to it inside, with old mis-matched chairs and tables for an authentic touch. On this visit we were after some breakfast. It was about 9.30 on a Sunday morning, and the only spot inside (which is air conditioned) was on the couches in the corner. Not thinking our co-ordination was up to juggling bacon & eggs with a coffee on the couch after a big night out, we sat out the front instead. There are a few tables out the front, which really don't have the ambience of inside, and I think are a bit pokey. But weekend breakfasts at Pandemonium are always busy, so outside it was.

Pandemonium's breakfast menu covers toast, muesli and a good selection of hot options. I was really in need of something a bit greasy to help with a hangover, so although the spinach and feta omelette sounded delicious (three eggs, spinach, feta, tasty cheese & thick toast with Pando's sauce on the side - $12.50), I ordered the bacon & eggs instead ($12.50 with gluten free toast).

It was a big serving of bacon rashers, with two poached eggs that had been poached in moulds. Whenever I'm served eggs from a mould it brings back memories of cooking poached eggs when I was about 6 years old. They don't exactly look as cool as eggs which have been freely poached in a big saucepan of water. Anyway they were perfectly cooked, so once I'd busted them open, their shape was quickly forgotten. The bacon & eggs were served with a cooked tomato and one piece of gluten free toast (which I thought was a bit miserly given all the bacon and eggs). Next time I'll have to remember to order two pieces.

My partner in partying the night before ordered the avocado toast with a side serve of baked beans ($9.50). This was two enormous thick pieces of toast, smothered with fresh avocado. The toast wasn't gluten free, so I couldn't eat it, but it looked (and apparently tasted) fantastic.

There are plenty of other breakfast possibilities, including French toast ($9), a breaky panini ($8), pancakes with mixed berries or seasonal fruit & ice cream ($12.50) and the steak breakfast if you are ravenous (150g rib fillet, bacon, sausages, eggs, homemade hash browns, mushrooms, tomato & thick toast - $19.50).

I had a flat white ($3) with my breakfast, which was good. We also ordered a coffee frappe, which turned out to be terrific. I don't normally order iced coffees, because I usually find them way too sweet. This one however actually had an authentic coffee bitterness to it and, coupled with the icy/slushy texture, made for a great start to a very warm day.

My only gripe with Pandemonium was the water. They don't serve any water for free. A small bottle of water will set you back $1. I know it's not much, but I really can't understand why a cafe can't serve water free of charge.

Pandemonium is a good place to visit if you're looking for tasty, home style food. There's a good reason why its been popular for so long - prices are very reasonable, service is usually snappy and the portions are healthy. They are also happy to accommodate coeliacs, vegetarians and vegans.

Pandemonium is now open for dinner on Thursday and Friday nights and also offers a catering service.

What does all this mean? Tasty, home-style food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with good sized servings and friendly staff.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Good
Ambience - Retro/70's feel inside
Value for Money - Great
Wine - Small selection or BYO
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Good

Pandemonium Cafe
215 Given Terrace
Paddington 4064
P - (07) 3369 4420
F - (07) 3876 2094
E - info@pandemoniumcafe.com.au
W - http://pandemoniumcafe.com.au/

Atomica Eat Drink

I used to go to Atomica Eat Drink for breakfast all the time. But I haven't been there for about 3 or 4 years, after waiting more than an hour for breakfast on my last visit.

We were trying to find a breakfast spot before braving the crowds at Ikea. Our first choice was The Boys House of Coffee at Kelvin Grove, but that turned out to be shut on Sunday morning. Trying to think of somewhere vaguely on the way, we ended up in West End, at Atomica Eat Drink.

Every time I walk past Atomica I always remember having breakfast there one day and a guy at the table next to me complaining that the three breakfasts they had ordered were all too big. Who complains about their breakfast being too big? If you've got too much, then just don't eat it. Better to have too much than not enough. At least that's what I think.

So I decided to give Atomica another go. The first trick at Atomica is getting a seat. Luckily a lady at one of the tables on the footpath heard me talking about the gluten free bread on the menu. She had just finished breakfast and was just waiting for her bill. She jumped up, told me the gluten free toast was fantastic and then offered her table to us. It's days like this when you just know you're going to have a good breakfast.

A very friendly waitress came out not long after to clear the table and give us a couple of menus. Atomica's breakfast menu covers most bases - bircher museli, fruit toast with ricotta, pancakes, lamb & rosemary sausages, eggs benedict and a big breakfast for customers with nasty hangovers.

At the moment I'm finding it hard to go past plain old bacon & eggs for breakfast. I know it's a bit boring, but when you come across a plate of crunchy bacon and nice runny poached eggs, it's happy days (at least in my world). So I ordered the poached free range eggs with bacon and roast tomato jam. This is usually served with sourdough, but I had some gluten free toast instead. When it comes to gluten free toast, Atomica gets two thumbs up from me. This is the first place I've been to that actually had a selection of gluten free toast - pumpkin or multi-seed. I had the pumpkin toast, and it was delicious. Although I didn't ask, I'm pretty sure it was the pumpkin bread from Sol Breads.

Boring as they might be, the bacon and eggs were terrific. The eggs were perfectly cooked and the bacon was a little bit crispy. I found the roast tomato jam a bit sweet, but it was good to have another contrasting flavour on the plate. At $10.50 this was a great breakfast.

We also ordered one of the vegetarian breakfasts, which was a plate of Swiss brown mushrooms, tomatoes, bubble & squeak, spinach and sourdough ($10.50, extra with eggs). This was another winner. The Swiss brown mushrooms were the standout though - a lovely flavour, and cooked so they still had that distinctive mushroom squeakiness on your teeth, which I love. There's nothing worse than an overcooked, soggy mushroom if you ask me.

Atomica Eat Drink only uses free range eggs (I wish more places would) and Barambah Organics milk. After making plenty of coffees at home over the last few years, I'm convinced that Barambah milk makes such a difference.

After this breakfast, I'll definitely be back to Atomica Eat Drink on a more regular basis. The food was delicious, the service very friendly, and it's great value for money.

What does all this mean? A busy West End breakfast spot, serving delicious food with an extra attention to detail and topped off with friendly, attentive service.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Great
Ambience - Casual, modern cafe feel
Value for Money - Great
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Good

Atomica Eat Drink
Shop 3, 173 Boundary Street
West End 4101
P - 07 3844 0333

Verve Cafe

A couple of weeks ago I had lunch at Verve Cafe with a few work buddies. Over the years I must have walked past Verve Cafe hundreds and hundreds of times. I even worked as a volunteer in the Metro Arts building for a few years. But I'd never eaten at Verve Cafe.

The first trick was actually getting a booking, which turned out to be harder than expected. We had to postpone our lunch a couple of weeks because the restaurant was booked out the first time (it was Friday lunch after all). Eventually we got a booking and wandered down the steps looking for a good lunch and a few bottles of wine.

The first thing that hits you when you get to the bottom of the stairs and into the restaurant is just how dark it is. The next thing you'll probably notice is the noise. Then you look around and realise that the whole place looks pretty cool, and soon enough you'll adjust and completely forget that its either dark or noisy. The restaurant really has the feel of an Italian trattoria. And it was packed. No wonder it was hard to get a booking.

We were quickly shown to our table by a friendly waiter, and the menus were handed out. There aren't a lot of choices for entrees - most people were getting stuck into one of the breads. If it's bread your after, you can choose from herb bread ($4.90), pan bread (kalamata olive, sea salt, basil & bocconcini - $4.90), olive tapenade (smashed kalamata olives, virgin oil, garlic with toasted pan bread - $4.90) or the dips plate (chef’s selection of dips with fresh baked pita bread - $9.90).

If bread just isn't your bag, then kick off the meal with the soup of the day ($8.90), mushrooms filled with rosemary and roast capsicum risotto ($10.90) or the calamari salad (pan fried with olive oil, garlic and lemon on a thyme, roast capsicum & green salad - $14.90).

We decided against ordering any starters and opted for a bottle of wine instead, in true Friday lunch fashion. But within a few minutes a plate of bread arrived on the table. After checking with the waitress, we were told it was complementary. Things were going well at this stage.

There are plenty of mains to choose from. The food at Verve Cafe is mainly Italian, but with modern flavours, so its no surprise to see the main courses covering pasta, risotto, pizza and a few other "plates".

The first thing I noticed on the menu was that there was an option to order any of the pizzas or pastas gluten free. Our bubbly waitress told me that she was also on a gluten free diet and that the pizza bases were great. By that point I was sold and I ordered the excitingly named "ham" pizza, topped with salami, ham, olives, mushroom and mozzarella ($17.90 with a gluten free base). They are pretty much my favourite pizza toppings, so I was happy. Other pizza options include roast pumpkin with pine nuts, sun-dried tomato, English spinach, pesto, caramelised onion and mozzarella ($15.90), chicken with marinated feta, roast capsicum, caramelised onion, thyme and mozzarella ($15.90) and of course a margarita with tomato, basil and mozzarella ($15.90).

The rest of our table all ordered the pescatore linguini, served with scallops, prawns, roasted bell peppers, kalamata olives, fresh basil and an olive oil base ($20.90). I was thinking about ordering the same dish, but had to try something different.

Other mains that caught my eye were the goat's cheese gnocchi (roast pumpkin, chicken, fresh rosemary, goat's cheese and cream - $19.90), the sand crab & prawn risotto (diced Roma tomato, zest of lemon, fresh thyme and cream - $20.90) and the blue cheese risotto (pancetta, chicken, cream, white wine, fresh rosemary and olives - $18.90). They will have to wait until next time.

My pizza was good. Thankfully it had a nice crispy base. So many gluten free pizzas are served on soggy, floury bases that resemble a pikelet more than a pizza. It wasn't overloaded with toppings, which meant that you could actually taste everything that was on the pizza. The pizza wasn't enormous, but I just managed to finish off all four pieces.

The verdict on the pescatore linguini was that it was tasty, but had a tad too much garlic. There was plenty of seafood with the pasta, so there were no complaints on that front. I didn't get to try any, but the pasta smelt delicious.

The wine list at Verve Cafe is pretty compact, but extremely well priced. We had a few bottles of the Hazard Hill semillon sauvignon blanc with lunch, which was about $30 a bottle. There is plenty to choose from at around that price point, so a few bottles of wine here won't break the bank.

Throughout the meal our service was excellent and particularly friendly. The waiters knew the menu well and always seemed to pop up at the right time.

Verve Cafe is an excellent place for a weekday lunch. The food was good, tasty and fresh. Although the place was very busy, we hardly waited for our meals and were never left feeling neglected by the staff. It's always great to come across a place like Verve Cafe. If only there were more places in the CBD like it to enjoy a relaxing lunch with friends.

What does all this mean? Tasty modern Italian food in cool, dark surroundings at very reasonable prices.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Great
Ambience - A dark, downstairs room with plenty of atmosphere
Value for Money - Great
Wine - Compact selection at good prices
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Great

Verve Cafe
Basement, 109 Edward Street
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3221 5691
W - http://www.vervecafe.com.au/

Fix Restaurant

I've already done a post about Fix Restaurant, but I was back again the other day for a Friday work lunch. Last time I went, my steak didn't exactly set the world on fire.

This time I ordered the fish of the day, which was pan-fried snapper with green papaya salad ($28). It was delicious. The snapper was perfectly cooked, still moist, and just melted away in my mouth. The green papaya had been julienned, dressed with lime juice and a hint of chilli. The snapper also came with a serve of rice, just in case you were really hungry.

Service was again a bit hit and miss to start with - we had to ask a couple of times for our first bottle of wine to actually make it to the table, but after that things went fairly smoothly.

On the strength of this great dish, maybe next time I'll stick to the fish of the day.

Fix Restaurant
Port Office Hotel
Corner Edward & Margaret Streets
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3210 6016
W - http://www.portofficehotel.com.au/

Fix Restaurant

Fix Restaurant is one of the eating options at the Port Office Hotel.

I've eaten there a few times over the last few years, and each time the place has been busy, especially at lunch. Fix does a good job of getting the meals out pretty quickly, which is what lots of us are looking for during our precious 1 hour mid-week lunch breaks. Fix serves up modern Australian food, coupled with a range of steaks.

We weren't able to stick around all afternoon, so decided to give entrees a skip. But if you've got more time than we did, you could try the grilled Moreton Bay bugs with garlic butter & cress salad ($17), salt and pepper calamari with preserved lemon & cress mix ($12) or the goats cheese and sweet onion tart with baby spinach salad ($12).

Service was a bit over-attentive at the start of the meal. We had about 3 separate waiters ask to take our drink orders (even after we had ordered them). But the service did settle down a bit as the meal progressed. I suppose its better to be over-attentive than the other way round.

Main courses cover a pretty big range of options - chilli prawn pizza with tiger prawns, garlic, chilli, tomato and mozzarella ($22), chicken breast with olives, potato & spinach gnocchi and lemon herb gremolata ($21) and Atlantic salmon fillet with crushed potatoes, olive tapenade & peppercorn vinaigrette ($26). There are also a few grills, if you're really in need of some red meat - grain fed MSA rump ($27), rib on the bone ($30), rib fillet ($32), MSA Angus eye fillet ($28), roasted Junee gold lamb rump ($29) and OP Barkers Creek pork rib ($29).

I ordered the 300 gram 90 day grain fed rib fillet, which was served with roasted sweet potato & truss cherry tomatoes. The steak was cooked fine, I just found the steak I'd been served a bit too fatty (not in a marbled way). Unfortunately there wasn't a particularly large amount of actual beef in the steak. I know it can always be pot luck as to the piece of steak you can be served, but I was disappointed with this one.

My work lunch colleague had the roasted Junee gold lamb rump on a parmesan porcini mushroom risotto. I didn't try any of it, but he found it ok, without being great.

We had a couple of glasses of the Jimbour Station reserve merlot ($7), which went well with the main courses. It's great to see more and more restaurants supporting Queensland wine, which will only push our local wines on to better things. There is a good selection of well-priced wines by the glass, or if you have more time, you can explore the cellar selection of bottles (up to $1600 for a magnum of 1992 Grange).

For dessert I had the strawberry semifreddo martini with burnt honey & vanilla cream ($9.90), which was served (not surprisingly) in a martini glass. Sure it was sweet, but it was also a delicious way to round off the meal.

It can be a bit noisy at Fix, particularly when the place is full. However I suspect that most diners are there for a business lunch, rather than a romantic occasion, so it probably won't be an issue.

The food we had at Fix was ok overall, without setting our tastebuds on fire. Fix's strength is serving a range of fairly "safe", popular meals, backed up with good, quick service. If that's what you're looking for at lunch in the City, then give Fix a try.

What does all this mean? A good selection of upmarket pub food and steaks, with quick service and a reasonable wine selection.

food bling ratings
Food - Ok
Service - Good
Ambience - Modern setting with plenty of wood (which can get a bit noisy)
Value for Money - Ok
Wine - Good selection
Vegetarian - Ok

Fix Restaurant
Port Office Hotel
Corner Edward & Margaret Streets
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3210 6016
W - http://www.portofficehotel.com.au

Tukka

Over the last few years, in almost every trip I've made to West End I've walked past Tukka and thought I really should go there for dinner some time. I've also heard Stéphane Brémont, the chef, on ABC radio, with his unmistakable French accent.

Last night, instead of walking past Tukka on the way to Huongs or El Torito, we finally ate there.

We sat at a table for two in the covered verandah part of the restaurant. It was a bit noisy to start with, but we got used to the noise as the night went on. There were also a few ants on our table, which we weren't expecting, but once we'd brushed them off, they seemed to get the message and didn't come back. I suppose it adds to the native experience. Before I move on to the food, I thought the tables were a bit close together - the table to the right of us was so close that the waiters had trouble getting past without brushing into me pretty regularly. I know restaurants try to get as many tables into their space as they can, but the table plan shouldn't inconvenience the diners.

Anyway, Tukka is one of the very few restaurants that I've ever been to that specialises in Australian native ingredients. You'll find native berries, nuts, desert limes and lemon myrtle popping up all through the menu. On the carnivorous side, you'll also see crocodile, possum, emu and kangaroo.

The menu is fairly compact and offered 5 entrees on the night. These covered a native platter (game meats, native berries, nuts, fruits and spices, home-made damper and native dips - $21.70 per person), tonka bean cured Cairns crocodile tenderloin, grape salad, kiwi and strawberry eucalypt dressing ($18.70), gourmet tomato and desert lime consommé, pickled cucumber and apple sorbet ($16.90), Queensland prawns with avocado and carrot salad and karasumi smoked mullet roe emulsion ($19.80) and Tasmanian possum baked in filo pastry with rosella braised pear and citrus salad ($19.60).

Before our entrees came out, a complementary appetiser was served. It was a couple of slices of a beautiful green tomato, with bocconcini and lemon myrtle dressing. This was delicious, and a great way to get our tastebuds ready for the food to come.

I ordered the prawns for entree. I was a bit surprised to find only two prawns on the plate, considering this was a $20 entree. In the prawns' defence, they were both pretty big ones, but I just can't see how this dish justifies this price. I would have also enjoyed the prawns slightly less cooked than they were served, but that's just my personal preference. The avocado and carrot salad was good, and the karasumi smoked mullet roe emulsion an excellent partner to the prawns. There was nothing bad at all about this dish, I just found it a little underwhelming.

My vegetarian dinner guest wasn't a big fan of tomato soup (even if it was a delicious sounding consommé) so we also ordered a lilly pilly salad with macadamias, mixed leaves and lemon myrtle dressing ($7.50) as an entree. This salad got the thumbs up from both of us. I'd never eaten the berries off a lilly pilly, but they had a real tanginess, and their chewy texture was a good contrast to the other ingredients. It was an excellent, innovative salad, which is actually on the menu as a side dish for main course.

We had glasses of Petaluma viognier and Coriole semillon sauvignon blanc with our entrees. Neither wine was actually available by the glass on this list. I'd ordered the Tahbilk viognier, but the waiter had just opened a bottle of the Petaluma viognier for another table, and happily volunteered a glass to me at the same price as the Tahbilk. As much as I enjoy the Tahbilk viognier, the Petaluma is a beautiful food wine, and there was no way I was going to knock it back. Again, the Coriole was offered to us in place of the Abbey Rock, and we had no complaints there either. By this stage of the evening, we were really enjoying things, with the service going seamlessly.

After a good pause, our mains were served. I won't go through all the mains in detail, but the menu includes seared rare emu fillet ($30.60), Queensland scallops ($29.90), pumpkin and bush tomato flan ($25.60), braised beef cheeks ($27.80), slow roasted grain fed 'Aurora' lamb shanks ($29.40) and the fish of the day, which was barramundi.

I had the ginger and rosella braised beef cheeks with fondant potato and creamed leeks. The beef cheeks were excellent, and an exercise in simplicity. The plate had a generous serve of the beef cheeks, which were meltingly tender, simply matched with the big chunk of fondant potato. The leeks were sprinkled over the potato, and still had a bit of crunch to them. I had a glass of the Logan "Weemala" shiraz viognier with my main, and it was an excellent match. This dish would make the perfect autumn or winter dinner. The rich beef cheeks just fell apart on the plate, and the combination of flavours bounced around in my mouth well after the dish was cleaned away.

Our other main course was the pumpkin and bush tomato flan, capsicum and anisata coulis, grape and green bean salad. My dinner guest was a bit miffed that there was no pastry in sight in the "flan". It was rather a smallish mound of very tasty mashed pumpkin, served with the side salad. The flavours of this dish were innovative, but it could have been a bigger portion for the price. A glass of the D'Arenberg D'Arry's original grenache shiraz was a good match with this main course.

We still had room for the desserts, which sounded tempting. We both wanted to have the apple trilogy of anisata roasted gala, pink lady parfait and granny smith sorbet ($16.20), but our dinner pact meant we each had to order something different. In the end I ordered the native spiced red wine poached pear with Daintree vanilla bean ice cream ($15.20). The poached pear was divine, particularly with the rich vanilla bean ice cream. I grabbed a glass of the Romavilla muscat, which was a good partner for the deep, spiced flavours of the pear.

The apple trilogy was yet another example of keeping things simple. Three different types of apple, served three different ways. Unfortunately this was so good, I didn't get to taste much of it, but I was told that the granny smith sorbet was just like eating a frozen apple. Both our desserts were excellent, and really ended off the night on a high note.

Throughout our meal the service was very good. Our waiters were friendly, knowledgeable and always popped up at the right time. Service was also very attentive, and our water glasses were topped up regularly, without us even noticing most of the time.

The diners at the three tables behind us all had American accents, so Tukka is obviously popular with overseas tourists. I'd certainly have no hesitation in taking any overseas friends here, to try some of the native Australian flavours that you just don't find on many menus anywhere.

The wine list has been put together with a lot of thought. It features plenty of Australian wines, including those from regions which aren't classed by many punters as fashionable at the moment. There's also a smattering of Queensland wines, which I'm always pleased to see. The best thing about the wine list is that the mark ups are very reasonable, and you should have no trouble finding a good bottle or two that won't bust your budget.

Tukka also gets a tick on the gluten-free food front. Their gluten free dishes are clearly marked on the menu, and they aren't limited to a token dish or two.

If you're looking for more information about native food, have a look at Tukka's website. There is plenty of information, including recipes and a glossary of native food.

I really didn't know what to expect from Tukka, but it's safe to say that the food we had was, in general, very impressive. Although my entree wasn't fantastic, and some of the portions could be a bit more generous, the general standard of the food was very good. The simplicity of the food and clean flavours really shone throughout the night. It's reassuring to see a chef committed to building meals around a few high quality ingredients. Also, don't think the food here is gimmicky "Aussie" food, aimed at tourists, because it isn't. Tukka stands alone with this kind of real modern Australian food in Brisbane. On this showing, I'll definitely be going back.

What does all this mean? Excellent, modern Australian food built around native ingredients, with a well-priced wine list and professional service.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Great
Ambience - Fairly formal, but a bit noisy
Wine - Good selection at very reasonable prices
Value for Money - OK
Vegetarian - Limited selection
Gluten Free - Great

Tukka
145 Boundary Street
West End 4101
P - 07 3846 6333
E - mailto:tukka@mail.com
W - http://www.tukkarestaurant.com.au/

Moray Cafe

Moray Cafe has been pulling in loyal diners for years, situated in a great spot under a giant fig tree in New Farm.

Over the years I've eaten here for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the food is usually tasty and well-priced. On this trip we went for breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning. As usual for this time on a Sunday, the place was pretty busy. We went for a seat inside, as there were a few dogs out the front which I wasn't really keen on sitting next to. I don't really see why dogs need to come to cafes for breakfast, but that's just me.

After sitting down, we were told by our waitress that there would be a 20-30 minute wait for our breakfasts, which we weren't too worried about at that stage.

The breakfast menu is pretty compact, and good value. If you're not after a savoury breakfast, try the French toast of golden crusted brioche with baked peaches and vanilla syrup ($13) or the bircher muesli with Greek yoghurt and honey ($10).

There are also plenty of savoury options, including bubble & squeak - roast pumpkin, sweet potato, tomato, peas, corn, halloumi, hollandaise and Vienna toast ($12), smoked salmon with rocket, dill mayonnaise, lemon oil, scrambled eggs and sourdough ($13.50) or the eggs benedict served with ham and hollandaise on an English muffin ($12).

Unfortunately they don't have any gluten free bread, which cuts down my breakfast options, but I decided to order the chorizo, goats cheese and caramelised onion omelette ($12) with a hash brown ($3 extra). I'm always on the lookout for something new to try for breakfast, and the omelette sounded particularly appetising. We also ordered the forest mushrooms, served with rosemary & garlic and brie and truffle dressing on sourdough ($12.50) with some added tomatoes ($3 extra).

Unfortunately, there was then an inordinate wait until our meals came out. If we had been told that the wait would actually be 45-50 minutes for our two orders, then we would have gone elsewhere. The tables on both sides of us both waited similar times or longer for their breakfasts and were looking as frustrated as we felt. We've never had to wait so long on any previous trips to the Moray Cafe, so hopefully this was just a small service blip rather than an ongoing problem.

When the food eventually came out, it was very good. The omelette was perfectly cooked, and the chorizo, goats cheese and caramelised onion all added differing tastes and textures. The tangy goats cheese was particularly good. The omelette was a great match for my crunchy home-made hash brown, which together was a very filling breakfast.

The mushrooms were also delicious, with at least three varieties of mushrooms adding to the overall taste. The tomatoes turned out to be roasted cherry tomatoes, which make a nice change to what many cafes have on the menu for breakfast.

The drinks menu covers coffee, juices and some tasty frappes - the pineapple and mint frappe makes a great start to the day.

The Moray Cafe is a perennially popular place, and both our breakfasts were delicious. However, the service delay was so long that by the time the food came out, we both just wanted to leave. If they can improve the breakfast service times, it would be so much more enjoyable.

What does all this mean? Beautiful breakfasts in a relaxed setting, but the service was terribly slow.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Poor
Ambience - Relaxed, casual tables outside or a more modern setting inside
Value for Money - Good
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Limited breakfast options

Moray Cafe
Shop 1, 158 Moray Street
New Farm 4060
P - 07 3254 1342
E - themoray@moraycafe.com.au
W - http://www.moraycafe.com.au/

The Brasserie on the River

The Brasserie on the River is one of the eateries at the Stamford Plaza hotel in the city. It's in a great spot, right on the river next to the gardens. If it's not too hot, you can sit outside, but you will still get a good view out over the river if you snag a decent table inside.

The Brasserie on the River has an enormous food selection, covering you for breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. You could sit here all day, admiring the view and munching your way through the menu.

You also have the choice of a buffet or ordering a la carte for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so you aren't exactly limited for choice.

Both times I've eaten here its been for lunch - once for the buffet and once ordering from the a la carte menu.

The beauty of the buffet lunch is that you can walk in, grab a table and start loading up your plate. You can easily be in and out in an hour, which is always handy if you are on limited time before heading back to work. However, the buffet lunch is not cheap. During the week it's $45 per person, and on the weekends it will set you back $59. Having said that, it's a fair step up from your average Sizzler lunch selection, and includes smoked salmon, oysters, mussels and prawns, together with a generally tasty selection of smart hot and cold meats and vegetables. The dessert selection is usually good, so make sure you leave yourself some room.

On this visit though, we were ordering off the a la carte menu. The menu is not adventurous, but does offer a decent selection for lunch.

Entrees include prawn cakes on a green paw paw salad with nam jim dressing ($17.50), oysters with mango salsa ($19 for 6 or $33 for a dozen) and arancini with buffalo mozzarella on tomato fondant and balsamic reduction ($16.50) which sounded particularly good to me.

Unfortunately we were on a work lunch break, so had to skip the entrees. Mains fall into the fairly safe category and include harissa marinated lamb rump on cous cous with red bell pepper coulis ($34), baked barramundi with olive tapenade served with kipfler potatoes and wilted spinach ($31.50) and grilled butternut pumpkin with rosemary, honey and lime on avocado mash ($26.50).

I wasn't swayed by those options and decided to go for the grilled scotch fillet with Café de Paris, pont-neuf potatoes and broccolini. I thought I'd stick with something simple in the hope that it would be done well. The scotch fillet was good, and was well matched by the Cafe de Paris. Unfortunately the pont-neuf potatoes weren't so good. They looked good - big, chunky slabs of potato, but they were close to raw inside. When you've only got 3 things on your plate, and one of them isn't cooked, the whole meal falls down. The other three meals on our table were apparently tasty, however I didn't manage to try any of them.

We still had time for dessert though. There were a couple of sweets that caught my attention, including the Greek yoghurt and mango roulade with Tahitian lime and mango salsa and passionfruit syrup ($14.50) and the “Cherry Ripe” - devil’s food cake, cherry kirsch mousse and roasted coconut sorbet ($14.50). I decided to go for the limoncello brûlée with blackberry compote, pistachio and whole almond biscotti ($14.50) which was a good way to end the meal, after my disappointing main.

If you are looking for something Asian for lunch instead, the menu also has a small Singaporean selection, including a wanton noodle soup ($15.90) and a combination laksa ($17.90).

All up, The Brasserie on the River is a fairly solid place for lunch. If you are having lunch though, I think the buffet is probably the better option. It's probably one of the better buffets in the city. If you are ordering off the a la carte menu, then there are probably better places in walking distance, including Il Centro or Urbane. The Stamford Plaza does of course offer other eating options - Siggis for fine dining, Kabuki for Japanese and the Pav Bar if you are after a more relaxed meal.

The Brasserie on the River
Stamford Plaza Brisbane
Corner of Edward & Margaret Streets
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3221 1999
W - http://www.stamford.com.au/spb/page.asp?e_page=569758&roomNo=456388

Vil'laggio

Vil'laggio is an Italian eatery right next door to Anise on Brunswick Street in New Farm.

When entering Vil'laggio on a Friday night, the first thing that hit me was how busy the place was. The room was buzzing with plenty of people, and the flavours wafting around were terrific.
We were shown straight to our table and given menus and glasses of water straight away, which is always a good start in my book.

I hadn't eaten here before, at least not since it's been Vil'laggio. Vil'laggio now occupies the spot where Indigo's once was. Indigo's was set up by Gillian Hirst, and was one of my favourite spots for a dependably good dinner in New Farm.

Back to Vil'laggio though. Vil'laggio is Italian through and through, aiming to serve up home style, traditional Italian food, including wood fired pizzas. The starters on the menu cover breads (tomato, basil, boccocini & mozzarella bruschetta - $10.95, homemade bread with artichoke, cumin, black olives and rocket, served with a spicy tomato sauce - $11.95 or wood roasted eggplant, tomato, parmesan, fresh basil and boccocini on crusty bread with rocket - $14.95), prosciutto with deep fried ricotta & rocket ($14.95), antipasto ($17.95) and fritto misto di pesce if you are looking for some seafood ($18.95).

It was raining and miserable outside, so we decided to skip the starters and save room for dessert. In hindsight, that didn't turn out to be a good decision, but more on that later.

So it was straight on to main course. There were plenty of things that caught my attention on the menu here. There is a good selection of pasta and risotto ($21.95 to $26.95), traditional Italian mains ($30.95 to $32.95) and wood fired pizzas ($10.95 to $26.95 depending on size).

A couple of the traditional mains jumped off the menu at me. One was the porchetta arrosto su verza brasata con pancetta uvetta e pinoli in salsa di fondo, or wood roasted pork belly, rolled with Italian spices and fresh herbs on sautéed cabbage, pancetta, sultanas and pine nuts with roast potato and vegetable gravy ($31.95). The other was the agnello grigliato su polenta al gorgonzola, or char grilled lamb shoulder medallions on baked polenta with gorgonzola, marinated wood roasted capsicum, garlic and lime, finished with a veal jus ($31.95).

After much debating, I opted for the roast pork, which was fantastic. First of all, it was an enormous serving - slices of the pork, edged with good crackling, sitting on top of gravy covered cabbage, pancetta and roast potato. Although I'm usually not a fan of sultanas in savoury cooking, they fitted in perfectly with the other ingredients. The whole dish worked together beautifully, and it was the perfect hearty dinner for a cold, rainy and windy night. As hungry as I was though, and as good as this dish tasted, I still couldn't finish it.

Our other main was the ravioli di zucca al burro e salvia con pancetta e noci, or pumpkin and feta ravioli in butter, sage, walnuts and crispy pancetta ($24.95). We had the vegetarian version, without the pancetta. Again, this was a generous serving of ravioli. The pasta filling was deliciously tasty, as was the sauce with which it was served. However, 3 or 4 of the fairly large sized ravioli had not been fully cooked, to the extent that the unfilled edges of the pasta were difficult to cut with a knife, let alone chew. That was easily fixed by just cutting off the chewy parts, but its always a bit disappointing to be served obviously undercooked pasta.

We had also ordered a salad of shaved fennel, rocket and parmesan in a balsamic dressing ($7.95) which turned out to be completely unnecessary, given the size of the mains. However it made a nice contrast to both our main meals, and we made a good dent in this simple but sharp and crunchy salad.

At this stage, the service, which had been friendly and spot on, went downhill. Once our mains had been cleared, we sat at our table, with no drinks for 25 minutes, without being even approached by a waiter. We eventually grabbed a waiter and ordered dessert. Although the room had been very busy, by this stage of the evening the room had thinned out, so it was strange that the good level of service fell away.

Unfortunately, the desserts were not worth the long wait. The cannoli ($12.95), apparently the house specialty, was particularly disappointing. Each cannoli was soggy and chewy, lacking the good crunch we had been expecting. They were also served with some pretty average quality vanilla ice cream. Not the way we had hoped to end the meal. I had the white chocolate pannacotta ($10.95), which was ok, but didn't have the good wobbly, custardy consistency that I enjoy in a good pannacotta.

The wine list is fairly compact, but does have a range of both Italian and Australian options. It is also very reasonably priced. We were just drinking wines by the glass, which were brought to the table in glasses, already pre-poured. As someone who particularly enjoys wine, I always prefer for wines to be poured at the table, so that you can always be sure that you are in fact being served what you ordered. Personally I don't think it's that difficult to do and it does make an impression on the customers. However I've noticed more and more restaurants in Brisbane now bringing out pre-poured wine glasses to the table, which is a shame. Vil'laggio's wine list also gets a special mention for including a number of Queensland wines. It's very good to see a busy restaurant such as Vil'laggio supporting the Queensland wine industry.

I haven't yet mentioned the pizzas. We didn't order one, but saw plenty of them being brought out to other diners. They all looked pretty tasty, and include margherita, Siciliana, capricciosa and quattro formaggi. We'll have to try them another time.

Vil'laggio was almost full the night we were there, so it obviously has a fairly solid following. The tastiness of our main meals backs that up. Unfortunately the service and the desserts meant that our night didn't end on the same high note. We eventually left Vil'laggio after 2 and a half hours, having only eaten a main course and dessert each, and only 3 glasses of wine between the two of us. If they can pick up their service and quality of desserts, Vil'laggio would become a very solid traditional Italian establishment.

What does all this mean? Tasty, traditional Italian food, but with variable service.

food bling ratings
Food - OK
Service - OK
Ambience - Busy, modern surroundings. Can be a bit noisy inside.
Value for Money - Good
Wine - OK
Vegetarian - Good

Vil'laggio
695 Brunswick Street
New Farm 4005
P - 07 3254 0275
W - http://www.villaggioristorante.com.au/

Wagamama

Finding ourselves at Chermside after a long Sunday afternoon of shopping and movies, and not being bothered to cook anything when we got home, we wandered into Wagamama in the newish food court.

Having eaten in Wagamama restaurants around Australia and in London, I was pretty familiar with the drill. If you haven't eaten at Wagamama before, it's an international chain, serving Japanese food. There is a pretty standard menu, you sit at communal tables and the prices are generally reasonable. The staff take your orders with little hand held PDA type devices and also write bits and pieces on your placemat (so other staff know what you have ordered).

I've found Wagamama a bit hit and miss in the past. Last time we ate at Wagamama in Sydney one of our meals come with a rubber band hidden in the dish, which was an unexpected surprise. The staff there dealt with it really well, to their credit.

The menu is modelled on Japanese ramen bars. It covers ramen (noodles in soup), kare lomen (noodles in a coconut based soup), teppan (noodles cooked on a griddle), teriyaki, rice dishes, salads and side dishes.

I'm a big fan of their edamame ($4.50), which are incredibly addictive. We were shown to our seats, only to be quickly warned that quite a number of dishes were not available tonight, including the edamame and both the main course specials. So there was to be no edamame tonight.

Instead we ordered the sweet potato kusabi ($6). These were described on the menu as hand-cut chips served with basil and wasabi mayonnaise. We saw them sitting on the pass for about 5 minutes before they came to our table. Unfortunately they were terrible. First of all they were cold, and out of the 30 or so chips, about 5 of them were actually crunchy, the rest being soggy and just not cooked enough. As half cooked slices of sweet potato, with the mayonnaise, they tasted pretty good. But they weren't chips by any stretch of the imagination. At the end of the meal we asked the waitress if they were supposed to be served cold, and were told that they are cooked, but get cold very quickly. Next time we will definitely stick with the edamame, if its available.

Luckily, both our mains were very tasty. My chilli chicken ramen ($15.50) came in an enormous bowl, with loads of soup. The soup contained a big chunk of grilled chicken, fresh chillies, sliced red onions, beansprouts, coriander, spring onions and a wedge of lime. It was spicy, tasty, fresh and had plenty of heat. It was also very filling, and I almost got through the whole bowl.

We also had the yasai cha han ($11.50), described as stir-fried rice with egg, snow peas, mushrooms, butternut pumpkin, sweetcorn, fried tofu and spring onion accompanied with a bowl of vegetarian miso soup and pickles. Again, it was a big serving. Once you poured the miso onto the rice, this was a really tasty dish. There was a good mix of flavours, with the crispy snow peas, mushrooms, plenty of corn and small pieces of pumpkin.

So once again, Wagamama was a bit up and down. The chips were terrible, but our mains were great.

Service is friendly and fairly informal. Most of the wait staff sit down at your table with you to take your order and answer any questions you might have about the menu.

Wagamama also has a small drinks menu. I had a glass of the home made lemon iced tea ($2.50) which was good. We also had one of the shikoku island iced tea ($5.60) which is basically iced tea with vodka. Be warned, these taste great and you can gulp them down very easily. Otherwise, you can order wine (sparkling, red and white), beer (including Asahi), soft drinks, juice, sake and plum wine. Green tea is free with a main course if you ask for it.

All up, Wagamama is an ok place for a quick Asian dinner. I would prefer to head into the Valley for an Asian restaurant with a bit more character, but that's just a personal preference. If you find yourself a long way from the Valley or your local Asian restaurant, as we did, then there is always Wagamama.

Although I've only supplied the details of the Chermside restaurant below, you can also find Wagamama at Emporium in the Valley and in the Wintergarden in the city.

What does all this mean? Well priced Japanese food from an international chain, served at communal tables.

food bling ratings
Food - OK
Service - OK
Ambience - modern design, with communal tables
Value for Money - Good
Wine - OK
Vegetarian - OK

Wagamama
Parkland Pavillion
Westfield Chermside
Corner of Gympie & Hamilton Roads
Chermside 4032
P - 07 3350 3034
W - http://www.wagamama.com.au/

Eves on the Park

Eves on the Park is the new, Roma Street Parkland "Eves" eatery, to join the well established Eves on the River.

Although I've eaten a number of times at Eves on the River over the years, I didn't know Eves on the Park had opened until being invited there for breakfast recently. Eves on the Park is on the ground floor of a new apartment building in the Parklands.

Whilst it's in the Parklands, don't be expecting to be eating surrounded by a garden. Given the location though, Eves on the Park is fairly quiet and doesn't suffer from too much traffic noise. We arrived at about 9am on a Sunday, and the place was pretty quiet. According to the website, there are 100 seats, so there was plenty of room to spread out away from other guests and have a quiet Sunday breakfast.

My first look through their breakfast menu was very encouraging. Quite a few dishes sounded delicious, which I always think is a good sign. And the servings being brought out to the other tables looked very generous. Things were looking good so far.

Anyway, back to the menu. You can start off with a juice (orange/pineapple/apple/banana & mango/tomato or cranberry) for $3.50 or go for one of the nudie juices ($5) if you'd prefer something a bit different.

A flat white will set you back $3.30. We found the coffees a bit weak and milky, but we'll have to go back to see if they are better next time. There is also a decent selection of teas, ranging from $3.30 to $3.50.

It was time to decide what to eat. Decisions, decisions. I was tossing up between the corn & zucchini cakes with bacon and tomato relish ($14), the eggs benedict with shaved ham and buttered spinach ($13), the prosciutto, pumpkin, & goats cheese omelette ($13) and the grilled halloumi, field mushrooms & poached eggs with spinach ($12). They all sounded like a great way to kick off a Sunday morning.

It was a tough choice, but I went for the omelette, which turned out to be excellent. It was perfectly cooked, still quite moist, creamy and very rich. It was also an enormous serving, which I only just managed to finish off.

Most of the other meals that our table ordered were met with a similar stamp of approval. Some found the halloumi dish a bit oily, but I suppose that is always a risk with cooked halloumi.

Eves on the Park offers the option of having any of the breakfast meals served with gluten free toast for an additional $1. This means all the coeliacs of the world can pick almost anything off the breakfast menu. I've thought for years that this is a pretty easy option for most cafes to offer, and its good to see that its catching on around Brisbane now.

If you aren't after anything cooked or heavy, go for the fresh seasonal fruit salad
served with vanilla yoghurt & almonds ($9) or the bircher museli with grape, apple & yoghurt ($7).

Service throughout the meal was ok, but friendly. One of our meals didn't show up at all, and was eventually brought out after most of us had finished our breakfasts. However, the waitress, recognising the mixup, quickly offered not to charge for the meal, which was a more than reasonable response.

I will definitely be back to try out some of the other great breakfasts. It's really good to see places like Eves on the Park offering alternatives to the fairly standard bacon and eggs, pancakes with maple syrup etc etc. While Eves on the Park will accommodate anyone in need of some bacon & eggs (which we all need from time to time), it also shows imagination with its breakfast menu. Hopefully it will be rewarded with a loyal breakfast following.

Eves on the Park is also open for lunch and dinner. At the moment it's operating as a BYO, until the liquor licence comes through. The lack of a liquor licence shouldn't trouble most breakfast punters though.

Finally, the map on the website isn't particularly helpful to anyone trying to find the place. However it's not very far from Melange, so if you keep walking down Parkland Boulevard, you'll find it fairly quickly.

What does all this mean? Tasty, inventive breakfasts served in generous proportions.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - OK
Ambience - Modern, quiet surroundings across from the parklands
Value for Money - Good
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Great

Eves on the Park
3 Parkland Boulevard
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3236 4066
E - info@evesonthepark.com
W - http://www.evesrestaurants.com/evesonthepark/index.html

David's

I thought I'd just do a quick blurb for David's, an upmarket Chinese restaurant in the city.

I must have walked past David's hundreds of times over the years, but had never actually ventured up the stairs and inside until just recently, with a group of work friends.

We were only there for a quick lunch, but David's has a great menu, with plenty of house specialties that you don't see everywhere, like abalone with Chinese mushroom deluxe ($58) or wok tossed king prawns with quail eggs and Chinese herbal salad ($28). So if you want to be adventurous, you can knock yourself out here.

The main reason David's gets this post is because its also gluten-free friendly. On calling ahead, we were given a good range of dishes that could be prepared gluten free. I went for the fish fillet in XO sauce ($24), which was fresh, tasty and delicious. Another coeliac friend went with the wok tossed coral trout fillet with seasonal Chinese vegetables ($24). I didn't get to taste any of the other dishes on our table, so I'll be back another time to do a more detailed review.

There are also plenty of the Chinese "staples" like Mongolian lamb ($18), sweet & sour pork ($18) or crispy lemon chicken ($18.90). So the menu should please just about everyone, including vegetarians, who are also well catered for.

Service was friendly, yet understated and professional. The decor was fairly traditional Chinese, right down to the lazy Susan in the middle of the table.

Next time you are looking for a special lunch in the city, give David's a try, particularly if you're a fan of Chinese food.

David's Chinese Restaurant
157 Elizabeth Street,
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3229 9033
W - http://www.davidschineserestaurant.com.au/

Cafe Fuscia

Cafe Fuscia is the local eatery that every suburb needs. It serves up a wide range of good, tasty food, is BYO and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We have eaten here a few times over the last 3 years or so. The main attraction for me is that Cafe Fuscia serves good gluten free pizzas, is BYO and within walking distance of our place. So when you've hard a long day, couldn't be bothered of thinking of where to go to dinner, don't want to drive anywhere, but still want to have great food, then Cafe Fuscia hits the spot.

Sure you won't remember what you ate here for the rest of your life, but neither will you be disappointed. Cafe Fuscia has a wide ranging dinner menu, from antipasto and oysters through to pasta, pizza and modern Australian options. Its pretty hard not to find something you like.

The menu had changed a little since our last visit. One of my favourite starters, the haloumi salad, was gone, so we opted for the Italian tasting plate. On asking the waitress what exactly was in the tasting plate (because my dining guest was vegetarian) we were met with the response that it was "a traditional Italian antipasto selection". We decided to order it anyway, which was a good thing. The plate had plenty of ham, prosciutto, salmon, marinated feta, grilled eggplant, olives, tortellini (which seemed a bit strange), zucchini, thinly sliced olive bread, a miniature apple and pear, and snow pea tendrills. This was pretty much the perfect starter when you can't really decide what you want to eat. We grazed on this great plate of tasty treats until it was pretty much demolished. It was also good value at $22 for the plate. The ham and prosciutto, in particular, were very good.

Then it was onto main course. For me, that was pizza. I only go here for pizza. Cafe Fuscia is one of the few places in Brisbane where you can get a good gluten free pizza. Cafe Fuscia has won a "best pizza" award, so you would expect them to be generally good. They have some interesting pizza options (like the wagyu rump which I've enjoyed before) but I went for the prosciutto one this time. It came out with thickly sliced prosciutto, tomato, mozzarella and a bit of parmesan. It was so tasty I almost ate the whole thing.

We also had a cauliflower risotto ($22) for main. It was described on the menu as having crispy sage leaves, Gorgonzola and cauliflower puree. Although the crispy sage leaves were mysteriously missing from the actual plate, replaced with not so crispy spinach, this was a seriously good risotto. The cauliflower still had a slight crunch to it, and there was just enough, but not too much, Gorgonzola to give the risotto a great flavour. Even without the crispy sage, this was a terrific dish.

By this time, we were completely full. The portion of risotto was enormous, and even between the two of us we couldn't finish it. Although some of the desserts looked very tempting, we just couldn't eat anymore.

Service at Cafe Fuscia is a bit hit and miss. But even when its not the best, it's still friendly. The quality of the food speaks for itself.

For coeliacs and others looking for gluten free options, Cafe Fuscia is a winner. They have gluten free pizza bases, and can make the pasta options gluten free as well.

Finally, Cafe Fuscia is BYO, with corkage charged at $2.20 per person. It's very popular on weekends, so it's a good idea to book. There is seating both inside and out.

Cafe Fuscia is not the kind of place you are likely to travel across Brisbane to dine at. But if you live within walking distance, then you really should give it a try. The food here is above average, well presented and very reasonably priced. It's the type of reliable cafe/restaurant that is deservedly popular. What sets it apart from the myriad of mediocre Brisbane restaurants is that its menu offerings are different, without being too adventurous, but very well executed. Its the kind of place that knows its limits, but what it does, it does well.

What does all this mean? A tasty, reliable, BYO suburban eatery that every Brisbane suburb needs.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - OK
Ambience - Casual suburban dining
Value for Money - Good
Wine - BYO
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Great

Cafe Fuscia
Corner of Audrey & Wardell Streets
Enoggera 4051
P - 3355 9800
E - info@fuscia.com.au
W - http://www.fuscia.com.au/

Era Bistro

Era is a great example of what can be done with food in Brisbane. Era offers a choice of venues.

First there is the cafe, if you are after breakfast or brunch. If you're planning on having a glass of wine with your brunch, then there is a wine list to accomodate you.

Next is the bar, where not only is there a great selection of wine and beer, but the tapas sound delicious. It would easy to get stuck here for a few hours munching on tempura soft shell crab or peking duck pancakes with hoi sin sauce.

But we were here for a celebratory dinner, so it was the bistro we were after. Calling Era a bistro is probably a bit of a misnomer. The food is definitely a higher standard than what you'd expect from a bistro. As far as I'm concerned, its some of the best food I've had in Brisbane this year.

Its a fairly modern, stark room. There isn't much of a view of anything, other than the road outside. So no-one is going to be there for the amazing views. But don't let that put you off, because the food is something else altogether.

After choosing a couple of glasses of wine, a selection of bread were brought out to the table, which is always a nice touch. Then it was time for the entrees. I had the seared scallops, braised oxtail, cauliflower & feves with braising jus ($22). It was one of the more interesting sounding options. It was a good entree, although I am not convinced that the scallops really paired well with the oxtail. The oxtail was a big, rich flavour, which completely overwhelmed the scallops. Each part of the dish was declicious, however the overall taste was a bit disjointed. My dining partner, a vegetarian, had the warm salad of baby beets, goat cheese, wild rocket & blood orange ($18). This was a terrific dish, which had us scraping up the beetroot and goats cheese. If anything the other parts of the salad were a bit hidden by the mass of rocket, but the taste was excellent.

Time to order another glass from the great wine list, then on to main course. I asked our friendly waitress about how the tasmanian ocean trout, Queensland red claw & baby vegetables ($31) was cooked ‘en Papillotte’. After being told it basically meant they were all cooked together in a plastic bag, which didn't sound particularly appetising, I still went ahead and ordered it. I am glad that I did, as this dish was spectacular. The trout in particular was beautifully succulent, its delicate flavour not overwhelmed by the other parts of the dish. Overall this was a very clean, bright seafood dish. It really was memorable. Our other main course was the artichoke & mushroom pithivier with wild mushrooms and cep consomme ($26). This was a much richer, earthier dish that was very good. There was a great depth of flavour with all the mushrooms and a good contrast of textures from the artichoke.

So far, the night was progressing very well. It was unfortunate that it was let down by our desserts. As it included a number of my favourite dessert items, I went for the
white chocolate semi freddo with roasted strawberries & balsamic and glass biscuit. The semi freddo was ok. The strawberries however were just overpowered by the balsamic, which tasted really thin and just too vinegary. I quickly swapped my dining companion for her lemon verbena scented crème brulee, mandarin sorbet and coconut tuile, which was better. The creme brulee itself was of the good, shallow variety with a great crunchy top.

Service throughout the meal was excellent. Our waitress was very friendly and approachable, but also highly knowledgeable and professional. She had the perfect knack of being at our table when required, whilst otherwise leaving us to enjoy the high quality food.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the wine list, which in my opinion is great. There are plenty of wines by the glass (from $6 for a fino sherry to $19.50 for Louis Roederer NV) and also a whole page of local and imported beers. The wine list here should keep everyone happy. It has a few fairly safe choices, but there are some great options for the more adventurous, such as the Salomon gruner veltliner ($49) or the Pérez Cruz reserva carmenère from Chile ($64). The mark ups aren't as noticeably unreasonable as some other CBD restaurants.

And if, at the end of the night, you haven't had enough wine, then check out the great Era bottle shop. Pick up a few bottles that you didn't get to try during your meal and you'll get 10% off with your restaurant receipt.

All up, Era Bistro is a very welcome addition to the Brisbane food scene. If the quality of food can be kept consistent, Era should quickly attract a solid following. We will certainly be back to graze on their tapas menu with a few glasses of wine.

What does all this mean? Very good modern Australian food, washed down with an excellent wine list.

Food Bling Ratings

Food - Great
Service - Top Shelf
Ambience - Modern, Minimalist
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Great

Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - OK
Other - Entertainment Book, Great Bar

Era Bistro
104 Melbourne Street
South Brisbane
P 07 3255 2033
W http://www.erabistro.com.au/