Mario @ The Dining Room – Hendra

The Dining Room, despite it’s reputation, did not live up to our expectations.

It does however live up to it’s name. Set in a cute converted Queenslander house it is tidy and innocuous. The food and service is home-style but beware because the price certainly is not!

Rating

Food	Dessert	Service	Ambience	Value
3	3	3	3	2

Food

Jaz had the veal with prosciutto and Meredith had the lamb cutlets. However neither of us have much to say about it. Ho hum. Tasted like a fairly nice home cooked meal on regular home-style plates.

What did disturb us somewhat was the fact that both meals came in the same format with sliced roasted potatoes and zucchini quarters (obviously the accompaniment was not stated on the menu).

Dessert

Meredith had the Chocolate and Caramel Semi Feddo a classic dessert, with good flavours although slightly hard.

Jaz had the Tiramisu, and while it wasn’t that bad… I’ve had much better.

Both desserts were a decent size, for all those dessert lovers. With most elements of this restaurant we have to say it was good, but not quite good enough for the price.

Service

Our waiter was asked several times to repeat just about everything he said due to his mild mannered tone. He also forgot to mention the specials - only when we were placing our order did he ask if he had told us. Our water glasses were not once filled up and sadly, our bottle was left to run dry.

Ambience

A nice space with a lovely outdoor water feature. The wall is lined with newspaper articles proclaiming the chef, Mario’s excellence. Perhaps the hype has gone to his head.

Price Range

High

Average $25 entree, $35 mains, $15 desserts

Sprout - Auchenflower

Sprout Cafe is located in a converted house in Auchenflower. While many would simply drive pass and not notice this restaurant it is definitely worth a visit.

We both agree that not only will we be returning to this BYO restaurant to try some more of their unique menu; we will recommend it to our friends!

Rating

Food	Dessert	Service	Ambience	Value
4.5	4.5	3	4	4

Food

Jaz had the slow cooked pork belly and blacklip mussels with thai basil, saffron coconut milk and crispy prosciutto. The whole meal was excellent, my only hesitation was the pork belly - so large that it was impossible to eat all of it!

Meredith had the confit duck leg with white bean and porcini puree, red cabbage marmalade and duck neck and pistachio sausage. The confit duck was amazing and melted in your mouth and the combination of the red cabbage marmalade and the sausage made the dish unique.

Dessert

We both had the rosewater and raspberry cream brulee with vanilla poached pear as avid fans of the creme brulee, are not easy to please. This dessert was amazing and definitely a must try!

Service

There was only one waiter servicing the whole restaurant, which should not have been an issue as there was only 3 tables full. In our case we felt the waiter could have been a little more attentive, as it sometimes took awhile to gain her attention.

Ambience

Although the restaurant is set in a small converted house, it does create the illusion of space due to the small number of tables. A nice restaurant to go to if you are sick of being squished in next to other people. Perfect venue for a romantic dinner on a special occasion.

Price Range

Med-High
Average $20 entree, $32 mains, $14 desserts

Cinco – Camp Hill

Cinco is definitely a diamond in the rough, and it seems the locals know it as it was packed out when we went last Thursday.

I think we will both go back at some stage to try more of the menu (and it's great accompanying wine list)!

Rating

Food	Dessert	Service	Ambience	Value
4	3.5	4.5	3.5	4

Food

Jaz had the smoked chicken with blue cheese and pear risotto. It was the perfect amount to eat and left me feeling healthy and satisfied. Would definitely recommend it.

Meredith had the roast duck with apple and potatoes. The duck melted in your mouth and was probably one of the best either of us have ever had. A must try!

Dessert

We both had the creme brulee and as avid fans of the dish, are not easy to please. But we decided that it was delightful. It came served with a round hot cinnamon doughnut. Though the menu said that it was served with ‘doughnuts’ so we were a bit disappointed that they didn’t keep their word.

Service

My water glass was never empty and we were checked on regularly (without being pestered) despite the restaurant being quite full. We were served by well presented staff with good manners.

Ambience

A slightly lower rating than it may deserve, the average location and venue size bring it down a bit. Though I must say they do a lovely job with the decor and the large mirror gives the illusion of space.

Price Range

Med-High

Average $20 entree, $30 mains, $14 desserts

The List (so far)

Some of the restaurants that we have already been to as part of our weekly dates include:

• Seven Heaven - West Ashgrove
• Huo Fo - Sunnybank
• 16th on Park - Milton
• C'est Bon - Wooloongabba
• Libertine - Paddington
• Sugo Mi - Bulimba
• Bar Alto - New Farm
• Giardinetto - Fortitude Valley
• Flute - Rosalie
• Eves On The River - Teneriffe
  
• Sprout - Auchenflower
• Java Queen - Highgate Hill
• 5th Element - Southbank
• Onyx - Milton
• Kabuki - CBD
  
• Anouk - Paddington
• Belle Epoque - Fortitude Valley
• Piaf - Southbank
• The Vietnamese Restaurant - Fortitude Valley
• The London Club - Teneriffe
• Bali Grill - Rosalie
• Grappino - Paddington
• Buffalo Club - Fortitude Valley
• The Continental Cafe - New Farm
• Garuva - Fortitude Valley
• Asian House - Fortitude Valley
• Zuri - Fortitude Valley
  
  

So it begins...

Over the past year (or so), Meredith and Jasmin have been spending each and every Thursday night wining and dining at a different Brisbane restaurant.

With all our experience, and a huge list of places yet to dine – we decided to stuff it all into a tidy little blog.

Each restaurant we visit from here on in (and previous ones that we can remember) will be reviewed and able to viewed and discussed on this site.

We have decided to use a rating system to be clear and concise about our views. Restaurants are rated on the following:

Food - Overall variety and originality of the menu, how our meals tasted and were presented, and their serving size.

Dessert - Overall selection of desserts, how we enjoyed our desserts and their presentation.

Service - Presentation and attentiveness of the staff, as well as their manners and attitude.

Ambience - General look and feel of the venue, taking into consideration space, decor, temperature, and mood.

Value - Tying all the other elements together, we use the 'value' rating to determine if you are getting what you pay for. We are finding the restaurants that give you the most bang for your buck, so to speak. So obviously in a fine dining restaurant you expect a higher standard of service and ambience for the price you pay.

Enjoy.