Clarence - South Brisbane

Readers may remember my previous fairly positive dining experience at Clarence when they were located in at Woolloongabba. Since then they have moved to new lodgings at South Brisbane, at he entrance to Fish Lane. Their menu has become a bit more refined and reviews have been stellar. It is with this in mind that I made a reservation to go for a birthday dinner.

 

We were seated promptly and our service that evening was without a doubt the best service I have had in a long time. Our waitress had just the right amount of charm and humour and was an absolute delight the entire evening. We were provided two menus, an a la carte menu and a banquet menu. I had heard good things about the banquet menu so that's what we settled on but with an upgrade of dessert to the apple tarte tatin at an extra charge of $10pp.

Our meal started off with some bread, pickles and butter. This was quite rustic and wholesome. The bread rolls were lightly toasted and I liked the smooth exterior but fluffy interior. Pickles were just tart enough to not overpower the flavours of the vegetables.

Starting with shared entrees, this was the confit duck terrine served with soy pickled eggplant and shiso, this was a portion for two to share. The duck terrine was fantastic, it had a fantastic amount of duck mixed among the veggies. The portion was generous and the soy pickled eggplant and shiso was a fantastic addendum, adding umami and richness to the dish.

Second starter was the Hervey bay scallop crudo, tiger milk dressing, pickled celery. This was a serve for the four of us. The scallop was fresh and sweet, the tiger milk dressing was creamy and tangy and I really enjoyed the fragrance of the added chives on top.

The last of our starters was the tomatoes, cherries, stracciatella and fig leaf. We were quite surprised but the cherries went exceptionally well with the tomatoes, providing for a sweet but tangy mixture. The stracciatella provided the much needed creaminess to balance out the tartness.

It didn't take long after our mains for our sides to come out. Dr L and I picked the duck and the lamb to share. This was the dry aged duck, cherry, zucchini, yuzu kosho. The duck was fantastic, with a rich meaty flavour. The skin wasn't crispy but it also wasn't meant to be, rather more akin to a roast. The yuzu gave it some much needed tang to lighten up the dish. Although there were only two pieces of duck breast, each piece was huge and definitely filling.

Our other main was the Margra lamb saddle, it came served with a caramelised onion tart with asparagus and pickled shittake. Although lamb saddle isn't usually a cut of lamb that I often order, I couldn't deny that it was executed exceptionally well. Although lean and erring on the chewy side, the meat texture was smooth and palatable whilst not being all that chewy. The tart was crispy an very umami despite it comprising of only vegetables. 

Each pair of diners also had a serve of chips and salad to share. The chips were perfectly fried and faultless. The greens were also leafy, fresh and doused with a light vinegarette. No complaints from me and we were already super full by the time we finished this.

My one complaint of the night would have been in relation to the Apple tarte tatin. Not the taste of it, which was excellent, but because the four of us paid an extra $10pp, totalling $40 when the item itself only cost $38 on the menu. That means that for the extra price, we should have retained our original dessert and added this on for $2 worth of savings. The tart itself was buttery and flakey whilst the apple was also sweet and had just the right texture. It was a good portion to share between four, two would have been a bit too much.

Overall, our experience at Clarence was definitely a memorable one. Service was on point, food was thoughtfully executed and brought out the highlights of each ingredient. I highly recommend the experience and would definitely return for another meal.

Price Range: $88pp set menu + $10 for dessert upgrade

Taste: 9/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: 9.5/10

Environment: 8/10

Meetfresh - Sunnybank

Meet Fresh is a fairly popular Taiwanese dessert store. Well over a decade ago, they had a shop at Sunnybank Plaza, they didn't last long and eventually closed. Meanwhile they had a number of successful stores across other states and even New Zealand. It was only at the end of 2025 that they finally re-opened a Brisbane store, this time across the road at Market Square. Since opening, I don't think that they have had a quiet day. I waited until mid January before going and even arriving at 9.30pm, queues were out the door.

Being situated at the corner store above Yuens, it was shockingly large. It took about 20 minutes for us to put in our order and it took another 20 minutes for us to get our food. Given the sheer number of tables, the turnover was high enough that everyone managed to get one after they queued to order.

We picked up our food from the counter and it was lucky we had a relatively larger group of four to share in our order. Portions were huge.

 

My companions had the taro and red bean fresh milk whilst I opted for the jasmine green tea. My tea was excellent. Fragrant and crisp with a lingering aftertaste that remained refreshing. It was definitely higher quality than the usual Brisbane standard.

Wanting to try something that is representative of their store, we had the icy grass jelly signature. It was a tad expensive at almost $15 for a serve but the portions were big and sufficient for at least two people to share. The grass jelly had a strong herbal taste, tempered by the added milk. Their signature taro balls were squishy as usual.

I was most keen on the mango berry shaved ice. This came out as tall as a mountain and given the price was almost $30, it also definitely requires a group effort to finish. The menu was unclear between the two ice options. It turns out that shaved ice was the chunkier, coarser ice whereas shaved ice was more delicate snowflake type. I was a little concerned with shaved ice as usually it runs out of flavour by the time you get to the end, but this was well infused with ample flavouring. The mango and strawberries were fresh and sweet. It was worth the price given the size and I would not recommend a group smaller than 4 people taking this on.

All in all, we had a good time at meet fresh. Prices were a bit steep but portions are big and the quality was quite impressive. I can't wait to come back and try out their waffles once its in stock.

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10

Montica - Tarragindi

With the start of the new year upon us, it seems that the theme of 2026 seems to be shaping up as the year for pizza. Last year there was a flurry of KBBQ openings which have since ceased. We now have the opening of quite a few high quality pizza joints. One which caught my attention for its popularity was Montica Pizza. What makes it unique is the fact that it is run out of a food truck and so its location shifts every day. Being located on the inner southside of Brisbane, I visited them when they were parked at Tarragindi on a Thursday evening. I arrived fairly early at 5.30pm. It was lucky I did as they sold out less than one hour later.

The menu was found on the side of the truck. It was brief and simple with eight savoury options and two dessert pizzas. Notably, prices were fairly similar to restaurant standards these days. Ordering three to go, it took around 20 minutes for my order to be ready.

After a brief 10 minute drive, I was home with the goods.

As usual, I ordered one red and one white. This was the carnivore, topped with salami, proscuitto and Italian sausage. I also added burrata for good measure. As far as pizzas go, this was fairly good. The base was light and fluffy and the toppings worked well together and were generous. Perhaps it had to do with my eating it after the drive home but I found it to be a bit on the wetter side and a bit chewier than I would have liked it if it had come straight out of the oven. 

For our white pizza, we had the Tartufo. This was topped with fior di latte, prosciutto, onion and truffle oil. This was interesting insofar as tartufo pizzas usually do not come with onion and this added a level of sweetness that I enjoyed. Again the crust came off as a little bit steamed, probably from the car ride home.

Following on from the pistachio craze of 2025, I couldn't resist the pistachio pizza for dessert. This was the weakest of the three and was basically pistachio papi on a pizza base with pistachio pieces. It wasn't bad per se but it was a tad dry as a dessert and I would easily have been satisfied by one or two pieces rather than half a pizza.

In summary, we did have a fairly good experience at Montica. I would say currently it isn't as good as the offerings at Corner Pizza at Sunnybank, but for an option close by, it's very decent and I'd go back to try their other pizzas.

Price Range: $25 - $35pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 6/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: N/A 

Mistaboo - Brisbane CBD

On my last working day of 2025, I decided for once not to pack my lunch and instead head out to see what was available as a small reward for myself finishing the year. Without too much planning, I ambled on the new-ish branch of Mistaboo on Edward Street. Always keen for sushi, I was interested to see how they compare to Sushi Edo on Elizabeth St, so went to try it out.

Arriving just past 11 on a fairly quiet workday, it had a few tables of customers. The ambience was modern and casual, however I really don't enjoy the fluorescent purple lights.

The train was very well stocked despite the time of year. Items appeared fresh and I appreciate the additional plastic cover on top, noting other diners comments on google reviews about flies. As usual though, most of my ordering was done by way of ipad with only a few additional add ons from the train. 

As an end of year celebration, I ordered a serve of sake. This was fairly cute and well priced at $11 for the bottle. It was crisp and fruity.

Service was fast. It didn't take long until all my orders had arrived.

Starting with the scallop nigiri and salmon ship with lobster salad. Both were reasonable. The scallop and salmon were fresh but could have been a bit thicker. The lobster salad ship was falling apart which was a bit disappointing as the salmon could have been a bit bigger. The biggest letdown for me though was the rice which was strongly undercooked with an overly hard centre and a bit underseasoned.

Same applies to the crab salad salmon ship. The salmon was small, the rice was hard but at least the seafood salad was well seasoned and had a generous amount of mayonnaise.

The salmon avocado nigiri was also just fine. More or less the same as what you would get at sushi edo except for the overly firm rice. The avocado was also under ripe and a bit too firm.

 

My comments follow through for the salmon tobiko ship and the ika. The ika, whilst fresh and delicious was paper thin and left me wanting more. There was a generous amount of rice with the soft shell crab hand roll and not too much crab. It was however freshly made and the seaweed was very crispy.

Rounding off with an unagi nigiri, this too was a lot thinner than I am used to, although the copious amount of sauce made up for any lack of flavour. 

I didn't mind my meal at Mistaboo. I would say that it is notably worse than Sushi Edo, despite being 30c cheaper per dish currently as the quality really falls short. Given the option nearby, I don't think I'll be back anytime soon.

Price Range: $4.50 per plate

Taste: 5/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 6/10 

Fat Cow - Fortitude Valley

Finding a spot to have my birthday dinner is always a challenge ever year. In the twilight zone between Christmas and New Years, lots of things are closed and the remaining ones are often booked out, leaving my choices somewhat limited. Anyway, wanting to end the year with a highlight, we made a reservation at Fatcow, probably the most premium steakhouse in Brisbane.

We were greeted at the door and seated promptly near the entrance where I had a stellar view of the oyster tank and lobster tank.

 

For a refined steakhouse, there was a wide variety on the menu when it came to pricing. For a more budget option there was a wagyu burger available as well as a large selection of steaks. The drinks menu was equally as extensive. However given how premium the restaurant was, it was surprisingly difficult to get the attention of waitstaff and we had to wait a fairly long time before we were able to put our orders in.

Readers may have noted my comment about Fatcow being the most premium steakhouse in Brisbane right now. I would consider it so as it has recently been the first and only restaurant in QLD to be certified to sell Kobe Beef. I wasn't able to reserve any but was lucky enough that they had stock on the day we visited. At $350 for a 200g steak it was a splurge but we ordered it anyway. After ordering, we were able to enjoy the trophy on our table for a while before our food and drinks showed up.

First round of cocktails, I had an espresso martini and Dr L had the Devil's Advocate. The espresso martini was definitely more premium than the usual, with a strong alcoholic taste, rich coffee and not overly sweet. The Devils Advocate was very festive with a heavy cherry hit and also strong in liqueur.

 

Knowing that our meal was going to be a heavy one, I opted for the lightest entrees on offer, being the scallops and kingfish. Both portions were on the smaller side but intricate. The scallops were very creamy with its corn miso puree, balancing out the charred caramelised flavours whilst the kingfish was crisp and acidic with its smoky ponzu.

Furthering my point about service being a bit shaky in such an upmarket restaurant, the bread was only served after our entrees arrived. As would be expected, it was crusty and served warm and lightly toasted. It was served with a rich salted butter and a lighter red wine jus which we kept for the impending steak.

Steak always goes well with red wine, so we had a glass of chilled pinot noir each to go with the main event. It was poured before it got to the table, which I also considered surprising when I had a more polished experience at Clarence where they poured it at the table and let me sample some before topping up the glass.

Our main event was of course the wagyu tasting platter. Originally it comes with 200g of Sirloin MB6+, 250g Rump Cap MB9+ and 150g Japanese Sirloin MB12+ however we swapped out the Japanese Sirloin for 200g of the Full Blood Kobe Sirloin. Each steak was cooked to perfection and we were really able to appreciate the difference in texture and meatiness between all three. The MB6 sirloin was meaty and tended towards the leaner side but had a much earthier and beefy flavour to the meat. It was definitely the chewiest of the options but still superior to anything I could make at home. We both enjoyed the rump cap that struck a nice balance between tasty meaty flavours whilst still being delightfully buttery soft, however of course our highlight was the Kobe Sirloin. This was cooked masterfully to allow for a significant amount of the fat to be rendered off so that it wasn't too greasy and intense for us to enjoy 100g each. The meat was pillowy soft and the flavours delicate. I didn't know whether one platter would have been too much food for the two of us, given how decadent we expected the steak to be, but it was just right and we were amply full. As such, if you come in a group of three or four, you might have to order more to supplement the meal. To go with this tasting platter, we ordered a peppercorn and garlic sauce for an extra $7. Readers know my position on paying for sauces in an upmarket restaurant by now but it has to be emphasised again. When we have paid in excess of $500 for this platter, it comes off as cheap to charge extra for a sauce. Anyway the sauce was also enjoyable, striking a good balance of creaminess and pepperiness.

The wagyu tasting platter came with three sides. We had the roasted pumpkin with blue cheese, garden salad and fatcow potatoes. I don't have too much to say about the pumpkin and the garden salad other than that they were executed well but didn't really stand out as unique. The fatcow potatoes though were really something special. The potatoes had just the right texture, smooth in the right places, lumpy in just the right amount and then deep fried to perfection. Other than the potatoes, I found the other two sides to be on the smaller side, which allowed us to finish everything comfortably.

Whilst we didn't opt for dessert as Dr L had made a cake for me at home, however, given it was a birthday celebration we were gifted a small slice of citrus cake with a sparkler. This was tart and refreshing after a luxurious meal.

Overall we had a pretty good time at Fatcow. Although there was room for improvement on the service front, it was undeniable that the food was spectacular. I will definitely make a point to come back for any special occasions we may have in the future if we are looking for premium steak.

Price Range: $300+pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 6/10

Environment: 9/10