Maeve Wine Bar - South Brisbane

Have long heard great things about Maeve Wine Bar, situated above Starbucks at South Brisbane and a friend of mine (who should really be paid as their brand ambassador) kept mentioning it to me every time we met up over a meal. With such a strong recommendation for this place, we went there with a small group for a mid week treat after work. 

It was extremely lucky that one of our companions had the good sense to book ahead of time, the place was completely packed. We were able to get a nice window seat overlooking the main street. I liked the really dim cozy dining environment. 

 

As you would expect, the wine list was extensive and we had to ask for recommendations before ordering. The food menu was encapsulated within one page, but what we really wanted to do was order one of everything.

 

Starting off with drinks, one companion had the Madame Maeve with Rum, Grape and Lemon Juice, whilst I had a glass of rose. Both delicious, I found the logo on the glass to also be quite beautiful.

Starting off with complimentary bread and butter, the bread was warm and toasty and the texture was somewhat dense and crumbly, reminding me a bit of corn bread. The charcoal infused butter was creamy and soft to spread.

 

Our first small plate was the Black garlic waffle with gelatina de vino and Cashel blue parfait. It was super cute and very photogenic. The waffle was fairly dense and fragrant with black garlic with a delightful spring in texture when you bite into it. The swirl of parfait on top was rich and creamy, adding a good dimension to the dish.

When there is Steak tartare on the menu, you know that I will order it. Maeve's take on this iconic dish came with horseradish creme and cured egg yolk served with crisps. Compared to other iterations I've tried before, this was definitely richer due to the abundance of horseradish creme, which in turn gave it an added flavour hit. I liked the fact it was on crisps so as not to fill us up too quickly.

Next up we had the Saganaki with fermented garlic honey and oregano. This came as a highly recommended dish by one of my companions. The cheese was stretchy and decadent, balanced with the sweetness of honey meant that it was still a very rich and luxurious dish. 

Of the larger plates, this was the Fava bean and winter vegetable buttermilk cassoulet. Having fairly heavy and rich small plates, this proved to be a really good pick. The vegies were tender and soaked up the broth very well but I would have liked a bit more depth of flavour to the dish.

 

Our second of the large plates was the meatier Confit duck lasagne al forno. Even though it had a 20 minute wait time, this was well worth it. There was a very generous amount of duck in the lasagne and it went surprisingly well with the napoli sauce. There was a good amount of bechamel on top but we would definitely have liked it if there was a bit more cheese on top.

We also shared two desserts between our group, this was the Saffron rum baba with spiced creme patissiere. I found it to be fairly sweet, the rum had infused deep into the patissiere, giving it a moist spongy texture. The spiced creme was nicely balanced with the dish.

Our second dessert and final dish was the Scorched meringue, dark chocolate and pernod sorbet and whipped honey. Rich and decadent, the chocolate was extremely intense. I found the dessert to be unbelievably sweet and could barely finish my portion of it.

Price Range: $40 - $60pp

Taste: 7/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10

The Old Seven - Camp Hill

Grabbed an early dinner with a friend the other week after spending the afternoon at a festival. He said that he wanted to check out The Old Seven, which had been on his radar for quite some time now, and I gladly accompanied him to try it.

Not having been to an exclusive cheese and wine bar before, I wasn't expecting it to be as full as it was on a Saturday night, be we ended up getting one of the last tables.

 

The menu was as you would expect, comprehensive and full of cheese options such as toasties and platters. I like how they have some default platters along with the option to customise your own.

A considerable amount of wine was also available on the board. Unfortunately we were both driving that night so alco was off the table for us.

Only having a party of two meant we didn't want to over order with a large platter and miss out on trying some toasties, so we opted for the design your own platter instead. It proved to be quite difficult for us to make a choice on what to order as the options were all quite alluring. 

Whilst it took a long time for us to decide, it didn't take long for our platter to be served.

My pick of the cheese was the super rich Cremaux de Bourgogne. With a 92% fat content, this little piece probably maxed out my calorie intake for the day. A triple creamed brie, it was absolutely decadent and heavy. I liked how it was only lightly salted and a small wedge went a long way to satisfy us. 

Wanting some variety, my companion chose the Pyengana Mature Cheddar, an Australian cheddar of Tasmanian origin. Sharp and salty, I found it to be a good contrast to the cremaux. This went especially well with the rasin crisps with their sweetness counterbalancing the salty cheddar. 

Not one to ever skip getting a toastie when offered, we shared The Old Seven toastie, which contained Aged Cheddar, Gruyere, Truffles, Honey and was served with a side of fries. Like the board above, this was extremely rich and decadent. The cheese was thick and gooey, balanced only by the sweet honey. Truffle flavours were light and overpowered by the aged cheddar though. Definitely needs a bit of something else to counteract the richness of the dish.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 7/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10

B Lucky & Sons - Fortitude Valley

Had two hours to spare between events on a relatively busy day, so a friend and I decided to relax a little and check out B Lucky and Sons, an adults arcade which opened sometime last year in TC Beirne Lane in the Valley.

For those unaware, I used to be fairly addicted to gaming, having only given it up because work gradually took over my life. Having said that, I was like a child in a candy store when I saw what was behind the curtain.

Always one to get caught up in neon lights and catchy music, we had a fairly amazing time trying out a selection of them, which was fun but also fairly dehydrating ;)

 

Any excuse to check out the bar here, we tried out two of the drinks. He had the Sweet Melon bubble cup with watermelon and vanilla syrup, peach tea, coconut jellies and fruit pearls. Considerably pricier than regular bubble tea, it came with an added bonus panda, which I immediately commandeered for research purposes. Wanting to try something unusual, I had the Tarotino, which was the taro version of an espresso martini with chocolate liquor. This was exceptionally sweet, albeit rich but not very strong in alcohol, but fairly strong in taro flavours.  

The drinks weren't too bad, but the experience was worth a return visit. My friend says he wants to get a companion for our new acquisition.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp (drinks)

Taste: 6/10
Value: 5/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 8/10

Song Tea - Sunnybank

Was meeting up with a friend for dinner last week, but arrived a little earlier than anticipated in Sunnybank. With a spare half hour to kill before our meal, I decided to check out the newly opened Song Tea, situated in the car park of Sunnybank Plaza, near all the cube restaurants.

Having previously tried their drinks in Sydney, I didn't hold overly high hopes for the tea. I did however enjoy the entertainment provided by the tea names, which are always funny.

Going for a Strawberry Dirty Marble tea, it essentially met my expectations. The strawberry paste tasted quite sweet and artificial with no depth to it. There also wasn't too much strawberry paste to sweeten the whole cup of milk, resulting in a fairly bland drink. Satisfied my curiosity, but unless there are improvements, I don't think it would be something I'd come back for in a hurry.

Price Range: $5 - $10pp

Taste: 5/10
Value: 5/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10