The Charming Squire | Shop 3, 133 Grey Street, SOUTH BANK QLD 4101
Some
of you may recall from a post that I wrote quite a while ago that the
other travel bunnie had promised me two international holidays and
two domestic holidays a year at the beginning of our relationship. He
had certainly kept his promise in that regard, well, that was up
until Minibun George was born. Now, it's a little difficult to get a
three month baby around. We are still trying to perfect his manners
at fine dining restaurants, let alone international flights (and
speaking of international flights, Minibun George is due for one, but
I'll keep that a secret for now).
So
yes, to keep life in BrisVegas interesting, the other travel bunnie
and I often find ourselves being very spontaneous. Like last night.
We were about to head out for our weekly walk through the City
Botanic Gardens, then around South Bank when the other travel bunnie
suddenly suggested a quick stopover at the newly opened The Charming
Squire. As if I was going to say no to that!
Operated
by the Mantle Group, The Charming Squire has no doubt become one of
the hottest post work drinking spots around. In fact, the bar was
completely packed when we arrived shortly after six o'clock but
luckily for us, the restaurant was quiet and we easily got a table
without a reservation.
I
couldn't help but to love the minimalistic open space of the
restaurant; the high ceilings and the wooden and dark leather
furnishing are so inviting and release a sense of timeless style. We
started off with a lemon lime & bitters
($4.50) and a pint of
the in-house brewed pale ale ($7). The
restaurant menu is an unpretentious affair of pretty much meat based
options, with a few seafood dishes available. I initially was going
to order the Garrison's Farm Dorper Lamb ($34
for 250g), but I was told that both the lamb and the beef were
unavailable at the time so I had the Berkshire
Pork instead with a side of steamed
broccolini, almonds, goat's cheese, sumac and
duck fat kipfler potatoes, truffle ($34
for 250g with a choice of two sides). As for the other travel bunnie,
he ordered the James Squire Beer Battered Fish
& Chips ($28).
The
wait on the food took quite a while. We were puzzled at the long wait
until we realised that the restaurant kitchen also provides food for
the bar (which was packed as I have mentioned above). When the other
travel bunnie ordered his meal, I had thought that $28 for fish and
chips was perhaps a little pricey. But the dish justified the price.
The fish and chips were wrapped in a sheet of faux-newspaper,
presented on a wooden chopping board was also some garden salad. The
beer batter was crunchy with each bite and the cod was cooked so
well; its flesh was tender and tasted extremely delicious with the
tartare sauce.
The
Berkshire Pork on the other hand was quite underwhelming. As the menu
suggests, the meats are slow cooked over the wood fired coal pit so I
was expecting finger licking goodness, but instead I found the meat
to be quite dry and although the dish came with a generous amount of
pork crackling, it was too tough to chew and had to be abandoned. And
what happened to the almonds that were supposed to accompany the
broccolini? I did like the apple sauce on a positive note.
Knowing
that I didn't enjoy my food as much as he did, the other travel
bunnie ordered a Mantle & Moon coffee
crème brûlée ($14) for me. And I
luuuuurved it. It arrived in a cappuccino cup with vanilla foam on
the top and for a second there I had seriously thought that I was
given a cappuccino by mistake. The crème brûlée was rich and
creamy, it was beautifully done and I must strongly recommend this
dessert.
Look,
there were a few teething problems and although the waitstaff were
extremely friendly, they still need to familiarise themselves with
the menu and the operation of the restaurant a little better. At the
end of our meal, the manager came over to ensure that everything went
well with our meal and during the conversation, he too admitted that
there are a few teething problems that required attention but said
that they are working hard to resolve the issues. Regardless of the
negatives, we both had a good time and thought that dinner has
exceeded our expectations.
Total
Bunnie Dollars Spent: $87.50
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