Cutty Sark Teneriffe

Six months B and I have been seeing each other and we decided to celebrate this with a lovely dinner.

photo courtesy of dimmi.com.au

In case you weren't aware, I love boats and I love water. Everything nautical really. I can't remember how I stumbled on reviews for Cutty Sark restaurant, but they were sterling. So with the name of a ship, river views, and excellent reviews, we made a booking for Friday night.

We arrive just as the sun is setting and are shown to the best table: in the corner of the restaurant facing the river. The sliding door are open and the wafting breezes are divine on the balmy Brisbane evening. Fairy lights drape from the ceiling and it has a lovely casual but tasteful ambience.

The menu is a Spanish inspired modern Australian affair and offers almost too many excellent options

We peruse the menu while sipping on one of the best red sangias I've ever tried and take in the view.

Cutty Sark offers a 'chefs selection' as well as full a la carte, the chefs selection offers a starter, entree, main and dessert for $79 and seems like great value, however on this particular night did not offer a couple of the things we were really wanting to try.

I order the Crispy Pork Belly ($17) to start, B orders the Croquettes ($12).

My last post I wrote about my love affair with pork belly, and quite often when you love something as much as I love pork belly, expectations can be set too high, which leads to disappointment. Fortunately, Cutty Sark absolutely smashed it out of the park. This was one of the best pork bellies I had ever tried. Perfectly cooked, perfect crackling, perfect accompaniments of pickled cabbage and celeriac puree, I was so impressed, I posted pictures all over social media and have told just about every person who will listen.

B's croquettes were also really really lovely. Texturally they were perfect, so light and fluffy inside and crisp and golden on the outside with such incredible depth of flavour. The pimenton aioli is also really fantastic.

For mains I was tossing up between the market fish, which was Barramundi that night or the eye fillet. I opted for the Barra as it is one of my favourites. B orders the Ricotta and Spinach Gnudi.

My Barramundi comes to the table with cauliflower puree, grilled asparagus, spinach, and citrus vierge. I have found with fish dishes, fish is either incredible or fine. There was nothing wrong with this main, it was fine, it just didn't blow me away. The fish was cooked really nicely with crispy skin and veggies were wonderful. Maybe I was just too blown away with my starter.

B's gnudi, which is like a gnocci/dumpling hybrid, arrives with forest mushroom, blistered tomato, steamed greens, truffled cream, and THIS was a great dish, everything that was served added a really desirable element to the dish and it was lovely to try different things together.

With our mains we order a side of patatas bravas which are served with tomato salsa, pepper dressing and the beautiful pimenton aioli again. These were so addictive. B and I say we'd both me happy with a table or these, croquettes and pork bellies!

I had to steal this pic from Cutty Sark's website as I didn't get a snap, and they deserve to be seen by all!

I think apart from how perfectly cooked and crispy the potatoes are, the tomato cubes really bring an amazing fresh dimension to this dish, the aioli is also just stunning with a smoky, savoury, garlicky loveliness.

Throughout the evening the hostess and waitress are really lovely and easy to get along with, attentive but never in-our-faces.

We had decided earlier in the evening that we'd like dessert, hoping we'd have room, and fortunately, we did.

I have the Kaffir Lime Pannacotta with pineapple salsa, ginger crisp and coconut ice cream, B goes for the Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie which comes with vanilla ice cream, rhubarb and mixed berries, and chocolate sauce. The desserts were outstanding, up there with the incredible starters. My pannacotta is light, refreshing and a beautiful creamy consistency and nice lime tang. The coconut ice cream is divine and everything on the plate worked perfectly.

B's brownies were rich and delicious, his ice cream also was really really good.

I really really enjoyed this restaurant. The food was fine dining in an unpretentious but beautiful setting. Lovely staff and beautiful menu and outlook. Really cannot recommend enough and I look forward to returning.

Cutty Sark Riverside Bar and Restaurant is located at Goldsborough Place on Vernon Terrace. We are 200m away from the Teneriffe City Cat terminal and Route 60 City Glider bus stop.

39 Vernon Terrace, Teneriffe, QLD 4005.

Tel: (07) 3257 2266

email: hello@cuttysark.com.au

The German Club, Woolloongabba

I love the German Club, and not just because I'm half German.

photo courtesy of The German Club

The German Club has been around for decades, and once inside, it feels like it. But I love that. The place offers a literal book of German beers both on tap and bottled. But my favourite part is the food.

photo courtesy of the weekend edition

My father, brother and I decide to celebrate their birthdays with a mid-week lunch.

Currently one of my favourite beers

GC (as I'll call it from here on out to save my letter count), has become very 'cool' lately and without a doubt this must be in part to the excellent meals, both in flavour and value. They are big! Like real big.

Their legendary 1kg Pork Knuckle beats most punters. I tried it once, but being the glutton I am, it just left me in agony for days after.

I start with the Crumbed Camembert Cheese $8.90. I only discovered it recently, but it is the best! It comes served with cranberry sauce and is divine just as it is, however, my brother and I have also discovered if you also order the garlic bread (which is spectacular also) and have them together like a garlicky cheesy pizza, it's just next level.

I've tried quite a few things on the GC menu, but I have to say, my go-to is the Pork Belly. Actually, any Pork Belly is my go-to just in general, but GC does a cracker. On the menu, it comes with fried potatoes, braised sweet red cabbage and sour cherry port sauce ($32), but I like to trade out the potato for spatzle (+$2).

What is a spatzle?

Spätzle (Swabian diminutive plural of Spatz, thus literally "little sparrows", also Spätzli or Chnöpfli in Switzerland or Knöpfle or Hungarian Nokedli, Csipetke or Galuska) are a kind of soft egg noodle found in the cuisines of southern Germany and Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Moselle and South Tyrol.

Little sparrow noodles are very popular in the Southern part of Germany where my father's family still live, I think they are great.

As usual, everything on the plate is just perfect, the meat is moist and juicy, the crackling is crackly, the cabbage is in no way bitter and goes perfectly with the fatty meat, and my lovely spatzle are a perfect carby accompaniment. 

There really is only one down side to eating at GC, and that is, they have an incredible dessert menu, but I never have any room for dessert. 

Address: 416 Vulture St, East Brisbane QLD 4169

Phone: (07) 3391 2434

Buroughs of NY Pizza

I ate here once and had a great experience. So this weekend, myself and the boyf decided to get an 18" takeaway. This is where it's gets tricky.

We were overjoyed when we discovered we could order online... Big tick. 

The ordering process was smooth, but at the end of the order we wait for order to be accepted... and wait... and wait. Then as the order was sent to the restaurant, we got an email saying the order didn't go through and our card was not charged. All good... We tried again.

Order placed again, 18" Philly Cheesesteak pizza, 10% off for first order saving us almost $5 off our $45 pizza. But alas same result, same email.

We then receive a call from a woman from the restaurant, "we don't have the ingredients for your pizza, order hasn't gone through."

No apologies, no would you like to try something else? .. Instead. Just a sharp short response. Oh and that our card HAD been charged and it'll take 48 hours to be refunded.

Okay.

So $90 in the hole, we go back back to the menu, decide on the Liberty Supreme and call through the order this time. She remembers us, but still just as short and unresponsive.

On the plus side, it was to be ready in fifteen minutes.

We decide that despite our ordering woes, that we will judge the pizza on the pizza's merit only and head off to pick it up 

I get there, and announce that I have a pick up under the name we gave, and I am ignored. Okay...

They then ask if the liberty supreme was mine. I say yes and proceed to pay.

I ask if because I initially tried to order online if I'm still entitled to the ten percent off. I might as well have asked in another language with the looks I was given. Eventually a gentleman in a chef's coat agrees, I thank them, pay and walk out.

The pizza box is huge, and I forget all the troubles til that point...

Until I look at my receipt, I have been charged full price. Good.

I get back to the car and the pizza does smell great.

Once home we tuck in.

The base and sauce were EXCELLENT! However that's where it stops, the best I can say is "meh". The toppings were just really underwhelming. Maybe a Margarita pizza is the way to go? They are substantially cheaper 

I don't want to be a whinging Wendy, but the whole experience was just so disappointing.

I had recommended this place to alot of friends, however I can't say I will any longer.