Brisbane Street Bistro

Evan and I went to Brisbane Street Bistro on a Tuesday evening.  We had dinner at 6:30, and only 2 other groups of people arrived while we were there. It's built into an old home, and the dining area is stuffed with tables. I wouldn't like to be there if it was a busy evening, as navigating around the restaurant with empty tables was difficult enough. It's very comfortable with a lovely atmosphere. The music was also decent.

When we arrived we were greeted by the most over the top and enthusiastic waiter I think I have ever experienced. He may have been a little too keen for some people's tastes, however, I found it to be rather entertaining. Unfortunately, they don't have an established website...yet! This meant that I scanned the reviews before we arrived and it had many fabulous reviews. We ordered out entrees and mains, after listening carefully to the waiters recommendations. He had heaps of information on everything and was very helpful.

Before our entrees arrived, the waiter bought us a complimentary artichoke soup with truffle, with homemade bread and salted butter. I was initially hesitant to try this as I'm not a fan of mushroom (we also weren't sure of how to actually eat this dish??), however, it was so delicious. The soup was lovely, and having the salted butter really bought out the flavour of everything - just as the waiter promised.

For entree I ordered the Onion Taste Plate. As described, this was a light short-crust onion tart topped with goat's cheese, French onion soup, pickled baby onion and shallot salad and fine herbs. I love onions, they're one of my favourite things ever. This entree was very delicious. The base of the tart may have been a little overcooked as I was causing a racket with my knife against the plate - but everything tasted lovely.

Evan ordered the Crisp Pork Belly, which was long cooked pork belly, mandarin pancakes, spring onion, cucumber, chili jam and hoisin sauce. It was served as finger food with all the components wrapped in the crepe - to dip into the hoisin. It was very well presented and Evan said it was very tasty.

For main course, I ordered the Market Fish; Gremolata dusted fresh fish fillet, garlic mash, citrus salsa & lemon buerre blanc. This was very similar to what I ordered at Pierre's, so it was good that I was able to compare the pair. The fish was cooked really well and overall it was an excellent dish. There was just so much of it! As I was trying to save room for dessert - and we'd already had soup and entree, I only ate about half. I also liked how much buerre blanc there was - more than Pierre's, which meant that I didn't have to be scarce when dressing my fish.

Evan ordered the Cassoulet; traditional French braise of duck leg, sausage, white rabbit, ham hock and white beans with sourdough crumbs. Overall, he said that he thoroughly enjoyed his meal - however he said that it was very salty. It also took a very long time for it to cool down before he could eat it. He was also grateful for the waiters recommendation for this dish.

Even though we were very full we were excited for dessert.

I ordered the Classic Vanilla Creme Brulee; Vanilla bean creme brulee, with roasted rhubarb and vanilla ice cream.
With all of the desserts, on the menu they have paired dessert wines with them - which I thought was really helpful.
I thought that it was so delicious and the rhubarb went really well with the sweetness of the ice-cream and creme brulee.

Evan ordered the Chocolate Marquis; A rich Callebaut Belgian chocolate dessert, with pistachio praline, Grand Marnier cream and the ultimate chocolate ice cream. It was presented beautifully & Evan said that it was very tasty.

Overall,  it was a really delicious meal. The service was excellent and we have recommended this dining experience to others. We were there for under two hours and completed four courses. Brisbane Street Bistro is quite dear, I like that all of the food is the same price - which means that cost isn't made a factor in deciding what to choose. All appetisers at $18, Entrees are $19, mains are $36 and all desserts are $16. I think that the prices are worth it, considering the size and quality. Fortunately, Brisbane Street Bistro are in the Tasmanian Entertainment Book with a 25% discount, which was really fantastic.

Brisbane Street Bistro - 24 Brisbane Street, Launceston 7250

6333 0888

Pierre's

Evan and I went to Pierre's on a Friday evening.  We had booked in advance, which was lucky as they had a function at 8 and we were informed that we needed to be out by then. This wasn't an issue, it was quite empty when we arrived at 6, when we left around 7:30, it was reasonably full. I would recommend arriving earlier as I feel as thought we received better service than the others there. The decor at Pierre's is lovely. The main area is a corridor, lined with tables on each side. I know from having been there before that there is an area out the back - but you can't see this from the area that we were seated in. The music was average, however I imagine that the middle-aged others that were there were enjoying the smooth easy listening tracks. The menu is massive. I don't mean extensive by any means - it's an A3 piece of paper. Luckily we were placed at a four seat table so accommodate us and out menus. Before we arrived we had a look at their website to make sure that there was something on the menu that I could eat, being a vegetarian and also something that we would both enjoy. For entree we ordered the baked escargot. Evan's brother-in-law is a chef and has prepared escargot for him before, however, I have always been far too apprehensive to put a garden creature in my mouth. When they arrived they were presented beautifully and had a very pungent garlic dressing. Evan said that they were very different and better than snails that he has previously consumed - the texture was also very different. I tried a small amount, and it was no where near as gross as I imagined, but I let Evan have the other five and a half. It was served with bread to mop up the remaining dressing.

For main course, I ordered the baked trevalla, which was served with a soft herb crust, buttered vegetables and a lemon beurre blanc. I don't eat a lot of fish, however, due to my new vegetarian-ism I'm learning to become more creative with my food choices. It was presented beautifully. It was also quite tasty, the soft herb crust tasted similar to a pesto - which is good, if you like pesto. The vegetables were lovely and the beurre blanc was one of the most tasty sauces I've ever tried. Unfortunately, my trevalla was undercooked to the point where I couldn't eat about half of it. I didn't complain, as I'd eaten plenty and I was looking forward to dessert.

Evan ordered the cripsy skinned confit duck leg, which was served with a fig jam tart, broccolini and savoury hazelnut crumb. He said that his meal was very delicious and the duck was cooked perfectly. At the end of dinner, his plate was stripped bare, which is often the sign of a good meal.

 

For dessert we both had the vanilla bean creme brulee which was served with a beetroot and orange sugared shortbread. We both thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

Overall, we thought the service was excellent, we were asked if everything was going well and if we'd like anything at multiple occasions - we had three courses and left in under and hour and a half, which i think is very reasonable.

Pierre's is quite dear, looking at around $20 for an entree, $35 for a main and $15 for dessert, however, if you have the Tasmanian Entertainment Book, there is a 25% discount voucher in there, which we utilised - and ended up being a very reasonable dinner for the two of us. 

Pierre's - 88 George Street, Launceston 7250

6331 6835

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