Featuring: One Fish, Two Fish, Mercado, Duck Room…
THE Sunshine State is known for a few things – sunshine being one of them, and abundant fish and crustaceans being another. The north of the state yields ocean icons like red emperor, coral trout and the mighty barramundi, while the South East and surrounds offer a plethora of shellfish such as Moreton Bay bugs, Mooloolaba king prawns and deliciously delicate little oysters also from Moreton Bay and from the pristine rivers of northern New South Wales.
It is this local bounty, supplemented by cold-climate offerings from up and down the eastern seaboard that made up the menu at The Fish House, overlooking the famous surf break at Burleigh Heads.
Chef Daniel Miletic perfected his seafood game at this Gold Coast favourite restaurant before city-changing to Brisbane to open his first venue with wife Amelia.
One Fish, Two Fish opened recently in Kangaroo Point and the menu reads like a hearty “Yes, Please!” to about every holiday seafood dish your heart could desire. Among the “hook, line & starters” is an enticing mix of Australian classics – think local tiger prawns on a toasted bun with lime aioli and cajun fish tacos with mango and avocado sliders, or the delectable sounding soft shell crab slider with slaw and sriracha mayo.
There’s a posh section and a traditional section of mains – the former listing pot au feu of shellfish in a saffron broth, salt baked fish with potato bake and a knock out seafood risotto finished with basil and dry vermouth. Old-school offerings of local whiting and fries, and crumbed calamari vie for a place next to healthy options like grilled salmon with quinoa and tomato salad, and a poke bowl of rice noodles, edamame, daikon and seaweed, to which you can add raw kingfish. And no self-respecting fish joint would be complete without paying homage to the humble spud – five varieties of potato dishes are on offer – fat and thin fries, potato scallops and a potato bake with spicy nduja. 708 Main St, Kangaroo Point; phone (07) 3391 7680.
Residents of the leafy enclave of Chelmer, Graceville and Corinda, across the famous Indooroopilly Bridge in Brisbane’s west, have long lamented the lack of good places to eat.
Bouchon, a sassy little French bistro and neighbouring cafe, Three Girls Skipping, helped bring smart dining and great coffee to the locale but it was Trish Walker’s Hunter & Scout that set the “brunch alot” crowd singing the praises of this delightful garden oasis.
Now daughter Maddison, who also runs the events at Hunter & Scout, has taken the space nearby for her new project – Botellon, a Spanish-inspired wine bar. Botellon means “big bottle” and according to Maddy, this is inspiration enough for good times to be had at the casual, heritage-listed corner tenancy.
Due to open mid-year, the menu will feature dishes like whole baked fish and lots of small plates designed to share. The neighbourhood is family-oriented, so Walker is keen to ensure early dining options and quality, kid-friendly items are also front and centre along with a carefully selected list of both local, national and old world wines. 327 Honour Ave, Graceville.
King Street is an ever expanding foodie mecca anchored by Montrachet, one of Brisbane’s most loved French brasseries. There’s plenty of dining diversity with The Lamb Shop, a super popular family-style option, the colourful El Camino Cantino from the Rockpool Group and spicy Vietnamese flavours from Banoi, all neighbours along the same strip. Now comes Mercado, a vast, mosaic-clad emporium where you can buy your groceries in style, grab a coffee, eat pizza straight from the wood-fired oven, or have a multi-course duck degustation in the specially designed dine-in Duck Room, complete with hanging displays, carving stations and a sommelier who will talk you through wine choices that will marry with dishes like smoked duck nigiri, dry-aged duck with broccolini and duck four ways, including Peking duck pancakes, duck and miso soups, roasted duck with pickled cucumber and duck frame with chilli jam. The Duck Room sits between the large wine shop and the fresh fruit and veggie displays of the shopping emporium, in the centre of which is a giant circular counter divided into two – seafood at the front and charcuterie and cheeses at the rear. A sushi chef deftly carves the daily catch into magnificent morsels for nigiri, sashimi and the like, which can be eaten in-house or as a takeaway.
Both sections produce items for the menu in the more casual dining area, complete with wood-fired pizza oven, open kitchen and bar. From the seafood counter comes everything from squid ink spaghetti with WA scampi and garlic crumbs, cold seafood platters, seafood laksa, fish and chips and tataki of Mooloolaba tuna.
It’s the same breadth of offering from the butchery and charcuterie sections – steaks, roast lamb, spatchcocks with sides of vegetables cooked with mainly Euro-inspired flavours, and if that isn’t enough choice then there’s a menu of semolina-crusted pizzas of bianca and rossa. 3/30 King St, Bowen Hills; phone (07) 3112 7168.