Degustation at Brents

Brents, 85 Miskin St Toowong 4066 www.brentsrestaurant.com.au

There are different types of foodies out there, but I would say that while I love baking and generally prefer my own cakes and bakes to some of those sold in shops, in terms of actual meals, I am more the type that likes tasting and appraising what restaurants make, rather than physically preparing the dishes myself, especially when it comes to fine dining. Thus, I like trying out different restaurants when I eat out, and what better way to taste all that they have to offer in one sitting than by indulging in their degustation menu, when this is an available option? A few weeks ago, I decided to try out the degustation menu at Brent's with a friend of mine.

Brent's is a restaurant located at the bottom of a very steep road in one of Brisbane's inner city suburbs. It offers an a la carte menu, but is largely known for the different degustation menus that it offers. Not long ago, for the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, the restaurant created a special Edwardian 10-course degustation menu based on the dishes served in the first class dining saloon on April 14, 1912 - the last meal of the first class passengers. It's an interesting idea, but personally, I'm not sure I'd want to eat a 'last meal' on the day that marks the tragic death of so many people. I'm aware that some other eateries and boats both here and around the world planned similar things to celebrate the 100 year anniversary, but I am at a loss as to what there is to celebrate. It is a sombre event, afterall. If that's not enough to make you want to skip the 'celebration', the Brent's degustation also came with a hefty price tag of $250 per head. But anyway, this gives you an idea of the creative degustation menus that Brent's creates from time to time.

Back to my own degustation experience - an everyday degustation menu, their 'Gourmand menu', at $99 a head. Let me walk you through it...

Along the verandah and through to the dining room entrance we go

Let's go in!

The main dining room (there are dining spaces upstairs also, probably for private functions)

The ambience was quite nice, and the dining room was cosy and intimate, dimly lit, with tea candles on each table to provide extra illumination. The staff was attentive, and wore gloves when presenting the dishes, probably more so to protect the plates from fingerprints, than for hygiene reasons. Either way, it was nice to see that level of service.

The food:

Both my friend and I ordered a fruity mocktail to start off. Now, I am aware that mocktails, being alcohol-free, are generally just made with different blends of fruit juices and ice, but still, I've had some great-tasting mocktails before. This one, however, was not to be one of them. It tasted like orange and pineapple juice from the bottle. At the price they charged - I think it was the standard mocktail price of about $7 or so - I was expecting a bit better.

I can't remember what the amuse bouche was exactly, but it was salmon with some creamy thing, which didn't taste too bad.



Fruity cocktail + amuse bouche

The mushroom cappucino, essentially a creamy mushroom soup, was my favourite dish of the night.

Wild mushroom cappucino, truffle oil and prosciutto crumbs

I adore cheese, and was delighted to see this dish on the menu. However, I always cut the (usually) bitter rind off my cheeses, because I dislike its taste. Unfortunately for me, the goats cheese was crumbed and fried with rind and all. I still ate it, but I think I would have enjoyed it more had the rind been removed. The other elements on the dish were very tasty though.

Crumbed and fried goats cheese, beetroot and sorbet, candied pecan and charcoal lavosh

The next dish was a nicely balanced dish of fresh and light vs creamy. My only complaint would be that when a dish is described as 'red claw yabby', I expect to see a decent portion of it; however, rather disappointingly, as you can see from the picture below, there was only a very small piece of yabby, the size of half a prawn. Other than that, the dish was delightful to eat.

Red claw yabby, citrus cured salmon, cucumber, melon, nasturtium and mandarin jam

The following was presented to us as a palate cleanser. Now, I don't know about you, but in my degustation experiences, the palate cleanser is never listed as a dish in itself on the menu. This one, however, was. It looks pretty, but I didn't like this palate cleanser at all, and the fact that I don't like cucumber doesn't help either. 

Palate cleanser: Chartreuse marshmallow, cucumber snow, compressed apple, and milk wafer

The confit duck was quite nice, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well the lemon curd complemented the dish. I should mention, though, that it was more like a slice of duck terrine with the skin layered on top, rather than a natural cut of the duck, as you can see.

Crispy confit duck, butternut pumpkin, lemon curd and liquorice

The beef cheeks were cooked beautifully and literally fell apart at the lightest pressure from the fork. The meat was deliciously tender and melted in the mouth. Unfortunately, the sauce/pan reduction was extremely salty and the meat was doused in it. The mash would have helped to cut through the saltiness, had it not been also drizzled with the sauce, making the dish as a whole too salty for my liking.

Slow cooked beef cheek, paris mash, sauteed mushroom, prosciutto and garlic croutons

As mentioned before, I love cheese. That is, all cheeses with the exception of blue cheeses. Unfortunately for me, the cheese course of the day happened to be just that. I ate the toasted bread and the raspberries.

Cheese course of the day - blue cheese

The dessert was fabulous, faultless, moreish. The flavour of the ice-cream initially was a bit strange for me, but I quickly developed a liking for the unique combination of flavours.

Coffee and fennel seed ice-cream and wafer, chocolate and cocoa nib coulis

All in all, the food was nice, and if we factor in all the other elements, like environment, service, and presentation, it's quite a pleasant dining experience. Would I come back? Hmm if a friend would like to try it out, then yes. My best degustation experience so far would have to be at Esquire, a larger, dining space in the city centre, which serves degustation only. Having said that, they have also produced some dishes that I did not thoroughly enjoy. At the end of the day, it's down to personal preference, as each person's tastes differ. I hope this review has been helpful to those who were contemplating dining at Brent's!

Oh, and for all the fashion enthusiasts out there who might be interested, here's what I wore on the night (left):

So Sweet dress by Review, 3/4 sleeve cropped blazer by Review, Halt pumps by Wittner, Classic Q Karlie bag by Marc Jacobs, and birdy earrings by emoceans.