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HOT: Bar Alto, The Powerhouse, 119 Lamington St, New Farm

Many a Sunday session has been had on my favourite bend in the Brisbane River – whether it be footy in New Farm park, a BBQ and beers at Merthyr Bowls or a people watching, bubbles-sipping sunset at Watt Modern Dining.  Another venue to add to this favourites list is Bar Alto  at The Powerhouse.

What set out to be a casual, brief Sunday lunch with good friends ended up as a long, boozy and hilarious culinary extravaganza which crept up on us with sheer stealth.

I suspected the culinary side of things was always going to be enjoyable as I’d heard nothing but glowing reports of the menu at Bar Alto .  What I wasn’t expecting (or perhaps wasn’t prepared for) was a constant stream of energy-fuelled patrons entering the restaurant and bar; banter-filled wait-staff with beaming smiles and slightly flirtatious attitudes; a buzzing kitchen in the public eye for all to see and to top it off a never ending glass of Tin Cows pinot noir from the Yarra Valley ($38 per bottle).

Our table of 6 held prime position in the centre of the venue with a great view of the kitchen, so we could check out the team’s handy work.  We could also see all the action at the bar – these guys know how to pull a crowd.

After much deliberation and debate over which of the mains each of us would decide on we finally made some progress by way of the ciabatta with olive oil and balsamic ($2 per serve), but that was as far as we got for some time….

On his fourth or fifth attempt, our waiter finally got some sense out of us, but not until after he provided some interpretation of the Bar Alto  menu items (it would seem that our Italian was a little shabby, but perhaps the wine had something to do with it?).

MM and Aunty both chose exceptional meals of venison-filled parcels in rich mushroom and olive oil sauce ($24); the pasta parcels were thin and light, allowing the flavour of the venison to shine in this dish.

CC had the best-dressed plate of the day with the Venetian style crespelle filled with ricotta, pumpkin and burnt sage butter ($17).  I was jealous – this dish was my second option…how good do these little parcels look?

AJ was feeling fishy, so opted for the pan seared halibut with prawns and wilted spinach in a tomato and seafood bisque ($23).  The fish was cooked perfectly with a nice crispy skin and the bisque was subtle yet flavoursome.

SM took a huge gamble with the squid ink risotto ($23); the dish certainly didn’t have much appeal to look at, but somehow these squishy, inky creatures worked well with the perfectly gluggy rice and greenery on the side.

I chose the strozzapreti with prawns, squid, tomato and black olives ($23).  This was a little disappointing to be honest as there was only scarce pieces of seafood to the dish and it presented as a very large pile of no-frills pasta, with what looked and tasted like bolognaise sauce with a hint of spice.  It was tasty, but nothing outstanding like what my fellow diners had the pleasure of enjoying.

The meals were all very filling but a few of us kept some room in the dessert pocket, mainly to try the chocolate budino with panettone ice-cream ($12) dish that we were witnessing being made by the tray-full. 

This dessert is obviously a house specialty as they must’ve put a hundred of these things in to bake while we were there.  The pictures say it all really….

Our lunch was definitely in the long category by now and after such a lovely couple of hours we really weren’t ready to leave, so we moved our little party to the alfresco area.  There is no bar service on the Bar Alto  balcony, but it is the best seat in the house, overlooking the river as the sun sets over the waterfront homes on Norman Reach and Bulimba.  By now the line up at the bar was 4 or 5 deep but with the spring time vibe in the air everyone was more than happy to queue up and have a chat.

The food alone makes Bar Alto  a winner, but when you add the ambience and the scenery, it makes for a really enjoyable experience and I can’t wait to lock in another Sunday sesh with the crew to do it all again.

• Bar Alto, The Powerhouse, 119 Lamington St, New Farm, +61 7 3358 1063

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HOT: Black Forrest German Cafe Restaurant – 196 Gladstone Rd, Highgate Hill

There’s something extremely satisfying about a stein of authentic German beer accompanied by a kransky in a doughy bun and now that I know about Black Forrest, there’s no reason to wait ‘til October fest.

Although I quite enjoy it, German fair would not be my pick of venues for a Saturday night dinner with friends or family, but MM’s side of the family used to live just round the corner from Black Forrest and thought it might nice to head back to their old stomping ground.

The bustling cafe was packed full of smiling punters and it was great to see mostly German nationals running the show (in traditional German costumes too).

Typical of a German venue, the beer menu was just as extensive as the food menu and I had a tough time deciding which cool ale to choose.  Three or four Lowenbrau’s later…..

The Black Forrest menu was full of schnitzel options, sauerkraut-accompanied melees of sausages, meat upon meat with more meat and sauerkraut, and of course pork any way you like.  There were varied options at our table of 8, below is a selection of these – note how huge the dish sizes are, I don’t think a single one of us managed to get through our meal.

Jaegerschnitzel ($28.90), pork schnitzel with champignons, onion, white wine, tomato paste, bacon, sour cream and home made spaetzle (noodles).

Nuernberger Rosbratwuerstchen ($27.90), Sausages originating from Nuernberg with sauerkraut and mashed potato.

Holzfaeller Steak ($29.50), wood cutters steak marinated in olive oil and red wine for 24hours served with brandy sauce and spaetzle.

Muenchener Schweinshaxe ($31.90), oven roasted pork hock with sauerkraut and Bavarian dumplings.

Black Forrest boasts to have the most authentic German meals in Brisbane with specialist dishes that you won’t even find outside of Bavaria and Munich.  I’ve not done the rounds of other German venues to find out, but we did thoroughly enjoy our meals and the overall experience.  There was even some entertainment by way of the wandering piano accordionist who even took requests towards the end of the night. 

• Black Forrest German Cafe Restaurant – 196 Gladstone Rd, Highgate Hill +61 7 3217 2180

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NOT: Little Singapore – 42 Charlotte St, Brisbane

MM and his cronies seem to know all the go-to spots around the city where you can find quick, cheap and tasty lunch time meals and they constantly badger me to try them out for the purposes of the HOT or NOT readership, as well as to satisfy my own love affair with food.   Little Singapore has been mentioned several times, namely for its quick service and great price tag, so I rallied some troops together for a mid-week, midday feed recently – unfortunately we weren’t too impressed.

 Little Singapore was bustling upon our arrival and we were lucky that JPC had arrived a little earlier to jag a table.  First impressions were pretty good really; there was a mix of clientele with some large, rowdy tables of 6 or more making it an occasion, down to tables for two on a quick mission.

 The large, laminated menu had so many good looking options and what I liked about it was they didn’t really give a description of what the dish was – it had an authentic name and a photo of the end result; so we had to go with gut instincts which gave it an element of danger yet excitement (scary for someone like me who is notoriously bad with menu choices).

 The three of us made our selections and I joined the queue at the counter to order.  A few minutes later I was back at the table, waiting with bated breath for our meals to arrive.  We were surrounded by tables with large portions of steaming noodle and curry dishes – with nothing over $14 on the menu it was clear this is a value for money experience.  However, as we waited 10, 15, 20 and finally 30 minutes for our meals (watching people who ordered after us cleaning their plates with their Roti) our first impressions had fizzled.

 We had to ask several times for our meals and it was clear they had forgotten our order, yet none of the Little Singapore wait staff bothered to acknowledge this and were quite abrupt with us when we requested they check with the kitchen.  When the meals finally arrived (not together, but 5 minutes apart) our hungers had somewhat diminished and it was almost time to get back to the office.

 We quickly scoffed our meals and to their credit the dishes were very tasty.  Princess’ black bean beef ($10.50) was flavoursome, packed full of meet (a tad on the fatty side) and vegies as well.

 JPC’s char kway teow ($11.50) was a delicious, smoky dish of chicken with fat egg noodles in a soy based sauce.

 I chose the BBQ pork and roast duck with rice ($13.90); the pork was a little on the dry side but the flavour was spot on and the duck was mouth-wateringly fatty and roasted in a delicious (what seemed like) plum based sauce.

We all shared a roti planta plate ($9.50) of sweet flat bread with dahl and mixed vegies which was perfect for mopping up any left overs.

Needless to say, the food and price are both winners at Little Singapore so I’ll no doubt be returning to give them a second chance.  I suspect that on this visit we were unlucky; but the overall experience on this occasion definitely warranted the NOT Little Singapore has been given.

• Little Singapore – 42 Charlotte St, Brisbane, +61 7 3211 1177

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