Zenbar is nothing new to the corporate types around town, but for those not so familiar with some of the dining experiences on offer right in the heart of the CBD, you might be interested to read on.
Zenbar is a modern Australian restaurant with Asian influenced cuisine and as long as I’ve known it, they’ve been serving excellent quality, fresh and flavoursome food. At lunch time it’s hard to find a seat as the suits descend from the buildings above to grab a quick curry and a beer in their lunch break, or, settle in for 3 courses while they solve the world’s problems.
My most recent experience at Zenbar was for dinner with a customer who hadn’t previously had the pleasure of dinner service, only a few beers on a Friday after work. We were fairly ravenous after a long afternoon in meetings so I encouraged a selection of entrees be made before indulging in mains.
We decided to share a few dishes between the 3 of us and I insisted one of those be my Zenbar favourite of the duck wraps with cucumber, hoisin sauce, shallots and Chinese pancakes ($18.50 for 6). We also chose the lightly toasted roti flat bread with spicy satay dipping sauce ($7.50) and the Vietnamese rice paper rolls with spicy nam jim dipping sauce ($13.50 for 6).
The duck pancakes were a huge hit and we actually had to play rock-paper-scissors to determine who would have the pleasure of devouring the remaining piece. The duck was nice and tender with a touch of crispy skin, and once rolled into the fluffy pancake with hoisin sauce and cucumber it really was a flavour sensation.
The roti bread was a little over-toasted for my liking, but the spicy satay sauce made up for it with a zesty punch. The Vietnamese rolls were my least favourite of the three dishes as the filling lacked texture and depth of flavour; again however, the accompanying sauce was fiery and complimented the rolls well.
On to the mains and I was surprised when my guests who are both curry lovers opted for the more main-stream meals of the marinated lamb rump with Moroccan vegetable cous cous and raita ($34.50) and the Coorong beef fillet with kipfler potatoes, garlic mushrooms and red wine jus ($36.50). Quite the duck lover at the moment, I opted for the red curry of twice cooked duck, with lychees, tomato and tamarind relish with a side of rice ($27.50).
My curry was delicious – the red paste was punchy but not too hot and the coconut milk was subtle and didn’t disturb the flavour of the duck meat one bit. The lychees complimented the dish perfectly by adding just a hint of sweetness and took the edge off the chilli.
The steak sitting across from me looked plump and juicy and was cooked to MG’s satisfaction of medium-rare. The serving was generous (more than you’d probably expect from most restaurants with these sorts of price tags as they flaunt quality over quantity) yet basic, with the small kipflers and large field mushrooms beautifully supporting the fillet.
GG’s lamb dish looked delicious and was cooked to perfection, with just the right amount of pink in the middle. The bed of cous cous and raita complimented the dish well.
Full marks so far – my guests were well impressed with my recommendations and hinted ever so gently that dessert would ensure their evening was a true success. I politely passed as I couldn’t possibly fit another thing in, but GG indulged in the chocolate mud cake with vanilla ice cream ($14.50) while MG went for the affogato with honeycomb ice cream ($12.50).
Thankfully I had the pleasure of tasting both desserts, and while the mud cake was too rich for me, it was moist and dense with no doubt the right amount of Calories to qualify as a true mud cake. The affogato was to die for, with the bitter espresso shot perfectly complimenting the sweet honeycomb ice cream.
Zenbar impressed my guests and of course it was no surprise to me that the meals would be flavoursome and impressive. The wait staff were attentive, friendly and even a little cheeky as they dished some banter to my fussy counterparts, which made for a pleasant experience all round. The bill is always a little on the high side of average at Zenbar, but for the quality of the service, food, ambience and overall dining experience, I’d be willing to say it’s justified.
- Zenbar, Post Office Square, Brisbane CBD, +61 7 3211 2333
I’ve been to Zen Bar 20 or 30 times in the past, and took someone new there today to show off their food. Didn’t have a booking, but they just asked us to wait in the bar for 5 mins as a table was becoming available. Another couple arrived several minutes later and was also placed at the bar. 10 mins later, the other couple was placed at a table. When we asked why, staff unfortunately elected to treat us like fools, and lied, telling us the other couple arrived first. We left. Unfortunate that I tried to present Zen Bar to new customers and this was the impression we were left with. Unprofessional.