Aria - Brisbane
Waitersfriend recently dined at Matt Moran’s new Aria Restaurant in Brisbane. We had heard a lot about it before we went but most of it from a parochial local crowd whom I suspect may have been influenced by the fact that Aria comes from the arch nemesis and number one rival, Sydney.
It wasn’t that long ago that Brisbane and QLD were the butt of every redneck joke in NSW. In fact, after decades of snubbing it is only in recent times that the Good Food Guide has even bothered supporting the food & wine scene that is now making a large impact both nationally and internationally. Last year Gourmet Traveler awarded the Bowery Bar national honors and several prominent restaurants, such as Phillip Johnson’s Ecco Bistro & Urbane, recently discussed in our blog, are nationally recognized as being at the top of the game and as must visit restaurants. So it is no surprise that our local feedback on Aria was a little one-eyed.
However, we arrived and had pre-dinner drinks in the bar. The staff were attentive to our needs and unobtrusive to our experience. A couple of glasses of French and a bowl of olives worked a treat. It was a good start!
We decided to go to our table. A table for five located next to the floor to ceiling glass overlooking the stunning Story Bridge and Kangaroo Point cliffs. We continued on the French theme but took it up a notch and hooked in to a bottle of ‘98 keeping the momentum from the bar whilst we looked over the menu. Service was prompt and the specials sounded fantastic. As we were five we decided to order all the entrees except oysters and soup. As I have previously experienced Aria in Sydney I found myself in tune with the food and philosophy. Matt doesn’t over complicate things, he sticks to the principle of great produce, great preparation & great presentation. All of the entrees delivered that feeling of finality & completion, like the perfect last bite! It was a shame that the white wine intended for the entrees was only poured toward the end of the course and not before we started it.
The mains continued on with the Aria philosophy but I have always believed that the entrees are the most exciting part of the meal while the main course is the reason you order the wine. With this in mind we mostly ordered red meat accompanied by what I thought was the best valued wine on the list, a 1980 St. Henri Shiraz. At $180, I couldn’t believe it, had there been a typo? Either way the beef cheeks & the lamb matched perfectly. The wine confirmed my suspicion of value for money and I am still expecting the call any day now, “Mr. Wilson, there was an error and we missed a zero, would you mind giving me credit card details for the correct amount?”
Desserts seem to be Aria’s strong point. We decided to try them all with a bottle of Moscato D’asti which certainly worked well with the pannacotta.
At the end we all agreed that we had a fantastic time and as four of us were in the industry the bill did not seem extremely expensive although it was over $300 a head. Aria definitely has a formula, view, wine list, service & produce. It works very well and justifies the bill. Although I wouldn’t say that any one thing was truly amazing (St Henri aside) the whole experience definitely was! I think the company I shared contributed and the fact I wasn’t looking for them to fail as many Brisbanites are, all added up to a wonderful evening.
Well done Matt Moran and good job in challenging the Northern market! I truly look forward to the opening of Urbane as the comparisons will be inevitable. The local boys versus the big fish from down South! We wait with anticipation.
#1 by Joy at February 3rd, 2010
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Great post - I’m still saving up to go to aria because I want to do it properly - but glad you enjoyed it!
#2 by Shaun Cooper at February 4th, 2010
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Hi Joy - absolutely the right call to save up and do it properly. There is no point going to a great restaurant and having one main course and a beer!! Hope you enjoy it when you do make it.
#3 by David at June 11th, 2010
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I wonder if it has changed from when I went there (2 days ago). The $100 steak had gone. Instead set prices for the number of courses. Fine by me. But the food was a little insulting. Extremely large portions. And I mean extremely! And more bistro than fine dining.
Don’t get me wrong. I like a solid meal. I much prefer Alchemy to Urbane (which I now avoid as they have disappeared up their own behinds). Kingsleys offers a solid offering for a fair price.
Anyway, back to the buffet, ah I mean Aria. We were commenting on how huge our meals where and how we wouldn’t be able to finish it (I did) when we saw a soufflé walking past. It was HUUUGE. I mean 3 times as big as you would expect. I was too full to order desert, and I’m not known for that sort of thing let me tell you.
Both of us have eaten in Brisbane’s best, and have lived down south and overseas. We both agreed that something was afoot, and he wouldn’t be doing this in Sydney.
We looked around the room some more. There were not many corporate types. There were some ferals drinking bourbon with their meals.
The penny dropped.
The place was full of mum’s and dad’s who have made a few bob at the tracks, or have drawn from their very cleverly made equity in their home, or have saved up for a treat.
He wasn’t targeting the normal crowd. The corporate crowd.
Had had heard that Brisbane people are bogans who like their prices cheap and their plates piled high. And he was giving it to them.
I felt a bit insulted but who am I to tell him not to?
Except of course by not going back.
ps - the one saving grace was the bread. It was fantastic.
#4 by paul at July 16th, 2010
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I went to Aria Brisbane. The food was good. And the Dessert was fantastic. The wine selected was also good. My problem dinning in Brisbane is that they charge Sydney prices without the same level of experience. I’m from Melbourne and I expect a great meal with all the fare - for a reasonable price - such is the competetion down there. So was happy to pay a good price for a great meal rather than an expensive price for a meal that was okay. My only criticism was 1. water served was too cold - numbed the taste buds. I only cottened on a quater of the way through. Secondaly, I had the Murray Cod - okay as a fish - but the sauce served with it was amazing -they should have drizzled a drop or two over the fish on top - unfortunetely I found the sauce at the bottom of my dish - had enough fish left over to use the sauce - dribbling a bit over the the fish - just a drop or two - would have lead me on a discovery of the flovours - that I discvovered far tooo late. But for dinning in ?Brisbane - this would seem the place to go - as everything else seems way over priced for what it is - Restuarant II take note.
#5 by Claire at August 22nd, 2010
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David you are unbelievable. These “ferals” are going out to experience something that they may never have considered in the past. To bring more “class” into their lives and people like you come along and make them feel bad for trying to better themselves.
You have less class in your big toe than those bourbon swilling ferals! Get over yourself, who ate you to think that those people should be made to feel so unwelcome? You’re an embarrassment to yourself.
#6 by David at September 5th, 2010
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Hey they can eat there all they want. Who am I to say where people can and can’t eat. I just don’t like food that the Brisbane masses tend to like, and if this place is catering for them, and it seems to be, then that explains why I was underwhelmed. As for class in my big toe, well I’ll leave that up to you.