The London Club - Restaurant Review

We had been trying to catch up with some old friends for way too long, so it was a happy day when we could finally get together one sunny Saturday for lunch.  Our friends fancied going to trendy Teneriffe, so off we all trotted to The London Club.

Their boys had mysteriously shot up and turned into young men while we weren't looking.  How does that happen?  And I think there was even mention of 2 girlfriends for one of the boys!  Do I even need to say Mr P. and I felt like the old wrinklies? :=)      

'twas a beautiful sunny day 

This area of Brisbane is very popular for weddings, and we were surrounded by an entire bridal party at one stage.  They were having drinks while the photos were being taken I assume.  It was hilarious when we went to pay the bill; the waitress swept us out 'cos apparently the bridal party had taken over the whole restaurant!

glass of Chandon NV $11.50

  

Okay I had 2 of these.  You guessed it.  As delish and bubbly as ever.

ginger beer $5.50/Bitter $9.50/LemonLimeBitters $4

  

Don't you love that name?  My Wife's Bitter.  Clever!

pan fried seafood $33

This is snapper in a vanilla butter sauce with potato purée and macadamias.  Sorry folks, I didn't get any reports from the eater, our friend Fifi's (her pseudonym) hubby, but it looks fabulous.  

pasta of the day $15

Confusingly this paella was called pasta of the day.  Mr P. asked the waiter again but yes this was the pasta du jour.  Mr P. loved it; he said it had lots of flavour, and was delicious.  The chorizo was a big spicy, tasty hit with him.  There was also tomato, chicken and capsicum involved.  The rice was al dente, and the paella a success. And even better, being a daily special so a very good price.

Szechuan Pepper Calamari $12 

Sadly this did not hit the mark with Fifi and the boys Samwise Gamgee and Mr Tibbles. The calamari was in big pieces rather than the rings they were expecting; this seemed to shock them. The nam jim dipping sauce was a bit too much for them too. All up, this was a bit of a weird one.  Of course you expect calamari to have a fishy sort of taste but this was a bit over the top. I find it hard to pinpoint exactly why we didn't love it, but this one was mostly left on the plate.  

sweet potato fries $10 

 
You have to love sweet potato fries, don't you?  And we did.  They came with sour cream and chives, which was fine but I do love aioli with my fries.  We all agreed these were yum.

duck fat potatoes $9

I think you would have to be a zombie not to like these beauties:) Ah duck fat, you gorgeous substance.  Happily they were not limp. I just can't bear a limp spud.  Crispy skin and soft middle - perfect.

this is the braised beef cheek burger lunch $16  

 


Somewhat confusingly, the braised beef cheek burger under Large Plates was $20.  A bit fancier I guess than this one.  I enjoyed this one, but it had way too much mustard for me.  I love mustard but I prefer grain mustard; not a fan of bright yellow American stuff.   The somewhat suss-looking brown pile was eschallot jam I think; I loved its tanginess.  Samwise Gamgee had his without mustard or relish; funny lad.  The beef cheek was not as tender as I would have liked but it was still a good burger. 


We had a fun time catching up, and doing some people watching. We saw at least 2 beautiful brides.  Mr P. had his usual complaint about food coming out on a board rather than a plate.  Why oh why?  We finished off with coffees and wandered off into the sunny afternoon.

looking up from outside the restaurant

The restaurant, along with a few others sits in the old Wool Stores area of Brisbane. The buildings are beautiful and full of history. Worth a wander around.



9/38 Vernon Tce.,
Teneriffe 4005

Ph: 07 3252 8188