J's Atelier - Review

Am I alone in thinking this is not the best name for a Brisbane restaurant?  Hard to say, and hard to know what it means unless you've studied French.  And biggest problem is that it's not a French restaurant.  Apart from that minor linguistic quibble, hubby and I enjoyed our recent lunch here.  Lovely waitress, charming atmosphere - which is a bit surprising considering it is on a busy road, ensconced in some concrete shops - and tasty food.

from the deck looking out to the road and lots of trees  

The deck is surprisingly cosy and charming, with views out to the trees.  I bet that it is a very pleasant spot come the evening with less traffic, and lights glowing.  

mocha frappé $7

I had a frappé, thinking it would be a refreshing choice on a warm day.  You never quite know what you will get with these.  Some cafés just make them on ice, and some do the whole creamy thing which this was.  Not bad, and I did agree to the cream, so only myself to blame.  I mean that it was delicious, just a bit heavier than I should have had. Not their fault at all. But I would have liked a bit more coffee flavour.

blood orange soft drink $4.50

For a change, Mr P. had blood orange drink.  What? you say; no ginger beer?  Yep the earth has turned another day without imploding!

duck Maryland salad $24

I chose this salad.  (see my previous note on it being a warm day). Delicious duck, slightly crunchy grilled peaches, kale (sadly for me; regular readers know that I believe kale is the devil's work, and should only be fed to cows), fetta, spinach and walnuts.  I love duck so this was a perfectly fine meal for me on another warm Brissie sun-filled day.  Some of the duck pieces were a bit chewy, but mostly tender and tasty.  And I couldn't really taste the truffle in the dressing.   

mushroom miso cream spaghetti $18

Mr P. loves pasta, so this was a no-brainer for him.  The only thing he didn't love was that the pasta was a wee bit too al dente.  I tried it and I had to agree; just a bit too crunchy:=)  The truffle flavour was very mild (I had to remind hubby that it had truffle oil; I don't think he knew).  He said there were heaps of mushrooms - yes a good thing, but the sauce was a bit too sweet for him.

bowl of chips with aioli $6

      

There were no chips as a side on the menu, but we noticed that the kids' meals had them, so we asked if we could have a bowl.  They happily agreed and brought it with aioli without our having to ask. Very good aioli too; lovely garlic flavour which is not always the case in other eating places.  The chips were crunchy and very moreish.  


The Pickings' Verdict: tasty food, great service, nice atmosphere. We will be back, especially for those wonderful looking pastries. (We just wished they would turn down - or off!- the somewhat jarring music).

inside the café

You can get breakfast, lunch and dinner here, including a 5 course degustation menu for $75.  They are licensed, though I saw no sign of this at lunchtime.  Take the kids if you like, as there is a separate menu for them.  Don' t forget the dessert menu, and the daily Japanese pastries made in-house by the pastry chef.  Or is that pastries made by the Japanese chef?:=)   


Open Tues-Sun

Ph: 07 3856 5656
6/100 Days Rd., Grange 
QLD 4051