Brick Bistro - Review

Mr P. and I like to go on Sunday (or any day) drives now and then. And when we do, we often like to hit the seaside.  There's nothing more relaxing than listening to the waves hit the shore, and see the whitecaps dancing in the sun.  I dream of faraway places as I see the small yachts heading out in the distance...

So what's that got to do with a bistro you ask?  We sometimes drive out to Redcliffe which is about 45 minutes from home.  There are lots of fish and chip shops, and cafés, and restaurants along the length of the esplanade, including Brick Bistro.  (Oddly enough, when we were in Hervey Bay last week, we only found one chippy on their esplanade - weird eh?)

looking back from the jetty to the Esplanade  

It was after 2pm, lunch was calling, so we stopped in at Brick for a drink and a bite to eat.  It was nippy outside but we sat on the footpath seats so we could watch the water.  Our waitress was a friendly lass, who served us efficiently and pleasantly.  We started with a drink - Zing Prosecco for me, and you guessed it - ginger beer for Mr P.

$10 and $5 (Mr P. is a cheap date- hee hee)

So Mr P. and I shared a few tapas, including: onion rings, rice balls, tempura veg., and chicken karaage.  No fancy Italian names for these ricey babies on the bill, though the menu calls them arancini:=)   

arancini balls $14

We had 5 rice balls and 2 of us; not sure who sneaked the last one. Very crispy on the outside as you can see, nice, soft pumpkin and parmesan on the inside.  Mr P. loved the tangy chive and yoghurt sauce that came with it.  Not sure about the plating; not a fan of big white plates myself.  

crispy onion rings $7

Both of us love onion rings.  Who doesn't, my friends?  These were great.  Beer-battered, crisp outside, soft inside.  House-made chilli jam went down well.

tempura veg $12

       
I wasn't such a fan of the tempura veg.  I found the batter floury and therefore a bit unpleasant.  It needed a few seconds more in the deep fryer.  Mr P. didn't mind!  He thought it was grand as is.  

  

chicken karaage $16

These crispy, tender little morsels of chicken were delicious.  The mayo was eaten with gusto by Mr P.  The karaage was like popcorn chicken, just small morsels, which added to the charm.    


I know; you're seeing a theme here - fried food covered in batter.   My excuse for all that delicious fried food is - Winter, sea breezes, sitting in the shade, folks!  It was all done well; crispy and tender where it should be.  Tangy accompaniments were a nice addition.  


  

looking out from the jetty nearby

A couple of weeks later, we took our mate Princess Pia here for dinner. It was a cold Thursday night, and a bit of a hike out there on a school night.  The restaurant was empty apart from the owner and a couple of his mates. It looked like his young son was the only waiter.  He was a friendly lad but he seemed a bit overwhelmed. Sadly dinner didn't come up to the heights of our late lunch on the Sunday. 

"classic" coq au vin $32

Maybe the lack of ambience due to no customers?  Also the food simply was not as good.  I chose coq au vin, which according to the menu was "classic".  For me, classic coq au vin never has tomato in it, especially not tomato paste or purée.  I am not a tomato fan, so this was doubly troubling to me.  I expected a chicken dish, full of the flavours of red wine and mushrooms.  I was sadly disappointed by this very "unclassic", and not very interesting dish.  I fear the purée was from a bottle; oh dear.  Red cabbage and potato chunks didn't add much to it.  I left a fair whack of this dish on the plate. 


We had started the meal with chicken karaage and arancini this time too; sadly knobbly little chicken bits. Just not as good as first time round. Princess Pia and Mr P. chose burgers for mains. Hubby loved his burger, and said there was nothing not to love.  He enjoyed his meal thoroughly. Wagyu beef, caramelised onion, chilli jam, aioli, beer battered fries - what's not to love?

Brick burger $23

Princess Pia enjoyed her burger too.  Sweet potato crisps were delicious (I snuck some).  Cajun crumbed chicken breast with lettuce and tomato was a safe choice.  Nothing to offend here.

Cajun burger $21

So, to conclude, our meals were okay; great if you were Mr P.  A couple of glasses of Prosecco each helped me and the Princess cope with the cold, while hubby scoffed down his usual ginger beer.  You can book online which is handy; they do functions and events; and have live music on weekends.  Head down on a Sunday arvo for a drink and tapas is my recommendation.

take a walk down Bee Gees Way next door as you go

Barry Gibb's head on Bee Gees Way