
BRISBANE
Gerard's Bistro
With the flamboyant, bar-owning Moubarak brothers (Lychee Lounge,
Laruche) at the helm of this laneway dweller you'd expect a
quirky edge. Artfully plated offerings from chef Ben
Williamson
- smoked Murray cod with almond foam, tender octopus
tentacles glossy with a tomato-smoked butter and tart slivers of
green strawberry (pictured)
- side-step cliché neatly. Looking for rusticity? You'll
find spicy sujuk, jewel-bright shirin polow and a saltbush lamb
tagine. The Middle Eastern-Med influence is astutely referenced
here, and not overplayed. 14-15 James St, Fortitude Valley,
Qld, (07) 3852 3822 FIONA DONNELLY
MELBOURNE
Demitri's Feast
Demitri's Feast operates as a breakfast and lunch joint year
round, but once daylight savings kicks in, owner Jim Karabagias
opens his modern Greek gem with a focus on the char-grill from
Thursday to Saturday night. There's a small menu, and a glass
cabinet full of treats
- fish, scallops, Moreton bay bugs, chicken skewers, lamb
chops
- ordered by the piece and grilled with little more
intervention than oil, lemon, garlic and parsley. There are salads
too, and ouzo, and a super-cute courtyard out the back. 141
Swan St, Richmond, Vic, (03) 9428 8659 MICHAEL HARDEN
PERTH
Co-Op
Dining
Introducing Co-Op Dining, the new inner-city showroom for Dear
Friends owners, and Swan Valley champions, Kiren and Kelli
Mainwaring. While the menu is degustation only in the dining room,
a tight bar-snack menu is available to those chasing something more
casual. Bookings aren't taken for the bar, but standouts like
swatches of Mainwaring's rich house-cured ham and wonderfully smoky
local macadamia nuts make a compelling reason to try your luck.
11 Regal Pl, East Perth, WA, (08) 9221 0404 MAX
VEENHUYZEN
HOBART
Pigeonhole Café
Pigeonhole Café meets local avocado. We played a role in
orchestrating this blind date and the relationship was consummated
this week. It's a simple thing, avocado on toast, but, done well,
it's one of the best breakfast dishes out there. Surprisingly, some
of Australia's best avocados are grown in Tasmania, by South
Spreyton Avocado, right in the middle of the north-west coast's
prime apple-growing country. Pigeonhole Café is one of Australia's
best breakfast places, so it seemed only right to introduce them to
one another. Pigeonhole's Jay Patey took the bait and, from this
week, the breakfast menu features South Spreyton avocados on
Pigeonhole's own rye bread. Mission accomplished. Cnr Molle
& Goulburn sts, West Hobart, Tas, (03) 6236 9306 SUE DYSON
& ROGER MCSHANE