Agnes Brisbane – Introduction

Agnes in Brisbane is an exciting Brisbane restaurant. In retrospect we should have made more than one booking. Hidden away at the CBD end of Fortitude Valley this restaurant is hidden away in a quiet street out of the main action.

The space is relatively large yet very pleasant and the kitchen is dominated by a wood-fired oven and a wood-fired grill that both promise interesting dishes.

The chef is Ben Williamson who previously cooked at Gerard’s Bistro.

Agnes Brisbane – The Food and Wine

Agnes in Brisbane has such an exciting menu with so many choices we could only scratch at the surface on our one visit there. Next time we have promised ourselves to plan further ahead and eat here more than once. Here’s some of the reasons why.

First, however, we should mention the service. It was sharp, it was punctual and is was caring and always accompanied by a smile. Just as service should be.

And now to the food. The first dish to arrive was served on skewers. It consisted of grilled chicken tails with garlic cream and a plentiful supply of expertly prepared pickles. They were a perfect start to the meal and reminded us of two meals we had at Yardbird in Hong Kong where chicken tails were also featured. At Agnes, like everything we ate, these tails had been licked with fire to intensify the flavours.

Next came pretty-as-a-picture sourdough crumpets topped with spanner crab meat, crème fraîche and egg yolk. They not only looked good – their flavour was a sensation. We also enjoyed the texture of the crumpets. As with everything we were served the seasoning was also spot on – something a lot of restaurants do not always get right.

Hay roasted mussels finished with buttermilk, gose (we had to look that up – we need to learn more about beer), hazelnuts and sweet potato leaves followed the sourdough crumpets. With this sauce it was the perfect time for house-made sourdough and smoked cultured butter to arrive.

Next came wood-roasted cabbage with koji butter sauce, egg yolk and truffles. We applaud restaurants that feature this wonderful vegetable. Coming from Tasmania we make good use a cabbages of all varieties during winter and revel in the range of dishes we can make with them. The only well-known dish that we haven’t tried is Choux Farci which is beloved in central France and in the hinterland behind Nice.

The reason we don’t bother is that Kobi and his team at Lucinda in Hobart do one of the best examples we have tried, therefore it is yet another excuse for dropping in for a snack and one of their excellent wines.

The final savoury course saw an harmonious blending of hapuka, burnt butter, gooseberries (such a good accompaniment), lovage and fish bone garum. The purity of the fish and intense savouriness of the dish turned out to be a perfect foil for the richness of everything we had eaten until then. Accompanying this dish was some grilled rainbow chard lifted with ajo blanco and almonds.

To finish, we were served mandarin and olive oil ice cream with a brown butter crumb which turned out to be a perfect ending to the meal.

We are definitely looking forward to a return visit!

You can find out more about this excellent restaurant on their Web site below.

Agnes Restaurant