aquitaine brasserie

went toaquitainelast night for dinner for the first time, excellent service, menu and food. will be back again.

second time ataquitaineand once again am so impressed! excellent service, atmosphere and food! current fave restaurant in brisbane. definitly try the pork and scallop entree and the fish main was excellent! will definitely be back.


-----21 dec, 2013-----

went for dinner and was really impressed! delicious, good sized serves especially the entrees and really nice and professional service. will definitely go back. pork belly entree highly recommended!

i had a delightful leisurely lunch here while on holiday from new zealand. the beef tartare to start with was generous and seasoned beautifully. the raw beef was cut into larger pieces than i'm used to, but it was perfect because it gave it a lovely chunky mouthfeel. i reckon anyone who's never tried beef tartare would find this texture less daunting than the more traditional finely-chopped version. the crispy home-made lavosh bread was really novel and delicious because i think it was deep fried rather than baked.

my main was the pan fried barramundi. i've never had barramundi before and this example of it was cooked perfectly. the skin was so crispy it was like a chip, but still attached to the moist, flakey flesh. i can see why is an aussie favourite. the dish was missing the candied fennel chips listed on the menu but i've only just realised that now that i'm referring to the menu as i write this. it would've been interesting to see what they added to the dish. despite their absence, i'm still giving 5 stars. i'm glad the apricot remoulade was served as separate blobs because i could control how much i added to each mouthful. i have a sour palate so i used the quite sweet (to me) remoulade very sparingly. the pearl barley and shaved fennel accompaniments made it a compete plate, with no need to order any side dishes.

despite not having much of a sweet tooth, i'm a bit of a sucker for french desserts. i knew a whole dessert would make my tummy explode so i opted for the petit fours. at $10 i thought it would be a couple of small morsels to go with my coffee. oh my god! those petit fours have to be the best bargain in brisbane. i'm still in a happy, happy sugar coma so i might have misremembered some of the flavours. there was a square of ginger and caramel fudge, a sesame(?) macaron, a piece of hokey pokey (honeycomb to you australians) and a square of lychee gel that was like a very light turkish delight. these were definitely not small morsels; each one took 3-4 bites to consume. the fudge is the best i've ever had. i'm used to fudge that is so sugary that the sweetness 'burns' your throat as you swallow it, which is why i'm not a big fan. this was not like that at all. it was also super creamy and not grainy at all. now i have a benchmark by which to measure excellent fudge! the macaron was very dense, but not unpleasant. maybe that's what brisbane macarons are like - might have to hunt when another macaron while i'm here in order to compare and contrast. i would've been more than satisfied with the petit fours on their own butaquitainetook them to a higher plane by serving them on a generous bed of white chocolate powder studded with pieces of fresh raspberry. the powder just melted the instant it touched your mouth and was like a separate dessert in itself.

the service was warm and solicitous but not obtrusive.aquitainecalls itself a brasserie, but i thought the food was far more elevated. the very good thing is that it charges brasserie prices!

i'd planned on what i was going to do with my day before i fly home tomorrow, but now i think i'm going to have to rearrange those plans to include another lunch at aquitaine!

even if you aren’t in the mood or timezone for a full meal,aquitaineis an excellent venue for an afternoon glass of bubbly and a few appetisers with friends. the ambiance and proximity to the river can’t be beaten in a 20 degree “winter” day in brisbane. and the cheese platters are delicious!!! best of all, the service is friendly and professional. highly recommend to any local or tourist.

had a date night with my partner ataquitainebefore seeing a movie (dunkirk, see it!) and the booking experience through zomato was a good one. we had the garlic bread which was a nice combination of butter and soft confit garlic cloves. the mains were king salmon for me and my partner had the pulled duck cassoulet with mushroom and broccolini sides. the king salmon was crispy skinned, and while very tender, it was mostly raw on the interior and quite cool to eat, but some of this was due to the weather being rather cold for brisbane. the sides were delicious. the wine was a clare valley cab sav 2013 at a reasonable $65 per bottle, which was a nice accompaniment to the meal. our waiters were attentive and mildly friendly on the whole, however, there could be some improvement to the experience towards the end of the night. all meals came out in an efficient manner and the two courses took only an hour to complete. overall, a pleasant meal out with good food but not 5 star and a little on the expensive side for the mains.

great location, nice view, friendly service and the food was very good (but not great).  i've dined ataquitainefour times, including hosting a business dinner for 10+, but haven't been compelled to return for business lunches or date nights with my wife in the past 6 months.  i wouldn't be opposed to it, but there are other, more interesting options nearby.  my wife enjoyed the escargot and i recall the steak chasseur was nice.  i got excited to see pommed de terre sarladaises on the menu - i guess duck fat excites me - but they were ok at best.

it was time for a very long overdue catch up with my oldest friend and she had decided thataquitainesounded like a good option for a friday lunch. we arrived nice and early and greeted very warmly by our friendly waiter.  the place was still empty so table choice was all ours and we chose to sit outside and enjoy the view.

the menu was with us quickly and our celebratory glass of bubbles in our hand in good time. the menu was interesting, but neither of us could go past the winter lunch special menu - choice of two courses and a glass of wine for $35 ... bargain. on the menu for our visit was pumpkin risotto and coq au vin - with a choice of either a glass of chardonnay, cabernet sav or a beer.  we both went with the white and it was great!

now to the food - the pumpkin risotto made its appearance and it was seriously good, and such a generous serve, wasn't sure how i would fit in my main.  it was creamy, pumpkiny and had a generous serving of goats cheese sprinkled on top ... my hubby makes good pumpkin risotto, this was even better than his.  

the coq au vin was also delicious - a really large bowl of hearty chicken, loads of carrots, plump mushrooms, onion and potato mash/puree surrounded by a delicious wine sauce.  the waitress explained that the chicken had been suveed, then finished off in the pan and it was delicious - so moist, tender and melting off the bone. but those mushrooms - they were my favourite bit.

in all a lovely long lunch - the service was superb, the food was delicious and we both agreed that we needed to catch up more often and thataquitainewould be the place to do it!

severely disappointed. dined here for valentines day, the offering was a set menu which is understandable on one of the busiest nights of the year. also allows the kitchen to have enough of each meal, as well as enables a fast preparation and service of the meals. with the intention that the customer does not have to wait long for their meals and therefore a higher turn over of tables.

except which was not the case for valentines dinner!

the issues:

wait staff were not organised and seemed in complete kaos. wait staff didn't have designated sections to look after. resulting in customers being forgotten. i saw a number of hands being raised to catch wait staff attention.

the meals were pre-prepared a number of days in advance which is normal, except for some particular items. for example goat cheese in vine tomato and charred lavosh. the tomato was at the point of turning bad with loss of flavour & watery taste. the lavosh was far from charred as its texture & taste resembled a stale water cracker lacking the crisp factor.

the portion sizes were not consitent across the board of the meals.

on an important date for couples looking for a special experience to enjoy with a loved one, a restaurant should have well rehearsed staff and faultless food!

the chefs ataquitaineshould ask themselves would i feel confident to serve up that slop to someone that i am trying to impress?

the apprentice chefs and wait staff south bank college easily put you lot to shame! perhaps you should go back to college?

on a positive note the bar staff were outstanding, mixing the cocktails to perfection! pity that experience, presentation and taste perfection did not carry across the whole night!

if intend dinning ataquitainelower your expectations to the level of that of broncos leagues club!

ten thumbs down!

birthday lunch. came toaquitainefor a birthday lunch on a fine sunday afternoon. surpassed all expectations! superb food and great wine list. the bordeaux egg entree was brilliant as was the tuna entree. the boullibaise main was amazing! the presentation of the carrot cake dessert was incredible. came here 12 months ago when it was a good restaurant. now it is a great restaurant!! well done aquitaine!!!!

new years eve. absolutely fabulous, amazing food, great service, awesome drinks and brilliant atmosphere.
we booked a group of 11 intoaquitainefor the new year's eve late dinner sitting, and were very impressed with the evening. brilliant value for money and a fabulous evening, the perfect spot to watch the midnight fireworks as well. the staff were very helpful and accommodating with numerous changes to the booking; there was not a bad word that could be said about any part of the experience.

incredible service.aquitainesaved our night. after a booking mistake in the restaurant next door, they accommodated our group and the food was brilliant. really enjoyed how inventive and creative the food was.
but most of all, the service and staff were a+, and we brought out own birthday cake which they plated, wrote happy birthday on it, provided candles and plated it with ice cream, all to our surprise.

disappointing evening at aquitaine. do not waste your time withaquitaineif you are in a large group. horrible service. we booked the private room upstairs on saturday 5th july for 20 people and the service we received all night was appalling.

it took three people asking and 25 minutes before we received drinks menus and another 20 minutes before one of the requested bottles of wine, arrived. then the rest of the drinks trickled in after more requests for drinks menus. we had to request a knife and fork for someone for their main, more people had to request wine glasses, the person of honour had to pour her own champagne because we the room wasn't properly staffed. we had 3 dietary requirements on one table, each were offered the wrong items. the gluten free main option was disappointing - tough venison with a 2 huge handfuls of kale.

after the 3rd reminders about an espresso martini ordered during the first drinks order, it finally arrived... with the mains! a comment about the espresso martini didn't result in a usual apology, just the wait person saying, "you'll have to excuse me, i'm the only person here tonight".

aquitaine, if you do not have the ability or staff to provide the right level of service to a private dinner party, then don't accept the booking.

first time visitor toaquitaineand we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. dishes were good proportioned and tastefully presented. very pleasant waiting staff made the experience even more enjoyable. well worth the visit.

brilliant. last night i celebrated my birthday with a few friends ataquitainebrasserie, southbank and could not have picked a better venue for it.

the front of house staff are polite, professional, attentive, thoughtful and friendly. one of my fellow diners pointed out that they were particularly impressed that our waitress waited until we had all finished our meals before beginning to clear the plates, something that is not done in a lot of establishments as they try and rush covers through.

highest compliments to the chefs ataquitainebrasserie. the menu was varied, creative and seasonal. the meals were beautifully presented and delicious!
for dessert i had a special surprise as our waitress must have figured out that it was my birthday and my (incredibly presented and gorgeously delicious) snickers inspired dessert had been decorated with "happy birthday" written in chocolate across my plate!

thank you to all the staff and chefs ataquitainebrasserie for a beautiful evening out to celebrate my birthday. i will certainly be returning in the near future.

it's easy to missaquitainekind of blending in with the venues either side but well worth the visit. sunday afternoon with girlfriends, it's sunny and we're looking for cocktails & nibbles. staff were experienced and were able to easy guide as through a range of cocktails & then wines when we decided to stay & order more food. ticks all the boxes, good food, good cocktails, great service and good view. will return!