aquitaine brasserie

overall thefoodpresented well but was less than memorable. everything was quite average, but at least was reasonably priced. what was most disappointing was that while we were eating our entrees, the waitress came over and told us we had to order our mains soon because the kitchen was closing. at that time it was not even 7pm, which made the rest of our night feel rushed and certainly does not live up to the restaurant's website which says dinner from 5.30pm-late. would not recommend.

greatfoodin wonderful riverside location
this is a great spot for lunch on a sunny afternoon. we had a team lunch here on a saturday afternoon and everybody loved thefoodand wine. the views are lovely and the service is attentive! it's nicey but pricey!!

sorry to say but l was very disappointed with thefoodand service we received at aquitaine. we had a 12pm reservation for 10 people and we were finally done by almost 330pm. the service was extremely slow and thefooditself looked beautiful but again sorry to say it just lacked flavour. it was also a double birthday booking so it was quite disappointing to treat birthday guests like that.

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 but aquitaine took 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. aquitaine calls itself a brasserie, but i thought thefoodwas 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!

really disappointing experience here - we had a 12:30 booking, ordered three courses each not long after 1. entrees came not long after and drinks service started off very well but after that things fell apart. we didn’t receive mains till close to 2pm. desserts didn’t come till well after 3pm! we had even ordered and finished coffees before they arrived. pretty sure pre-made lemon tart didn’t take an hour to slice up and put on a plate. we had to rush through dessert and what had been a lovely lunch out became stressful and basically a total drag. all the other diners had eaten, paid and left and we were still waiting for our orders.

i get that there are mishaps with timing in kitchens sometimes but we were there with a (very well-behaved) small baby so you’d think they’d make a small effort. the worst thing was that even after we’d had to politely chase the mains, and then dessert, and even though we ended up sitting there for more than 3 hours basically being ignored, no one apologised or explained or made any attempt to make things right. when we went to pay the $400 bill my guests complained about the delays and the server agreed to comp our coffees. wow, how generous. thefoodwas good but i won’t be back.

perfect restaurant. the ambiance was relaxing and we sat at a table that gave us privacy without losing the views. the hospitality of the staff was impeccable, very welcoming and professional. thefoodwas phenomenal. oysters were fresh, the mains pan fried king salmon and steak frites were both spectacular. finished off on a perfect note with the chocolate marquis.

had a date night with my partner at aquitaine before 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 goodfoodbut not 5 star and a little on the expensive side for the mains.

very impressed with all thefoodi tasted at this
place!!! there was a set menu as my friend was having a function but we were not the slightest bit disappointed. the real star was the duck and dessert, beautifully presented and perfectly flavoured. will definitely be back for more

had lunch with a friend here. crowd was pretentiously posh if you'd ask me. don't know if it's because it's us two asian ladies trying to enjoy life and people were staring at us weird but it was definitely not welcoming. but hey i'm paying for the food, came here for the food, had every reason to be there and expect nothing less than stellar.fooddid not disappoint, but wouldn't mind the waiters to be a bit more friendly :)

very posh restaurant in south bank, brisbane. thefoodtasted average, but was excellently plated. it was a bit on the pretentious and pricey end of the spectrum. not really a family friendly restaurant.

food was ok but service was pitiful.foodtook well over an hour to come out and the restaurant wasn't even busy. a word of advice - steer clear of the "textures of blueberry" dessert: disappointment will ensue. to cap it off, the restaurant refused to accept the entertainment discount of 25% until i spoke to the manager (and even then it was like pulling teeth to have them concede and fulfil their obligation). won't be running back.

great location, nice view, friendly service and thefoodwas very good (but not great).  i've dined at aquitaine four 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.

very nice view, friendly service and a nice wine list. it's a great spot for a casual lunch or dinner date. thefoodis good, very good actually but its just a little boring to me. thefoodtastes great and the chefs execute it well but it's nothing new.

my thoughts on this restaurant are somewhat negative. we arrived and were given the normal menu however we mentioned there would be 9 of us so that menu (which included a range of interesting appetisers and share plates) was whisked away and a new, less choice menu took its place. two of our party were "plain food" eaters so found it hard to find anything on the new menu. the waitress then suggested they might like the kids meal of steak and chips but as one of them was not a child she would be charged an adult rate. 50+ minutes later the meals came out...
no apologies or forewarning regardingfoodservice delay and venue not full.
the two 'children's ' steak and chips were identical cuts of meat on top of a bed of chips... same amount of chips.....1 cost $15 and the other $39 when the bill came and then add the 15% surcharge. "
another member of our group had the fillet steak from the menu advertised at $39 ... guess what ... different cut of meat, thick and delicious looking with interesting additions to complement the meat. when bill was challenged it was basically " tough luck" and we don't care.
so very long story short ... great company (our family :) ), ok but certainly overpricedfoodwith exceptionally poor customer service from inflexible staff and owner. needless to say we won't be back ever.

all i can say is..wow!

aquitaine has been on my foodie bucket list since earlier in the year when i learned of its existence and after months of wiping drool of my phone screen through their instagram and contemplating blowing the weeklyfoodbudget continuously i have finally caved to the occasion and took the leap of faith. i was not disappointed.

to say thefoodwas perfect is an understatement and to dine on the water at southbank with the shimmering sunday afternoon sun in my eyes just added to what seems to now be an experience such as dining in france itself.

starting with the entree moving into a main and tipping it all over with what is to date one of the best executed desserts i have even had the joy of tasting created a bombardment of flavours, textures and vibrant plating coming from what i can only now put into one of top experience not only in brisbane but anywhere i have dined.

aside from som minimal knowledge of the wine list in which the waitress was extremely apologetic about nothing could of been more perfect.

highly recommend to experienced diners and anyone on the market for what is sure to be an unforgettable but affordable foodie experience!