cinco bistro

bad night?.cincohas been one of our favourite suburban restaurants for years. however last saturday night they really disappointed us. the service was very, very slow, yet the waiters had a continual harried look that almost made you feel guilty for asking them to follow up. good service should not look like that, especially when the prices are not inexpensive. speaking of prices...$4.50 for a baby chino for our granddaughter. silly stuff. the paella was very rustic, with several very large pieces of chicken, 4 very large and untasty chorizo "pieces" and 2 large , unshelled prawns. good paella to my mind is more attractive than that. i really hope they get back to their past performances, because this was below par for a restaurant of their reputation.

love2dine. have been tocincomany times as we are one of the lucky ones who live just around the corner and have always loved the food and service. it can get a little noisy some nights but i guess that all adds to the dining experience. the great thing about this restaurant is that it is 'consistent' with its quality of food and service, unlike many restaurants who charge more but cannot compete.

i read in the good food guide thatcincobistro was awarded a hat this year so i have been wanting to check it out for awhile. i was pleasantly surprised to find this little gem so far out from the city too. the food was not too bad and the service was ok. a little expensive though. the venue itself is quite plain, nothing fancy. it was definitely not what i was expecting when compared to other hatted restaurants in brisbane but still worth a try if you've never been.

i don’t usually write breakfast reviews in brisbane as i seem to find lunch and dinner at restaurants way more interesting than the breakfasts that are served at many venues across town. however, i want to tell you about the breakfast menu thatcincobistro serves on saturday and sunday. for many yearscincohas become well known for its elegant bistro food but over the last year it began serving breakfast that i believe is worthy of equal acknowledgement and acclaim as their dinner service. mum and i agree that it is hard to beat the breakfast variety at cinco. the great thing about cinco’s breakfast menu is that you eat from around the world travelling to mexico, india, south and north america and asia. and each time you come back, you find yourself ordering something new and exciting due to a menu that is ever changing. we first visited just after they started and i had an amazing chicken chilaquiles with a perfect fried egg on top while mum had baked eggs with chorizo, potato, piquillo peppers, mahon cheese and almonds. both dishes were outstanding and we couldn’t wait to come back for more! ascincois just around the corner from where i live we returned very soon. this time i tried the chimichanga, which is savoury mince wrapped in a tortilla, which is then deep-fried. on top rested a perfectly cooked poached egg with hollandaise sauce. a crispy kale leaf crowned the dish and a dollop of guacamole and chopped up tomato lay to the side of the plate. after trying this dish i declared it my all-time favourite breakfast! mum ordered an indian lentil curry with chutney and roti, which was perfect for the cold morning weather. on another occasion i tried the new delhi egg curry – a recipe that the owner-chef peter stubbs had recently brought back from india. it was served with some crispy roti bread perfect for mopping up the perfectly balanced sauce. mum tried the duck omelette with a drizzle of hoisin sauce and enjoyed the classic combination. as i loved the chimi

we visitedcincobistro on the 29th of february for a dinner for four. street parking was plentiful albeit tight in the side street. the restaurant itself was easy to find with a warm inviting interior.

for entree we ordered the grilled quail and scallop risotto to share. the quail was tender with the breast deboned and the scallops were seared perfectly. for mains we ordered the darling downs eye fillet and pappardelle pasta with beef cheek ragu. i asked for the steak to be rare and rare i received. the steak was paired perfectly with the red wine jus and silverbeet and beetroot. the beef cheek ragu was soft and flavoursome, with a decent balance of meat and pasta.

overall the food was delicious and prepared well however there are a few areas which we feel has let this place down, consideringcincobistro is demanding fine dining prices.

according to the website corkage is a steep $8.50 per person. however, we were keen to have our favourite wine for our celebratory dinner so we decided it was fine to cop the corkage. however, corkage was actually $9.50 per person when we got to the restaurant. ifcincobistro wants us to buy their wine, that's fine, just don't have byo.

in addition, we were left to dine on large pieces of paper used to protect the table cloth. i mean is this fine dining or yum cha? if we're paying $9.50 per person in corkage, we'd like to eat off the table cloth.

what can i say? haven’t been back atcincofor 18 months, all the old favorites and french classics are still there. the truffle / four gras tart is simply superb, the soufflé was no fault and the duck confit was brisbane’s best: meat tender, falls off bone with a crisp skin. peter also is handy with moroccan cuisine, his tagine is up there with the greats. a great classic wine list by the glass: vat 1, grossest polish hill just to make a few. one of brisbane ‘s best

beautiful dinner atcincobistro. nice relaxed atmosphere and great service from the waiters. we had the eye fillet and haloumi and almond crumbed chicken. the steak melted in your mouth and the chicken was sensational. will be back again

my colleagues and i enjoyed a lovely dinner atcincobistro in camp hill, an up-scale (not quite fine dining) bistro, where chef peter stubbs serves up delicious 'modern australian' fare with a twist - utilising the best of queensland's fresh produce and incorporating asian and mexican influences to make an otherwise european menu his own.

we began our meal with the pea & prosciutto arancini with aioli ($10), two mooloolaba king prawn salads ($21), the potato gnocchi with pork and fennel sausage ($22), foie gras ($21) and two orders of scallops wrapped in bacon ($22). the arancini were lovely and rated 3.5-4. the prawn salads were a bit dry and could have used more dressing, but were still very enjoyable and rated 3.5. the potato gnocchi with pork and fennel sausage was served with black truffle and parmesan cheese - a close second to 1889 enoteca's gnocchi - and rated 4-4.5. the foie gras was smooth, creamy and abundant - this rated 4.5. the scallops wrapped in bacon were very good and rated a 4.

the highlights from the entrees were the gnocchi and foie gras - both of which i would highly recommend.

for mains, we ordered four wagyu beef, two duck breast and a grilled barramundi. all of the mains were between $35-43. the wagyu beef was beautifully marbled (7+) and was served atop a homemade barbecue sauce with a sriracha-like sauce ringing the plate, fava beans and a unique version of kimchi topped with mushrooms. the beef itself was fantastic and the dish rated a 4-4.5. the duck skin was tender and the breast was tender - this rated a 4. my colleague who had the barramundi said it was the best fish she has ever eaten. the barramundi itself rated a 4.5, but unfortunately the curried potatoes that accompanied it were very disappointing. the overall dish rated a 3.5-4.

with the mains we enjoyed a capri salad (caprese), mashed potatoes and hand cut chips with aioli. the capri salad and mashed potatoes were both average and rated 3-3.5, but the hand cut chips with aioli were exceptional and rated 4.5.

we finished the meal with a round of desserts including an affogato, two panna cotta with pear, three salted caramel parfaits and a cheese plate including a lingot triple cream brie and taleggio. the affogato and salted caramel parfaits were both extremely well received and rated 4. the cheeses were just what you would expect and rated 3.5. unfortunately, the panna cotta hadn’t set and was still liquid. recognising this, the server informed the kitchen and these were removed from the bill.

overall, our experience atcincobistro was quite enjoyable. we also appreciated that in addition to a full bar and extensive wine list, they are byo and charge a very reasonable corkage. i look forward to returning tocincobistro and give it a hearty recommendation.

arranged the new year eve dinner at this one hatted restauarant. since it is the only one-hatted at this side of the town, my expectation was set slightly high. it was a busy night and there were only three wait-staffs running the show. we were told by the manger that some of the staffs rang up to take sick leave in the afternoon.... however, they did manage to offer fine service and it was much appreciated. well, food was another story. first of all, we were let down because they stop serving any quail as the entree so we ordered the charcyuterie board to share, which was average. the wagyu rump was slightly overcooked on some portion but the portobello mushroom deserved thumb up. hero should be the lamb rack which was done perfectly. side dish of the roasted cumin pumpkin was delicious. the serious let down should be the desserts of apple tart and greek custard. we did not have the feeling of enjoying the dessert. one comment is that they should be careful on chosing tea leaves since the lemongrass & ginger was bland. as an one-hatted restaurant,cincosounds weaker than the others in town, say deer duck bistro (milton), public (cbd) or thomas reserve (spring hill). these restaurants did showcase why they are one-hatted with fine dining standard meals and nice drink menu. i think the chefs should pay attention to the dish plating technique and overallcinconeeds time to be more mature.....

first visit tocincoand the pork belly was melt in your mouth perfection! the staff were perfection, even helped with my 2 yr old. i can't review anything bad. everything from the sides to the main was divine.

we dine atcincoevery few months.  the food is fantastic.  each dish is carefully thought through, and the flavour combinations always just work.  definitely recommend for those occasions where you want to avoid the city restaurants and enjoy a local experience.

we had the opportunity late last year to trial dinner at atcincoon cleveland road, camp hill with some very special friends who were visiting.it may be in the midst of suburbia but this restaurant can hold it's own against the city restaurants.  we were not unhappy!

what a gem !. took my girlfriend tocincofor her birthday last night and it was a delightful experience. the menu was a tour of world cuisine and we had a wonderful time. top class food presented with care and attention and the prices when compared to fine dining in other major cities were quite reasonable. i think we will go tocincofor my birthday too !

just like italian. this is an "incredible" place and one to think about if you have been to italy.

we like pizzas.

we have been to italy lots of times so have a good idea of what's what.

we tend to avoid trattorias because they usually don't have pizzas and can be a bit self important.

we have been tocincothree times now; with the first about 5 months ago (august 2013).

the last two times we have argued whether to go again or not.

here is why.

five months ago we were looking for a decent italian restaurant. we discovered that there was one only 1 km away. so on thursday evening we walked into the place and were shown to a table.

the table had the usual complement of a couple of wine glasses, linen napkins and chairs.

the asian looking waiter gave us the menu which we both perused.

finding that there weren't any pizzas on that menu i signaled to the waiter. he was at the table pdq.

i asked why there weren't any pizzas and he said..... oh you want the pizza menu? yes we said.

i kid you not;

within two minutes of that statement the waiters whipped away:

the two decent wine glasses and replaced them with cheap ordinary ones;

the linen napkins which they replaced with paper ones;

the cutlery: i don't think they were replaced but that was probably because my mouth was still wide open in astonishment.

as it happened the pizza was excellent.

on trying to pay; the asian guy made a point of being really really busy. the older aussie was very pleasant and even understood when i said that the pizzas were like a haggis pizza i had 6 months earlier. i know that a haggis pizza sounds ridiculous but it tastes brilliant.

would we go there again?
probably because we are pizza afficionado's and they are just like the italian ones and actually cheaper than elio's of carina.... which are nothing like italian pizzas but a really good place.

would we go back?
yes probably. but only because the pizzas are excellent.

happy to be treated as a second class citizen when ordering pizza then go for it.

is it worth it?
we thought the days of supercillios waiters were long in the past... so.....

try asking them why they think they are better than the people who pay $27 for a pizza?

superb. i have dined atcincoa few times and it's consistently the same - amazing! this is by far the best restaurant in brisbane. what an absolute gem. worth traveling a bit out of the city to dine here. truly world class