cinco bistro

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 that cinco bistro serves on saturday and sunday. for many years cinco has 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! as cinco is 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 theduckomelette with a drizzle of hoisin sauce and enjoyed the classic combination. as i loved the chimi

what can i say? haven’t been back at cinco for 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 theduckconfit 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

have driven past this place many times over the years but never eaten there so decided to give it a try. arancini with prosciutto were tasty but could have had a little more flavour.duckconfit with celeriac purée was cooked perfectly and really tasty with poached pear. the pork belly was delicious and cooked well. for desert we had the apple tart wth caramel sauce which was soooo tasty. sangria cocktail was also really good. overall really good food only negative is that it’s on the expensive side. would go back but probably not frequently due to the price.

fantastic. could not fault. had rump cap with the green bean plus the beetroot and sweet potato sides. great pairings of flavours. ordered the rump rare which was simply devine and melt in your mouth. sampled theduckalso, that someone else in our party had, which was also fanastic. we had an italian pinot grigio which complimented the experience, definitely a special occasion venue with a strong local following.

i did see that another reviewer compared it to the likes of public (cbd), which i am not a huge fan of. this venue seems to be a bit more tangible and lacks the pretense that others do.

my husband and i celebrated our 100th month anniversary on the weekend and boy oh boy.... how have we not heard of this place before??? we had a fantastic experience from booking to walking out of their doors. the night started off with the quail for entré my husband had the market fish (barramundi) and i couldn't go past theduckconfit. the flavours were beautifully balanced with good portion sizes. furthermore, the service was attentive and surprisingly very quick! if you're a brisbanite and haven't been here... do yourself a favour and check it out!! 👌🏽

my colleagues and i enjoyed a lovely dinner at cinco bistro 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, twoduckbreast 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. theduckskin 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 at cinco bistro 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 to cinco bistro 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, cinco sounds weaker than the others in town, say deerduckbistro (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 overall cinco needs time to be more mature.....

cinco is definitely a little hidden suburban gem. service is, and always has been, absolutely fabulous.

food is a bit hit and miss depending on what you order. the arancini balls, risotto, andducktart were hits, not so keen on the new quail. loved the fish and steak, but the pork belly was just average. would order the panna cotta and almond mousse, but the chocolate marquise was very thick with not enough ice cream to balance it out.

great dinner. theduckwas fantastic. corkage is too expensive, otherwise fantastic.
we went back for breakfast the following weekend and that was really good and very reasonable priced.
i would highly recommend.

good food, and friendly and professional service. food is reasonably priced, didn't bring wine so can't comment on the corkage costs. a few by the glass options available, was happy with my shiraz. myduckwas perfectly cooked and peanut butter mousse for dessert was delicious.

came away very pleased ... again.. i admit i'm a big fan of cinco. but, why not? i come away more than satisfied every time i go. so here's another testimonial to this southside gem. last night we started by sampling the fried aphrodite cypriot haloumi cheese, and it was fab. my hervey bay scallops in squid ink sauce were divine, and i could have easily eaten a big bowl of same. the serve of pork belly amongst the scallops was an interesting twist, with crackling prepared expertly. my wife's coffin bay oysters had been delivered the day before, looked sparkling fresh and tasted so, too. i had a taste of her salmon prepared a la tetsuya before she scoffed it, and it was great. i chose one of the specials for main:duckneck sausage, a herb-filled rustic delicacy which inspires visions of france and tasted superb. i really don't mind paying corkage of $8.50 pp when i can bring along a reasonable bottle of wine, or even something very special, have it treated with respect, decanted and served in high quality stemware. thank you again, dirk and peter.


-----10 sep, 2013-----

never disappoints!. my family has been dining here regularly since cinco opened some years ago, with local convenience being a factor, but the quality of food and service far overriding any other consideration. i can't remember ever being disappointed over a meal here, and tonight was no exception. being mid-week, it was relatively quiet, which is not a problem for us. peter stubbs was on hols in bali, but the food was as good as ever, if not better. dirk looked after us with his usual graciousness and aplomb. the hand-cut chips we chose to start were sensational, and i cannot understand how the chef does so well with so chunky the pieces of potato. the aioli dip was lovely, even better than lovely. my wife's ravioli was to die for, and just what she needed after a rushed drive from the airport. my smoked wagyu brisket with kale and speck, spinach and a gorgeous crumbed green tomato was exceptional, and both meals matched perfectly with our 2000 nine popes, which we were able to bring along (thank god, there are still a few byo establishments in this city). we simply couldn't fit in a dessert, and we left feeling totally satisfied, as usual. cinco never fails us. this place is a treasure!

this was a massive plate of food with a generous amount ofduckand was delicious. the confitduckleg was cooked perfectly and the meat just fell off the bone. the flavour of theduckwas intense and was matched perfectly by the sweetness of the roasted figs. surprisingly there were a couple of strips of pan friedduckbreast as well, which was a bonus! the salad that came with theduckwas refreshing and again was perfectly balanced with the richness of theduckflesh.

don't believe all the other positive reviews. with mains being on average 35 a dish, this place is average and overated. theduckwas dried and has no taste. the gnochi is too big and floury. the best dish was the side of mushroom.

cinco bistro. last night we celebrated out wedding anniversary at cinco.the meal was perfection, my husband had the barramundi and i had theduckwhich was a taste sensation.
we then spoilt ourselves with dessert, i can highly recommend the panatone bread and butter pudding.
the service was faultless and the food just heaven.

all good. confitduck& beef cheeks are a winner. service prompt & friendly and atmosphere great.