cinco bistro

verygoodservice, a french onion soup that challenges any i have had in france, beef cheeks were amazing! will definitely be coming back. see you soon.

bad night?. cinco has 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.goodservice 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.goodpaella 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.

i read in thegoodfood guide that cinco bistro 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.

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. duck confit 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 reallygoodfood only negative is that it’s on the expensive side. would go back but probably not frequently due to the price.

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 the duck confit. the flavours were beautifully balanced withgoodportion 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 verygoodand 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 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.

what a gem of a restaurant! great inventive classy dishes. cape grim steak was magnificent, and the signature foie gras tartlet is superb. great vibegoodservice and byo as well. how can you go wrong. ill be back often.

we had breakfast here one sunday & were able to sit outside with the pooch in tow! interesting breakfast menu, but they didn't have the very item i wanted -the egg curry dish. so that was a disappointment for me. ended up having the house beans which were very tasty other than the fact i forgot to request chilli on the side.  coffee was a let down too they attempted to make it three times for me so give them credit for effort! third cup i could actually taste the coffee, but it was still rather a wishy washy brew. service was verygood& they went out of their way to be helpful for us

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

rude, rude, rude!!. didn't get to taste the food because of the poor treatment at the door. we just moved into the area, and were excited to try out this restaurant for our date night, after reading thegoodreviews. the restaurant was empty except for one table. the front of house (again the asian guy, mentioned in other bad reviews below about service) was on the phone for about 10 minutes without acknowledging us, whilst we waited, standing, at the front door. he then motioned to a table, without moving from his spot, and rudely barked at us to "sit down", like we were dogs. can't remember the last time i encountered such rude, disrespectful treatment anywhere. what a shame. we live within walking distance and would have been happy to give them regular business if we hadn't been treated like sub-humans from the get-go. we were neatly dressed in professional attire. we waited patiently. i have no idea what prompted such a rude start. went down the road to restaurant rapide and were treated like royalty and had a lovely evening. highly suggest others vote with their feet!! we are spoiled withgoodquality dining in this area. i would suggest that the management consider that "first impressions count" and their customers have other options. no food isgoodenough to be treated like that!

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 agoodidea 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 to cinco three 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 reallygoodplace.

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?

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: duck neck 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 asgoodas 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!

i have dined out in quite a few places in brisbane and they never seems to hit the mark in all areasgoodfoodgoodservice andgoodatmosphere. this one does. we has there desert sampler and it was yummy.goodservice that are tentative but don't try to be your mates and ambience is crisp and clean. highly recommended

great food, great service, every time. cinco is my restaurant of choice when i need to be guaranteed of an excellent evening out. a birthday dinner last night was enhanced by knowledgeable, friendly, efficient service & a robust menu that delivered. great value. you don't survive the restaurant game for 8+ years & counting if you're not doing it right. highly recommended.


-----17 nov, 2012-----

cinco - just do it.. if you want to be certain of a wonderful meal and a great night of dining, put cinco on your 'failsafe' list. forget the city, head to camp hill. you will never be disappointed at cinco. it is a gem of a restaurant. great food, modern fresh expert menu, great service from staff who clearly know what they're doing. (i always think restaurant staff who are still filling your water glass right up to the last minute of your evening are demonstrating the ultimate ingoodservice. a small thing maybe but it shows their interest in your dining experience 'til the moment you leave.) full marks every time.

skimpsters.goodfood, atmosphere and service. shame it was all let down by the small portions, incompleteness of the meals and hefty prices. don't skimp, it only cheapens the whole experience.