locale

it was that time of the year again, when we relocate to noosa for a long weekend to attend the spectacular noosa good food & wine festival. as usual i had the task of choosing one ‘special’ restaurant for dinner. i had kept my eye on a few noosa restaurants throughout the year and been watching the development of a newly opened italian restaurant, locale, which was conveniently attached to our apartment block. locale did not disappoint and proved once again to my family that i make great dining decisions. on the friday of the festival i worked with a few of my favourite chefs at an event. both alastair mcleod and philip johnson told me how delicious their meals were at locale the night before which got me really excited for our visit the following night. we made our way downstairs to the restaurant and i was surprised by the dimness of the room owing to the dark brown walls and soft lighting. happily i discovered that thetablewe were allocated had excellent light in which to take a quick photograph of the dishes. we decided we would share two entrees, have a main each and share a dessert. we started with the roasted barnyard quail, soft polenta, fontina, vermouth infused grapes, upland cress ($25). it was so moreish and i wished i had have had the whole entree to myself. the quail was perfectly cooked and the polenta was delicate, soft and smooth. the grapes added an extra dimension of sweetness to the dish, although i wished there were more. the other entrée was the beef carpaccio, reggiano, lemon, celery, white truffle infused oil ($23). i loved how simple the dish was, letting the beef quality and fresh ingredients speak for themselves. mum and i both agreed that a touch more seasoning would have lifted it to a higher level. i had weighed up a few dishes for my main but finally decided on the porchetta: high country slow roasted pork belly, roasted butternut puree, hazelnut, caramelised baby onion, celery, cress and apple salad ($36). the pork was impeccably co

after arriving to this lovely looking restaurant , we were seated by the friendly staff but unfortunately right next to the serving area which was the start of my thoughts 'why did i come here'
being bumped into every time a waiter collected plates or cutlery, armpits in my face and showered in glass when a cork hit the glasses above , this was not a good start to the experience.
after the 55minute wait for manzo steak (which was actually just a steak sprinkled with diced leaves and drizzled with sauce) it's not what i expected
lite n easy dinners pack more punch than this...
the steak was ordered 'medium rare' , there was no rare, in fact woolworths sell better steaks. it resembled a can of corned beef.
it's like going to maccas for a burger and only getting a burger. nothing else...
we skipped the dessert menu to goto 7/11 for a doughnut and maltesers
very disappointing
the staff member when paying asked 'how it was' so we told her the issues
apparently lots of people didn't like thattableand they were thinking of moving it. (thinking a bit too long i would say)
and we should of asked to be moved tables.
sorry for booking and expecting a good place to eat

lesson learned, just cause it's noosa, doesn't mean it's great.
sadly i won't be back

(an honest review)

step into another level, it’s hard not to wax lyrical about this place. the space is cavernous, deceptively so. it has amazing floral and sparkle light displays hanging from the high dark ceilings. thetablelayout, good stemware,tablelighting, they all work. it’s almost theatrical.

we’re in the early sitting. the immediate and profound relief from the surrounding humidity is complete - the windows are fogged, such is the welcoming force of the turbo aircon.

we start with a bottle of montrachet from an extremely extensive wine list (which spans over 60 pages). so delicate. white nectarines, star jasmine, virtually no oak, no butter - the balance of acid and length is exquisite - a glorious foil for what is to follow.

the gnocchi with mushrooms is pleasant. i can’t say it’s outstanding, and is the reason for only a 4.5/5. the gnocchi are non-descript, apologetic. they are overwhelmed by the mushrooms and mushroom oil. there’s also not many of them.

the barramundi main was however another level. perhaps the nicest fish i’ve had, with scallop filled zucchini flower atop. the fish was crisp, yet oh so moist and tender. i don’t want it to end. the sauce has some distant remnant of coconut, but so subtle as to be indistinct.

the sides of broccolini with hazelnuts, and the caprese salad were tops - the buffalo mozzarella was straight from anacapri.

wife’s swordfish special was firm, slightly smoky/charred, and delicious. the kids steak and chips was spot/on. they ate the lot.

the chocolate panacotta with persian floss was glorious - not too sweet. the frangelico affogato brought it home - the shortbread biscuit levitating on the ball of ice cream veritably yearned for the liqueur. delish.

service was faultless - impeccably dressed waitstaff were everywhere.

apart from the gnocchi, the only mark was the butter pyramid accompanying the bread - strange texture, too cold, insufficient salt, too hard.

this place sets the standard for noosa, indeed all of qld. really well done.

lovely venue but the service was very uninteresting and the food was good but not great. nice dark and intimate restaurant for a date. squid ink pasta was very rich. the zucchini flowers were bland and lacked seasoning. there was no salt or pepper on thetableeither. zuppa and lamb ragu was a large serving and flavoursome. but not mind blowing. the toilet was a let down being such a nice venue but using a dodgy centre toilet.

a friend had visited locale for drinks two weeks earlier and raved about the cocktails and ambience so we thought our group of 10 would give it a go for a friend's birthday.  
the setting is beautiful, softly lit rainforest setting.  the restaurant is quite large and at 6:30 the place was teeming with people.  everytablewas full and quickly filled again when people departed.  
we tried to get some share plates happening for starters but the waitress didn't seem to understand what we wanted and we ended up ordering a main each and a lot of sides to share.  the lamb ragu with pappardelle was tasty and soft but watery on the bottom of the plate.  it was a huge dish and i felt lucky to have a full belly unlike my other guests.  a friend ordered a small eye fillet (around $38) and it was overcooked, tough and dry.  she should have sent it back.  another ordered the moreton bug main and was shocked when only half a bug was presented on a plate.  not cool for nearly $40.  but the funniest/most disappointing thing was when we ordered a side of green beans with garlic and chilli only to be presented with a tiny rectangular saucer of, count them, 14 beans.  for 10 people.  we asked whether we could get some more and if it was appropriate charging $14 for a small plate of beans and the waitress brought another man over.  he said that was the serving size they had chosen and actually it was "$11 not $14".  oh well that's ok then!  i thought a goodwill gesture would have been to bring another plate of beans but we stuck with our 1 1/4 beans each.  we ordered a second bottle of red wine but it never arrived - and we weren't charged for it.  we declined dessert and coffee and left.  one little highlight was a huge water dragon running across my foot under thetableand scattering diners left right and centre.  it was the proverbial mouse under thetablewith shrieks and squeals.  the staff had torches and  tried to calm everyone down by saying how common it was.  they also said "oh the water dragons are so cheeky now.  they jump from the garden straight on to the table".  good idea to skip coffee then…..

we were promised atablein 15 min and had to wait outside for 45min. totally unacceptable. kept on telling us we're setting up your table, how long does it take to set a table????
once we sat, we enjoyed our food, pizzas were great, pasta & risotto delicious. would i go back? not without a booking.

terrible service. we dined here twice last week and apart from the ocean trout (overdone and extremely dry) the food was great, way overpriced but very good. front of house on both occasions was very unwelcoming and reservedtablepositioning requests were a complete disaster. the most disappointing part was that the care factor for our concern was zero and the attitude arrogant.
will never dine here or recommend again.

like most of the whitetablecloth restaurants in haistings st locale is quite expensive but they can back it up with their wait staff and quality food. our entrees and mains were faultless. you pay for quality.

review below by cjm is untrue. locale is a great restaurant. i loved the food and service. i was sitting on the nexttableto "cjm" and i think the waitress handled the situation well. it was a genuine mistake. the wine was of a different vintage and on the wine list it does state that vintages are from when wine list was created and may change. the waitress did apologise to them and took the wine bottle off the bill. what more do they want?? if you don't want to spend money on good food then why did you come to locale? go to the local pub if you want cheap. i would definitely recommend this restaurant as the quality of food is great for the price you pay and service was fantastic. and by the way the 'rissito' is properly known as risotto.

great food, still a few things to work on. the food was delicious with generous in portion sizes and was enjoyed by all including the kids.

our waiter had that sort of cold edge that you often experience fine dining restaurants which wasn't our expectation, but she was very efficient.

our only complaint was the air conditioning. we had atableclose the kitchen & were sweating throughout the whole meal.

the restaurants in noosa have just had the level lifted with locale. we have been to locale three times since it opened a few weeks ago. excellent food but not an extensive menu. well executed italian and very well presented.
the decor is like a restaurant in ny, melbourne or europe and they have added detail with sophistication yet it appears simple and sleek lines with subtle lighting that gives a great atmosphere. there are different areas to sit from the bar to lounge,tableseating or a small outdoor area.
on our third visit with friends our food was great although the entre and main size of pasta looked the same size. all our meals were excellent.
the only problem we had was with the arrogant (older) waiter who thought it was beneath him to pour our wine (we poured it ourselves) and remove empty glasses (which we asked him to take, which he did with attitude) yet found time to listen in on our conversation and add unwanted comments. his manner and lack of service let the experience down but everything else was excellent.
price is expected for the ambience and food but service was spoilt by waiter. on the other occasions we had excellent service from the younger female staff and the manager if very experienced and friendly.
we will return but will ask for someone else to serve us if the waiter is still there.