ambiance abounds. i just last night visited this establishment.
deciding on a night out with a friend i trolled the urbanspoon website for somewhere new to go. as i did start searching on a saturday afternoon my options were limited, as being a shift worker limits my choices on occasions. i however emailed and called malt then managed at 3.30pm on a sunny saturday afternoon managed to get in contact with someone at the restaurant. got told i would get a call back, after a 10 minute wait a reservation was made. (the staffs attention to detail went to the fact that they know i had also emailed to make a booking - brilliant)
the surroundings
the restaurant aptly named "the attic" was up a small stair case. as the final corner was rounded, i was pleasantly surprised. a adequately open space with tables brilliant placed well apart giving the potential first daters the privacy to use their worst one liners, but not too far as to resemble the sterile environment of most new "fine dining" restaurants have plagued themselves with. lighting gave a warm feeling and not in your face as to give your unattractive date no hope of scoring. a baby grand sits to the right of the entrance which for a change was not for show, a live piano player graced us with entertainer later on through the night. we were seated next to a window that was open which was a nice change with a beautiful view of the street.
the service
we were seated and offered the usual options of water, given menus and the wine list with a quick rehearsal of the specials for the evening. the host for the evening easily adapted to us not throwing the usual platitudes of arrogance that you can sometimes get. when the food was bought out each dish was presented with a explanation of what was in front of us, all well versed in each dish. all thestaffwere attentive and plates were taken promptly and food did not take too long to arrive. the only con i could possibly throw out there was when my wine was finished i was not offered a top up or a different option, which was fine as one wine was my limit for the evening.
the consumables
entree: pan seared hervey bay scallops, cauliflower beignet, wild rice granola, coriander
main: seared rack & slow cooked shoulder of lamb aligot, black olive, baby vegetables
dessert: malt brownie - salted caramel, chocolate textures, peanut brittle
the entree was brilliantly cooked and not confused with too many different tastes well presented and mouth melting material.
the main was told by our host as the most popular dish it came out and smelt divine. the lamb was cooked medium rare, and also tasted beautiful however presentation was confusing and muddled it seemed that the garnish took over the actual plate. an array of different flavors bombarded the taste buds, though it did taste superb presentation of that particular dish could use a little simplification. however my cohorts chicken dish was very well presented.
malt brownie was a absolute winner we both walked away with smiles on our faces. presented well with the small amounts of ice-cream offsetting the luscious richness of the brownie. wow.
the dollars
overall i have paid more for meals in the past at other fine dining establishments but the pricing of the meals was reasonable and i did look at the final bill and raised the questioning eyebrow deciding that we may not have been charged for one of our items. however i was wrong to offset the reasonable price i did leave a little tip to say thank-you to a deserving service staff.
the hammer
in summation malt was a surprising brisbane jewel. as said by my counterpart it felt like we were having dinner at a associates house.
i tend to agree, a fine dining experience without the wankery of fine dining attitudes. i would strongly suggest a visit to this establishment for a romantic dinner or a intimate group of friends.
food and experience is subjective so i will not degrade it will a mark out of 10 but as mentioned above worth a visit.