three blue ducks

overall average place. based on the website we expected a classier place and a fine dining experience. the venue feels more like a cafeteria than arestaurantwith uncomfortable [plastic] chairs. great view though hence 2 stars

when we discovered that the three blue ducks has extended to brisbane, we were very excited. expectation was high due to the andy (2014 master chef winner and current judge of master chef 2020) is one of the executive chefs in this hospitality group.
located at the w hotel, the view facing brisbane river is really its selling points.
price of three coarse dinner with extra side dishes is a fair deal or even a bargain for this high-end restaurant.
our entree of kangaroo tataki and grilled octopus won our appreciation although the portion of kangaroo seemed to be small. mains of steamed mussels and flounder also reflected as good jobs. unfortunately, the desserts of coconut custard and cinnamon ice cream were under the par.
overall dishes involve the shadow of mediterranean cuisine. it is a shame on the downside of desserts but thisrestaurantis still worth for recommendation.
😋

we went to the three blue ducks with an expectation of great quality responsible food and fantastic service.
unfortunately the service was far better than the food. the menu sounds great however is put together with poor practice and delivered with a slap hazard attempt at true chewing.
my wife had the bugs which were cold i cleaned and essentially just cut in half and put on a plate with a side sauce. if your serving seafood in a high endrestaurantplease be professional enough to warm the product clean the eggs and devein the big first. if your feeling really fancy cut away and dress the shells for your guests.
i had the porketta which i was very much looking forward to as i don’t cook it much for myself anymore. the chef needs to look up this dish before putting it on the menu. please porketta is not rolled pork belly. if your going to use a name cook the dish. the sides were nice we had three. enjoyed two. we left before dessert so not to participate in further disappointment. pick up your game or you will not get any return business.

worst dining experience i have ever had!!!

i never thought i would ever write a review where i say therestaurantcompletly ruined my partners and my night.

we made a reservation so we could see the southbank riverview (it was our anniversary)

instead, when we got there, we were seated in the very back corner (literally the last table of the back of the restaurant) right near the toilets (i could literally see who was coming in and out of the toilet)

our view was an overpass where we started counting how many taxis were passing through.

meanwhile, we asked the server, if any tables become available, could we change tables as we were trying to be understanding that they were busy (even if we had made reservations to avoid this)

moving on, we decided on our meals to be told we were given the old season menu and 2 of the 5 dishes we wanted were no longer available. why are you still handing out old menus? you are arestaurantfor god sakes, at least get that done right! you are not a cheap take away shop, have pride in what u are selling and be more attentive to detail.

now at this point we are both saying to each other, let's make the most of it, we are here together and we were happy to be in each other's company to celebrate and had a laugh about the whole situation.

an hour and a half later with 2 glasses of wine down (approx 8:45pm by this stage) we were both starving and getting hangry to have only the entree come out. this is beyond ridiculous, we were already treated like rubbish patrons by the lack of attentiveness to now be waiting an hour and a half for just our entree!!

that's when we both said "let's go"

to the service manager on that evening, you have failed in your duty. we are all busy and things can slip, yes, but your main job is to ensure yourrestaurantpatrons are taken care of, we didn't yell or make a fuss, we respectfully told the waiter if we could be moved when seating became available, we were not rude to anyone and tried our best to see the positive in the situation but your negligence caused what should have been a good night for us into nothing but disgust and dissapointment.

the final spit in the face for us, was when we said we are leaving (cancelled the order because we didn't want to wait another hour for our mains)
we see not only one, but 4 empty 2 seater tables with beautiful views of southbank available, by this time it was 9pm and people were leaving so in noway would those tables be reserved.

congratulations to the service manager and owner of three blue ducks, may you read this and realise even though you pay high rent and commend yourselves to be a respectable high endrestaurantwho deliver in good food and service, you failed in every aspect that night. please get off your high horse and pay attention to your patrons. you keep this kind of service up and you will not survive this industry. may you learn from this and hire a more attentive service manager. safe to say will not be recommending.

thisrestaurantactually disappointed me. the only advantages were its service and good view of south bank. i tried twice, last year and this year. dishes here were not very delicious and didn’t match their prices. the tentacles of squid were over-cooked and tasted bitter. as fine dining, the proportion for the dishes were too much and cooked roughly compared with other fine dining restaurants.

dined for breakfast whilst visiting friends. thisrestaurantis part of w hotel brisbane. we had a table next to the window so enjoyed nice views however seated right next to the door & it was freezing cold each time it opened. i ordered the spanner crab scramble & it was delicious. special mention to our waitress alina for her friendly service, being very accommodating to the variety of dietary requirements for our group of 3 diners & making our breakfast catch up date enjoyable. recommend & hope to return again next time i visit brisbane.

this was my fourth time dining at therestaurantsince it opened in june. i really like the ambiance there!
i always have the raw fish and the bread to start with. the haloumi was satisfying.
for the mains, as usual, we order to share (the food potion was pretty big).
the steak was tender and juicy. the bugs was flavoursome, and has always been our favourite. however, this time i found that chargrilled king prawns was the biggest suprise! the smokey chargrilled flavour smelled and tasted fantastic with a splash of chilli.
for the dessert, i strongly recommend the creme brûlée (we ordered 2 serves). the custard beneath the crisp top was exquisitely rich and creamy while firm.
for the cocktails, i had the ducks rosé spritz, too fruity for me.

we had dinner with friends for my husband’s birthday and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. the thing that really made the evening was the staff - our waiter was great very professional but friendly and made appropriate witty remarks which was actually genuinely entertaining. therestaurantwas at capacity but everything flowed smoothly. we were seated at a side table which was great because even though over all it was quite noisy we could all hear each other without shouting.

most the food was good although i’m hard pressed to remember the stand out features. the plates were large portions to share although it wasn’t really set up for sharing which was a bit awkward to kind of carve up the things so everyone could get a bite. i sensed a lot of butter - which was delicious but very rich. my favourite meat was the steak - which is a weird choice for me but it was just bursting with flavour (eg butter). of the other things i liked the accompanying vege bits best - there was some kind of magical kale (probably with butter) with the moreton bay bugs. it was insanely delicious i think i ate all of it no one else got a look in. and ditto something on the pork - so tasty don’t remember what it was. everyone else liked the cheesy tomato starter but i’m not a fan of big chunks of tomato so it wasn’t my fav. the potatoes were a bit average and there was a cauliflower side which was served cold.... it was a bit weird and i noticed no one ate it.

i’d like to go back again and probably enjoy the food a bit more (not in a group which can be distracting). overall i think therestaurantseems very sophisticated and polished but not stuffy. it was a lovely place for a special occasion.

we also stayed at the w hotel which was fun.

i have been here now a few times for lunch and once for buffet breakfast. it has been good every time.
the beef was incredible, and the chicken too. the variation of food in the menu is quite good. i have not tried the desert yet. therestauranthas a really nice view of the brisbane river. ther parking is super expensive and they don't give any discount for dining inn.

for those who keep up with social media, especially the foodie side of things, there is little doubt that you would have heard of the newest three blue ducks, which recently opened its doors in the beautiful w brisbane. having a girls night out, we decided to finally go and check it out. far away from their other store at the farm on byron, thisrestaurantexuded elegance, but still with a homey rustic charm.

this is not a positive review. the brisbane arm of three blue ducks fails to live up to the hype associated with its bronte and byron siblings. it failings are almost universal across the criteria common torestaurantreviews. the food at three blue ducks is, unfortunately, yet another example of the mediocrity that many brisbane restaurants of a similar ilk appear to be settling for. the drying meats and fish displayed in a cabinet on entry lead one to believe that this restaurant, like its southern forebearer, prides itself on high quality food. not in the white-table-cloth-and-classical-music tradition, but in the good-food-done-well tradition. it's neither. we shared all our dishes: the haloumi (an uninspired variation on an outdated concept overpowered by a garden of parsley) and tandoori quail (a very underwhelming marinade considering the depth and complexity characteristic of tandoor) to start, the 500g bone in ribeye with burnt onion and chimichurri (a reasonably well-executed dish, but not for the $60 price tag) and carrots (advertised as include honeycomb, but noticeably absent from our serve) for main, and chocolate parfait (perhaps the least inspiring item we ordered) and crème brûlée (boasting the inclusion of vanilla … as much a staple ingredient of crème brûlée as eggs and sugar). the decor is confused. laminated table tops; part faux wood part concrete flooring; downlights on rails alongside modern pendant lights; mismatched seating with a scandinavian feel ... what is going on here? service is poor, lifeless, and, sometimes, condescending. to draw on the recent experience shared by my wife and me, our server carried an air of arrogance complemented by yet another attempt at hipster wait staff attire (an outdated look). when our dessert order was incorrectly placed, our server offered an insincere apology. there are other small, but equally noticeable aspects that contribute to the overall listlessness of three blue ducks. if the rather large vacant space towards the back of therestaurantisn’t off putting, the battery-powered tea light candles in the bathrooms are. how could a couple be justified in paying over $100 per head (including 1 glass of bubbles and red each) for such oversights? interestingly, in this weekend’s wish, the magazine published as part of the weekend australian, jeff bennett, one of the co-owners of three blue ducks, described how he had an uneasy feeling about opening an arm of therestaurantin brisbane. perhaps these reservations were well-founded.

i am so excited to be writing about thisrestauranttoday! jacky had been mentioning about thisrestaurantfor quite some time now. they have multiple stores around australia with the first store opening in bronte, then followed by byron bay and rosebery. thisrestaurantis owned by a bunch of friends who enjoy cooking good food while maintaining the sustainability of the business. when we heard that they were going to open anotherrestaurantin w hotel brisbane, we knew that we had to visit! we tried booking beforehand but unfortunately they have a capped bookings everyday. luckily we arrived early and there were still spaces for us!