vaquero dining

have heard positive things about this place and was not disappointed. we enjoyed the house-made charcuterie board, couple of mains and desert. service is efficient and friendly. love the fit out too. a very comfortable restaurant for sharing great food with great company.

delicious drinks, amazing food & great service made this celebrate night perfect, and one to remember.
was only my second time there and would highly recommend.

wow!!! this place was fantastic. service was great, food was amazing and loved the atmosphere. each dish we tried was put together so nicely and the quality of the food was very high. i loved that the head chef was very involved in the experience as well.

a return visit to vaquero, after what i thought was a disappointing start a few years ago, was a very positive surprise. i’ve had the paella saturday lunch and the weekday 4 course menu. the paella was delicious but i’d rethink the tuna pieces which can be dry. the 4 course menu was great. exciting house-made charcuterie, atlantic salmon with roasted peppers, goat roulade with charred broccoli, and petit fours to finish. the maître’d is especially skilled and attentive. i admire the effort to get people into the place mid-week and for saturday lunch which i’d guess are usually not busy.

after a long absence after a disappointing meal, we’re back to this stylish local. we’ve been trying their “deals” - saturday paella and sangria for 2 people at $49 is a deal, carafe of sangria and a sufficient and incredibly tasty paella. yes, it was one big prawn, one small piece of tuna, one mussel each, but for that price? a deal. very yummy, some nice crisp on the rice, could taste saffron. yay. last nights four courses for $49 also good value. a truly excellent charcuterie board with lots of variety followed by a trout tartare with excellent whole roasted peppers was great, followed by a piece of rolled goat meats (belly, shoulder, etc) and roasted broccoli with a. japanese mayo. lots of sauces, attention to detail, big bold flavours. by the time of petit fours and coffee? i was very happy and will go back soon. only critique is some nervous seeming waiters and (at times) breath taking mark up on wines. but a terrific local, charming place with seriously good food

re-visited this renowned restaurant with my relatives a week’s ago in a group of five. service is very friendly and passionated.
ordered the signature charcuterie broad, charred broccoli, brisbane valley quail, qld hinterland venison, suckling pig, spiced confit potatoes and wood fired fish and prawn. overall, all the savoury dishes are faultless. hero and surprise should be the huge size quail with tenderized texture and charcoal flavour. although we missed the most impressive dessert (they took it off the menu),the replacement desserts are not bad to try.
thank you for the team to offer such a memorable night.

previous visits: dec 2018 4/5; oct 03, 2017 5/5

funky little place which has a nice feel to it. wine selection was ok and staff were attentive and accessible. i had the wagu brisket which was fantastic. the seafood was also very good as was the chanteuse tasting plate...the only down side was the noise...acoustically its not good...gets very loud very quickly so if your after a romantic evening this probably isn't the place but overall i thought it was pretty good and worth the cost

if i can i would like to give a 4.5. i love the food. they are tasty and special. the food on the menu is not what we often can get in any random restaurant. preserved rabbit, venison and marinated octopus give my taste bud a unique experience. unfortunately there is tiny sharp bones in the rabbit. wish it can clean it better before preserve/cook it. otherwise i will give a 5!

late lunch to escape the dreaded heat... there's nothing like dry-aged meats to make my taste buds quiver. . coal fired octopus, baba ganoush, pickled garlic & smoked almond. white vine tomato, cucumber, freeze dried balsamic, whipped ricotta, basil. that octopus was a magnificent creature to devour. nice and tender, with so much freshness in each bite. delicious smoky flavor with so much to enjoy.

great vibe and atmosphere. the staff were extremely helpful in accommodating my vegan dietary requirements and the chefs cooked a delicious main meal. would highly recommend!

exquisite food although be prepared to spend quite a lot to purchase enough protein and sides to satisfy your hunger. it's definitely quality over quantity and you pay for it. very loud venue - hard to talk at our table of four.

a hidden place set in a lovely, dimly lit atmosphere.  it's quite popular, and the acoustics of such a cosy space can be trying, so if you're looking for a quiet, intimate place, best to look elsewhere; it can be hard to hear both the staff, and the other diners in your party.

excellent food, but i would like to see more vegetables served with the meals, or even just as an option.  i'm not a vegetarian, but by the end of a meal here, i'm looking for more 'greenery' than just microherbs, and there's no side/entree/main to order...the last couple of menus i've tried anyway.

the dishes that aren't vegie based might have a peeling, dust, foam, or something, but it would be nice to have a bit more vegetable substance, and some that isn't beige.
still, it's very good food despite that nitpicking.

edit: went back here fairly recently, and the green veg 'issue' has been resolved.  had a great roast broccoli dish, and the rest of the meals were even better still.  the acoustics were better too, having dined on a less busy mid-week night.

5/5 now, and some of the best food i've had in a long time.  plenty of technically amazing chef prowess, but not at the expense of taste; it's there to improve, or accentuate the ingredients, as it should be.

currently i could not find a better place in brissy to eat n chill out than this one. thumbs up for the staff. great food, great service great atmosphere.

fantastic, interesting restaurant to be found after you enter via an equally extraordinary butcher. beautiful indoor and outdoor setting. a great atmosphere. menu is limited but imaginative. we shared a scotch egg which was perfectly cooked, soft in the middle. wild venison with fig and rhubarb, just slightly under cooked. sweet potato with yogurt and spiced cream cheese. following a delicious desert of lemon curd topped with meringue. service was attentive and well paced, although they bought our coffee to us before our desert. staff polite and helpful. prices are high but still good value.

what a shame the food was such a let down. the location and presentation of this restaurant is great. after finally finding the front counter and someone to help - we came through the side entrance - we were sat at a terrible table in the middle of the restaurant, beside several party groups - however the staff went out of their way to move us on request - but i never quite get why you would sit someone there in the first place, unless you were trying to put them off and get them out the door early? the service overall was efficient and well informed. the strategy of putting our wine and water on the shelf behind me so that the waitress had to reach behind me every time she came past to fill our glasses just doesn’t work for me - while i appreciated feeling we were developing a strong bond between us, it really became a little weird. ultimately the pork belly was a little raw (seriously there was uncooked fat in it - how is that possible with pork belly - that can’t be a mistake) and the duck, while tender and well cooked, became dusty with, what i think was blood pudding, added. just not up to it - so, nice place, shame about the food.