Brisbane best fine dining: The Wolfe restaurant review

Dishes don’t get more daring nor delicious than Josh Lopez’s offerings at The Wolfe.

Josh Lopez is a chef with plenty of admirers: I reckon I hear about him more than any other chef in town.

That’s partly because he is an engaging fellow, and I think his time at GOMA — cooking some of Brisbane’s most innovative food in an unlikely space — cemented his reputation.

He loves wine and makes wine-friendly food.

The Wolfe in East Brisbane. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

He is thoughtful, clever, and at times tricksy — never too much though — and plays with all sorts of unusual ingredients, often nicely indigenous. With him, it’s never simply beef, lamb, chicken and veg.

Lopez bought The Wolfe from Paul McGivern earlier this year.

He hasn’t changed the name and in plenty of ways he has kept the culture intact, including Tuesday night BYO.

If anything it feels a little more produced … not quite formal but more staid than the relaxed adventure of The Wolfe of old, and perhaps the addition of carpet has been the tipping point. Who knows? But while everything rolls along in occasionally almost jaw-dropping fashion, it feels a little stiff at times. Nervous perhaps, stilted.

Ocean Floor Cray, scallop, octopus, finger lime at The Wolfe. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

Which is a small price to pay for the adventure that’s offered.

There’s a definite push toward degustation.

A la carte and degustation ($125) are both available for most of the week, while Saturday has a shortened four-course menu for $90.

And if I had my time again I’d be doing the degustation thing; it simply makes life easy and lets you have a good look at what the kitchen can do.

But I don’t, instead opting for five items of my own choice to be shared between myself and a friend; we’ve known each other forever and are very happy to bicker over the same plate. Yet (how’s this for nice) each and every dish comes out plated separately, in pairs, just like a degustation for two … smaller but perfectly constructed.

Would I do the Tuesday BYO? Maybe, but there’s a very good, pleasingly international set of wines on offer, including some gems under Coravin. So why bother?

Josh Lopez has a way with food that’s rare. It’s artful — everything looks pretty on the plate — but it only takes a bite or two to realise that taste comes first.

FaWagyu, veal, brassica, beetroot, blackberry. Picture: AAP/Claudia Baxter

Our five courses hover between very good and stellar, and … oddly enough, it’s dessert that is possibly, perhaps, maybe (goodness this is hard for me to say) the front runner.

It’s this craziness with caramelised Jerusalem artichoke (awesome vegetable, but who has ever seen it in a dessert?), toasted sunflower, apple sorbet, poached apple balls, Pepe Sayer marscapone, honey ($19). I’ve got that kind of right, but not quite. It’s only just sweet … amazing.

Sommerlad rooster ($38) is next in line (any food nut who hasn’t tasted a Sommerlad chicken needs to do so. And this isn’t chicken … it’s rooster) poached breast and confit maryland, rosella puree, crispy skin, rapini, rose petals and a whole lot of other, beautifully treated things.

I loved several more dishes, all hovering between excellent and amazing, and if I had more words I’d tell you about them.

But in short, if you crave creative, meaningful food, The Wolfe is about as good as it gets.

SCORES OUT OF 10

Food: 9

Drinks: 8

Vibe: 8

Service: 8

The Wolfe

989 Stanley St East, East Brisbane

Ph: 3891 7772

Chef: Josh Lopez

Vegetarian options