Brisbane restaurants: Beaux Rumble, Fortitude Valley | Review

With a spot in the Calile Hotel complex and a chef with a schmick resume plus a Michelin star to his credit – it has all the makings of something quite special. But this new addition is missing something, says Tony Harper.

A SPOT in the Calile Hotel complex; a rather gorgeous array of rooms; and a chef with a schmick resume plus a Michelin star to his credit – it’s all the makings, it seems, of something quite special.

The place in point is Beaux Rumble, recently opened across the laneway from The Calile, on the Wandoo St corner, with a beautifully, perfectly understated fit-out that spans at least three rooms and a mostly enclosed terrace.

Beaux Rumble, Fortitude Valley.

Which is where I find myself, for Sunday brunch, on the terrace and buffeted by wind. Which could be a once-a-year anomaly, or could also be an architectural blooper. Who knows?

There’s the air of New York thrown into the mix here.

For starters, chef Alan Wise spent his culinary adolescence in the city. And the designers have woven Grand Central Station subtly into the look; the coffee (perplexingly) is shooting straight for the New York psyche of coffee from a pot rather than an espresso machine, which kind of irritates my flat-white-loving wife.

And every now and again the menu taps Americanism, like bialy – a bagel-ish, Poland-meets-New York roll, and waffle with pulled pork.

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But the foreign influence seems hinged-on, more defined by cooking over wood.

Oysters, for example, come smoked over apple wood, with dashi jelly, prune vinaigrette and fried ginger. Clever.

Sardines are wood-fired and scampi is fire-roasted, while sirloin is wood-roasted and leeks are charred over ironbark.

Fire roasted scampi, miso, grilled corn, tobiko. Beaux Rumble, Fortitude Valley

Ignoring the coffee debacle, there’s a solid drinks offering with a bubbles list and cocktails taking centre stage, and a fairly expansive wine list arranged by style rather than variety or region.

I’m not sure that all of the wines have landed in the right category, but regardless it’s a novel and reasonably practical method of organising a list.

The waffle ($28) is massive and, according to the menu, somehow has kimchi in its makeup. It’s piled high with slaw and pulled pork (ironbark roasted), chilli and coriander.

And it’s merely OK.

Wood fired sardines on toast, chimichurii, soft boiled eggs, paprika. Beaux Rumble, Fortitude Valley

The meat is a little dry, the waffle soggy and the whole thing lacks for “wow”.

Smoked chicken kofta ($11 for two) is marginally better, but still not packing any Michelin-star sizzle.

In fact the star of my meal is a plate of rosti ($9), in rectangular batons, piled like a game of Jenga, with a ramekin of rather delicious house-made ketchup.

I fear that I missed the best part of the restaurant.

Reading through the main menu, offered later in the day, I see grilled quail stuffed with yesterday’s bread, and whole roasted rainbow trout … my sort of food.

But so too is ironbark-roasted pork on a good waffle, which I did sample.

I love pork, it’s my meat-obsession, and I left Beaux Rumble pondering my choice of food, and my wife in desperate need of a flat white.

SCORES OUT OF 10

Food: 6.5

Drinks: 7.5

Vibe: 8

Service: 7.5

BEAUX RUMBLE

Ada Lane, 46 James St,

Fortitude Valley

Ph: 3181 3451

Brunch, Sun; lunch, Thu-Sat;

dinner, Tue-Sat