Des Houghton: 2018 was Queensland’s best year for dining

In two decades of reviewing restaurants, Des Houghton had never given 10 out of 10. In 2018, he did it twice. Check out his best of the best.

THIS year I awarded two Queensland restaurants 10 out of 10 for their food.

I hadn’t done so before in over 20 years of reviewing restaurants.

A string of new upscale eateries opened with sophisticated dishes to enthral even the most worldly of palates.

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A jump in the quality of homegrown beef supercharged many menus.

The arrival of the quintessentially French Montrachet to its new home in Brisbane in January triggered the start of a new era in Queensland dining.

Montrachet was a triumph for Bundaberg “boy” Shannon Kellam who put his own stamp on such classics as confit duck, bouillabaisse, steak and frites, lemon fish, lambs’ brains and garlic snails.

Des Houghton chews on the bone after devouring a tomahawk steak at Black Hide by Gambaro at Treasury Brisbane.

While several vegetarian restaurants opened, the biggest driver of the dining scene was the seemingly insatiable demand for high quality beef. Extravagance ruled. Export-only Kiwami wagyu ($240 for 2) was offered at Restaurant Nineteen at The Star casino on the Gold Coast. Many high-end restaurants likewise became upscale steakhouses.

Leading the charge was Black Hide by Gambaro at the Treasury. The exuberant Gambaro family continue to dominate the Brisbane restaurant scene and produced two fab new restaurants with the tucker to prove. Black Hide’s Stockyard Angus tomahawk, a juicy joy to eat, ($145 for 3) was named the Courier-Mail steak of the year, pushing wagyu into second place.

Fine old-timers like Moo Moo and Cha Cha Char, which specialised in branded beef, held their own in the face of juicy and char-crusted competition from Blackbird Bar and Grill, Pony and Walter’s steakhouse, both in the CBD.

And while critics were singing the praises of restaurants, our good old-fashioned pubs often trumped them for flavour.

Montrachet restaurant at Bowen Hills

Gambaros did it again this year opening Persone by Gambaro, an upscale — but not high-priced — Italian restaurant packed with personality and a symphony of Italian flavours.

Get a table overlooking Brisbane’s best river view and order the glorious meatballs made from beef, pork and fennel served in a Napoli sauce (four for $19.50). Close your eyes and let the flavours flood your tastebuds. Was that parmesan and basil hidden in there? Move over the tomahawk. I declare the humble meatballs my dish of the year.

If food was opera, these meatballs would taste like Placido Domingo belting out La Donna e Mobile.

Another newcomer, Tocco Italiano, at Teneriffe in Brisbane, did not get the accolades it deserved. Tocco presented another Italian sonata with its jaw-dropping Spaghetti al pomodoro with sauce from three different varieties of tomatoes.

And it wasn’t all beef. There was piscatorial perfection at Jellyfish Restaurant by the River in the CBD with a dozen different species on offer at any time. And dance like Zorba after devouring the octopus at Greca, a bright new restaurant at the Howards Smith Wharves.

Matt Moran’s Aria boasted the best wine list in 2018.

MY BEST OF THE BEST

Best Restaurant: (A tie) Black Hide by Gambaro at Treasury Brisbane Casino, (Ph 3306 8420) and Persone by Gambaro at W in George St, City. (Ph 3505 1417)

Best French: Montrachet, King St, Bowen Hills Ph 3367 0030.

Best wine list: Aria, Eagle St Pier, Brisbane Ph 3233 2555

Best Chinese: Donna Chang, 171 George St. Ph 3243 4888

Best Indian: Heritij, 300 George St Brisbane. Ph 3211 0330

Best Japanese: Kiyomi. The Star Casino, Gold Coast. Ph 55928100

Best informal newcomer: Greca. Howard Smith Wharf, 3 Boundary St Brisbane City Ph 3838 1203

Best maître d’: Michael Platsis, Boathouse Restaurant, Regatta Hotel. Ph 3871 9595

Best restaurant in a winery: Restaurant Lurleen’s, 850 Mount Cotton Rd, Mount Cotton,

Ph 3206 2999