‘Minimalist, monochrome grey room’: You’ll have trouble finding Rick Shores’ new Brisbane venue

A new restaurant from the owners of mega-success Rick Shores ‘hidden’ underground in inner-city Brisbane is not what you’d expect.

Central restaurant in Brisbane City.

‘This is probably the best spring roll I’ve ever had in my life,” enthuses my dining companion.

I agree, marvelling at how this crisp, golden, rectangular bundle encasing chunks of king crab and prawn is a stunning version of the 1000-year-old Chinese restaurant staple.

We’re in Central, a new restaurant from the owners of the gloriously tropically ambient Southside in South Brisbane’s Fish Lane and the Gold Coast’s iconic surfside Rick Shores.

It’s in an underground space beneath Queen St’s Piccadilly Arcade, and the spring rolls are not the first surprise of the evening – this is a very different venue.

Just finding the place is an experience – there’s just a small red sign above the entry and a cabinet of dangling ducks at the back of the foyer adorned with panels of ruched cream fabric to offer an obscure clue.

Steps lead down to a large, relentlessly minimalist, almost monochrome, grey space. A large, grid-style light pod hovers over the busy open kitchen and bar in the centre of the raw concrete and tile room, bathing the scene in a mellow, slightly yellow light that creates a vaguely retro feel.

The triple-cooked Stockyard wagyu short ribs and other dishes at Central in Brisbane’s CBD

Diners are able to perch on stools along this central hub, at bare, wooden tables beneath exposed stone and concrete walls, or on the mezzanine that hovers above the entry.

Silver airconditioning ducts snake overhead, speakers resemble scaled-down aircraft engines, and swagged cream curtains are deployed to soften the hard surfaces. It’s a strikingly original room that, depending on your perspective, brings 1970s call centre or office space vibes, or delivers Brisbane a lesson in brutally innovative interior design.

The restaurant is named for Central, a bustling Hong Kong Island district, and the venue’s food stays on theme with dim sum, raw items and snacks such as drunken chicken and pickled lotus root, a barbecue section including roast duck, char siu pork and crispy skin chicken, share plates including lobster noodles or steamed grouper, as well sides of fried and steamed rice and Asian greens.

Pineapple buns at Central.

After the spring rolls ($18 for two) arrive fairly quickly it’s a bit of a wait for the restaurant’s take on wu gok ($24 for two) –traditional Chinese taro dumplings.

Here the mashed root vegetable is mixed with diced baby abalone, chicken and dried shrimp, and it’s an appealing enough, strong-flavoured combination but unfortunately no longer very hot. Arriving at the same time is a Hong Kong sweet “pineapple” bun ($12) with prosciutto and not quite enough smoked butter to save it from being on the dry side.

The chef apologies for the delay when we’re delivered our shared plate main of triple-cooked Stockyard wagyu short ribs ($88). The meat cut into cubes is pleasingly crisp on the outside but too dry within, and covered with chunks of potato, capsicum and chilli and a pepper and honey-accented sauce.

Steamed Asian greens ($24) is simply a plate of bok choy and, despite being bathed in abalone oyster sauce and apparently chicken fat, does not seem very good value.

The food at Central

There are two desserts ($18): mango pudding with coconut sago, shiso and pomelo is a pleasant, not overly sweet, combination, while the bergamot chocolate option offers hints of five spice in the sauce covering chocolate cake; the lot spiked with wafers of milk powder meringue. I can’t say I’d order it again.

The restaurant opened two weeks before our visit but seemed to be flagging under the weight of a full house. Service is informative and friendly but as well as glitches with the timing of the food, water glasses remain unfilled for long stretches of time (sparkling water is $4) and empty wine glasses aren’t taken even when the table is wiped down before dessert.

Hopefully the teething problems are quickly overcome as this is a venue with so much potential.

Central

340 Queen St, Brisbane City

centralbne.com.au

Open

Lunch Thur-Sat from noon; dinner Tue-Sat from 5pm

Must try

King crab and prawn spring rolls

Verdict

Food

3.5

Ambience

3.5

Service

3

Value

3

Overall

3.5/5 stars

delicious.com.au/eatout