New Brisbane hotspot with must-try degustation

Aptly located in the old Metro Arts Building, new restaurant Exhibition delivers plenty for both the eyes and the tastebuds.

Down a graffiti-sprayed set of stairs into the barely lit basement of the old Metro Arts building in Brisbane’s CBD lies the city’s newest degustation-only dining experience.

From former Joy, Fortitude Valley, chef Tim Scott, the 24-seat Exhibition is just that – an exhibition of all things unique and interesting.

There are Japanese culinary instruments the cook imported to fill glowing nooks in exposed brick walls, jars of pickles and preserves that sit like ornaments along illuminated high shelves; specially commissioned street-style murals on the walls, plus bespoke crockery from local ceramists designed to elevate Scott’s food into artworks in themselves.

Bookings for two sit kitchen-side opposite a hand-built hibachi grill, watching the team of smartly dressed chefs work their magic; while groups of four sink into banquette seating and sturdy wooden chairs, ready for the multi-course menu ($150pp, premium version $210) to begin.

And it’s here where Scott also introduces his love of science into the artistic frame, blending influences from across Asia with global cooking techniques. Think dehydrations, ferments, experimental liquids and even edible moulds used to flavour and season. It all makes for an ever-changing, seasonally driven culinary adventure for diners, led by chefs who deliver dishes personally, explaining them with passion and poise.

First up is a feast of snacks – eight on my visit – all laid out across the kitchen counter with diners advised to work their way from right to left. There’s everything from fresh sugar snap peas served with a cashew-based Lebanese-style garlic sauce for dipping to scampi churros.

The highlights though are a perfectly formed Fraser Island spanner crab tartlet, the crustacean seasoned with lemon and chives, while puffed buckwheat adds texture and hikari miso across the pastry base delivers salt and umami; as well as a little golden endive boat, its passengers radishes and baby turnips from Brisbane’s Neighbourhood Farm nuzzled in among a lemon and dill creme fraiche.

Three more substantial courses follow, including 14-day aged duck, its skin glazed daily until it becomes almost vitreous, before its flesh is smoked gently to blushing pink; and a brilliant slab of 55-day, dry-aged shell loin wagyu glazed with a fermented salted cherry sauce which caramelises and goes toffee-like and charry when it hits the grill. The wagyu is served on a herbaceous sauce with cabbage and fried mung bean and shallot salad, and it is ridiculously good.

It’s perhaps only rivalled by the palate cleanser of the evening, designed to transition guests from the savoury courses into sweet.

Featuring yoghurt sorbet dressed with a mandarin syrup made from the skins of the citrus and a shiso oil to bring slight floral notes, it is stunningly refreshing, cool and crisp. It may also just outshine the main dessert of hazelnut and lime cheesecake with hazelnut gelato and Jerusalem artichoke crisps.

All of these courses can be teamed with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink pairings, or guests can select from a worldly line-up of mostly small-scale wineries, and bespoke cocktails made with many ingredients from the kitchen. These can also be sipped at the venue’s dark, moody 10-seater bar just off the restaurant, with mixologist Aidan Perkins working with ferments, vinegars and bi-products from the chefs to create drinks with a point of difference. The evening finishes with two petite fours per diner, presented beautifully in a custom-built wooden box along with a copy of the menu and the bill, making receiving the check more exciting than unwanted.

Exhibition is the two-year dream of Scott, who even helped build the venue, and the passion for what he’s created makes for a dining experience designed to remember.

EXHIBITION RESTAURANT

Basement, 109 Edward St, Brisbane City

exhibitionrestaurant.com

Open
Tue-Sat from 5.30pm

Verdict - Scores out of 5

Food 4

Service 4.5

Ambience 4

Value 3.5

Overall 4