Newstead restaurant Duckfat: enjoy the cuisine, ignore the leaky roof
Moments after we took our seat in the new, up-market French restaurant, the waitress did something that had us immediately asking to be moved.
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Welcome to the revolution of taste says the website of new Newstead restaurant, Duckfat. What’s this then? An outpost of Heston Blumenthal’s experimental British restaurant The Fat Duck?
Well no, this is a casual enterprise from the owners of Bardon’s relatively formal French restaurant of many years, La Belle Vie, its new offspring also described on its website as “where audacity meets French cuisine in a bold symphony of flavour”.
On the site formerly occupied by Salt Meats Cheese, Duckfat separates itself from its mothership immediately with its looks.
While the western suburbs white-clothed restaurant is full of light and glass with views west to Mt Coot-tha, Duckfat has black walls, a forest of artificial trees that rise to a canopy of pink blossoms and, above glass doors that lead to outdoor seating, is a gallery of diverse artwork, some with graffiti over traditional scenes.
Add concrete floors and bare, black tables, black chairs and black lights and it definitely has a different vibe.
Several of the menu items seen at La Belle Vie are here too, albeit slightly cheaper, including beef tartare, foie gras, snails and beef Bourguignon. But beyond that a key
difference seems to be the addition of a more casual component, with pizza-like French “flamed tarts”, one with onion, lardons and creme fraiche and the other with three cheeses, mussels with fries, French-style ravioli, a charcuterie board, baked camembert and a “bottomless” baguette. There’s a cheaper cut of steak and the option of a 1kg flame-grilled, marble-score seven wagyu rump, with French fries, green salad and condiments for $195.
The Duckfat drinks list also lightens up with cocktails such as the quack, with duck-fat-washed bourbon as its base, and a creme brulee espresso martini as well as reasonably priced wines by the glass (from $12) – although they are delivered pre-poured – and an appealing list about two dozen French wines and four locals.
The Tasmanian salmon gravlax is flavoured with dill and Savora mustard and comes with a small rocket salad ($26). The dill-encrusted strips of salmon are fairly salty but make for a pleasant, light starter. On the other hand, camembert roti is a sturdier proposition, the cheese freshly baked in a wooden box with rosemary-infused honey, and two small pieces of sourdough toast ($26). It’s not long before my dining companion is opting to add the baguette ($12), which comes with foil-wrapped portions of Paysan Breton French butter, to assist in the ongoing cheese-extraction process.
Our main courses are well cooked, the duck pink centred, enhanced with honey sauce, roast potatoes and truss tomatoes ($39) although the potato skins are not crisp enough to help ratchet up the flavour.
Grilled hangar steak with two-plus marbling is a decent-sized piece of meat that’s cooked as requested, with a pond of shallot jus, French fries and rocket ($46).
A shared creme brulee ($16) is large with a crunchy lid, otherwise there’s chocolate cake with cherry ice-cream or lemon meringue tart.
There are more wait staff than I’ve seen anywhere lately and service from various members of the team is attentive.
There’s an odd moment when we’re first seated and a waitress places a small, black plastic tray on the banquette next to me explaining that the ceiling is dripping.
I ask if we can sit somewhere else but we’re told the restaurant is heavily booked and we can’t be moved.
We’re in early and she’s right, the place is soon busy although when we leave, after a thankfully drip-free evening, there are still a few empty tables outside.
Despite its exuberant website mission statement, Duckfat’s food is not exactly revolutionary but it does come with a new, casual accent and solid interpretations of favourites in a relaxed, welcoming venue.
Duckfat
3B/63 Skyring Terrace, Newstead
duckfatbrisbane.com.au
Open
Mon-Thu 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30-9.30pm Fri-Sun 11.30am-9.30pm
Verdict
Food 3,5 stars
Ambience 3.5 stars
Service 3.5 stars
Value 3.5 stars
Overall
3.5/5 stars
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