Restaurant Review: It’s goodbye crisp white tablecloths and hello to share plates and al fresco dining

Matt Moran’s Aria closed in June after 10 years and the former site on Eagle Street Pier in Brisbane’s CBD has morphed into a far more relaxed space, with an enticing al fresco area that makes the most of the riverfront location.

Alison Walsh

3 min read

November 7, 2019 - 5:30PM

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IT’S goodbye to white tablecloths and fine dining and hello to share plates and eating outside under umbrellas now Spanish-accented newcomer Rico has moved into the former Aria site on Eagle Street Pier in Brisbane’s CBD.

Matt Moran’s Aria closed in June after 10 years and has morphed into a far more relaxed space, with an enticing outdoor area that makes the most of the riverfront location.

Owner Michael Tassis is apparently on a mission to make his way around the Mediterranean via his Eagle Street restaurants.

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He runs the Greek-inspired George’s Paragon seafood restaurant directly above Rico, as well as the Italian, Massimo, which opened earlier this year just down the waterfront at the Riverside Centre.

The enticing outdoor area makes the most of the riverfront location. Picture: Mark Cranitch

Rico’s décor retains Aria’s basic layout but feels entirely different, with concrete floors on the lower level, bare wooden tables each with an attractive brass lamp and pepper grinder, linen-covered banquettes and fabric upholstered chairs in a palette of warm colours. There’s also a tank of marron swimming up the back and an oyster bar. Out the front with Story Bridge views, mint and white striped umbrellas festooned with twinkly fairy lights shade white outdoor table settings, while potted olive and palm trees and planters filled with bougainvillea ratchet up the tropical vibe.

The restaurant has only been open a couple of weeks when we visit and is quite busy on a midweek night. The extensive menu goes the whole Spanish fiesta and more, with picadas, ceviche, oysters six ways, pintxos, tapas, paella, salads, raciones such as a whole chicken or a lamb shoulder as well as an extensive array of single-serve seafood and meat selections and three possible banquets.

Snapper tail main (with a side dish). Picture: Mark Cranitch

The drinks list is similarly expansive, with a hefty array of cocktails, a wide selection of beers including several from Spain, three sangrias and a choice of sparkling roses part of an appealing selection of wines from Chile, California, Argentina, Portugal and Spain adding interest to the Australian choices.

In a variation on the sandwich starters that have popped up all over town in recent times, this version has bug meat encased in a pillowy brioche ($17) with a few shreds of lettuce and a splodge of lime and chilli aioli. The pillowy bread tends to overwhelm the bug but it’s fresh and pleasant enough without threatening to become a taste sensation. Similarly, panko-crumbed croquettas ($9) filled with bacalao (in this case not particularly salty salt cod) have little impact on the tastebuds.

Rico’s Bar and Dining signature pintxo bug brioche. Picture: Mark Cranitch

From the tapas section prawns split in two and drenched in garlic, chilli and chilli ($17) are more emphatically flavoured, contrasting with the empanadas filled with braised beef cheek ($17) which are begging for more oomph.

The dish of the night is the chargrilled snapper tail ($24), which is replete with a generous quantity of sweet flesh and a marinade of pimento and lemon as well as a splodge of green chimichurri on top for extra oomph. Diners can choose a side to go with their main course and mushrooms deglazed with sherry are just as appealing.

Rico’s signature catalana dessert. Picture: Mark Cranitch

To finish, the catalana ($15.50) is a deconstructed version of the traditional Spanish dessert, which is very similar to crème brulee. Here the filling is piped into a toffee basket and it’s quite pleasant and more enjoyable than the olive oil chocolate tart with its not quite crisp shell ($15.50).

Our waitress wears a trainee badge and while she was very pleasant, English isn’t her first language either and the combination makes for some awkward encounters. Around us some of the city’s most experienced wait staff are hard at work, surely offering an entirely different picture to those diners.

While some of our dishes could have benefited from more spice to boost flavour, others such as the fish are examples of good produce treated well. It’s early days but Rico is a good looking venue and the outdoors space looks perfect for summer.