ARTFULLY AMBITIOUS
Freewheeling creativity and sharp kitchen skills ensure this gallery restaurant succeeds as a drawcard in its own right, writes FIONA DONNELLY.
Recently pundits have begun theorising about where is the best place for visitors to experience “new” Brisbane. They might mention The Calile Hotel precinct, or the humming riverfront destination of Howard Smith Wharves – and with reason. But if you’re looking for a venue to show how long the current cultural renaissance has been unfolding, you can’t bypass the Gallery of Modern Art and its culinary flagship.
GOMA Restaurant occupies a light-filled corner on the ground floor of Australia’s biggest gallery of contemporary art and one of its most beautiful. It’s an unusual beast – a government-run restaurant where dishes are regularly good enough to frame. View an exhibition, follow with lunch in the glassed-in dining room - or outside on the undercover deck - and you’ll see the capital in a new light.
A clipped menu ditches an entrée, main, dessert set-up for a progressive share-style format. Friendly black-clad waitstaff can advise on suitable numbers of dishes and service is tip-worthy, so don’t forget (as I did) to bring cash. Gratuities aren’t accepted via card payment.
Sydney Rock oysters make a decadent start, arriving on the half shell, each crowned with soured cream and generous pops of glossy black herring roe. A green spring onion oil pools atop the oyster liquor – and there’s a splash of bonito vinegar too. It’s a first-class upgrade on
Oysters Romanoff.
Smoked eel snacks arrive in quick succession. These emerge as larger than bite-size pieces and look almost fire-charred, leaping into life at first crunch. The star is an aerated eel mousse partly hidden beneath a nest of sharply vinegar-flavoured potato straws, tinted charcoal with squid ink. There’s a glassy potato cracker beneath and the resulting “sandwich” delivers crunch, squish and smoke, with a burst of fruitiness from a Pedro Ximénez-steeped prune purée.
Baby cheese tartlets land next. Classic flavour bombs in a fine pastry casing, these blend aged Comté cheese and the mellow sweetness of malted onion.
Unusually on this visit, just one Queensland wine is on pour by-theglass – a Granite Belt Tempranillo by Golden Grove. As one of GOMA’s ambitions is to show-off the region, it’s a wasted opening to trumpet Queensland’s artisans. Provenance would be another plus, given the worthy aim of using organic, sustainable and local produce where possible.
Throughout lunch tactile ceramics balance artfully composed dishes. Charred sugarloaf cabbage, all silky leaves and gentle smokiness from a dusting of smoked gouda scores a garlicky ajo blanco. Juicy local line-caught kingfish is paired with rich onion beurre blanc and a wild garlic emulsion. The precision-cooked fillet comes topped with curls of saltbush and plump mussels.
Matthew Blackwell’s handiwork is nuanced and thoughtful. The finesse on display here ensures visiting GOMA Restaurant is an experience as inventive and contemporary as one of the gallery’s excellent exhibitions.