QLD

LA LUNE WINE CO.

Shop 3, 109 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane (entry via Fish Lane) (07) 3255 2420 lalunewine co.com.au Open Thursday-Sunday for lunch and Tuesday-Sunday for dinner Paul McGivern has done it again. Coming just a year or so after he opened The Wolfe in East Brisbane, this cosy 42-seat venue is destined to be just as popular. Even more impressive than the wine list is sommelier Olivia Evans’ knowledge and enthusiasm for sharing it. The décor is industrial chic but the food is the honest, unpretentious fare for which McGivern is known. Order something substantial, such as lamb neck with lentils, carrot and porcini aïoli or Wagyu flank with barley, gem lettuce, fetta and garlic. Graze on excellent rabbit terrine with pistachio, carrot and muntrie berry or a vibrant ceviche with finger lime, kohlrabi kimchi and padrÓn peppers. It all works.

ALLIUM

148 Merthyr Road, New Farm (07) 3254 0595 allium.com.au Open Sunday for lunch and Wednesday-Sunday for dinner Tucked between a Thai takeaway and a casual café, Allium may appear to be an unremarkable contemporary restaurant in an inner-city suburb already spoiled for choice. But once inside, that illusion quickly falls away. The service is a cut above – warm and attentive – but it’s the food that really sets it apart. An amuse-bouche of choux pastry filled with velvety onion mousse appears first (a nod to the restaurant’s name – allium is the plant family to which onions belong). Tasting-menu highlights include cured kingfish with cucumber sorbet, apple and dill. There’s also a buttery-soft Black Onyx steak paired with caramelised onion, potato and miso eggplant. At $85 for six courses or $110 for nine (plus $60 for matching wine), it’s also remarkably good value.