Sunday, October 28, 2012

The Laneway for Bar Snacks

The Laneway
http://www.urbanerestaurant.com/the-laneway/


I've been keen on the Urbane Group for a while, despite the fact that I've only been to The Euro one time. I think I'm somehow subscribed to the Urbane Group mailing list because I get newsletters with awesome photos and food updates for each of their ventures. As someone who's favorite weekend dinner combination is cocktails and nibblies, The Laneway instantly appealed to me.


The Laneway is a small bar behind The Euro, up a set of stairs. The decor is dark and contemporary. Blossom and I visited last Saturday night for drinks and food, plus a whole lot of girly gossip.


Cocktails

As expected, the drinks menu is thorough. There isn't a whole encyclopedia of cocktails like you get at some of those other joints like Sling or Canvas, but there's enough to be interesting. Blossom and I went for the cocktails creatively named after Brisbane train stops. I had the Brisbane Domestic Airport and she, the South Brisbane (because the ingredients for Southbank were sold out).


As for food, the bar menu features larger dishes termed 'substantials' and lighter dishes termed 'accompaniments'. There are then set deals you can get with varying quantities of substantials and accompaniments. We ended up getting one substantial and two accompaniments to share.

Sourdough bruschetta -  with tomato salsa

The first plate to arrive was the sourdough bruschetta with tomato salsa. The bread was a nice, olive-filled loaf with the typical chewiness of a sourdough. I'm normally not a huge fan of that quality in a dipping bread but the salsa was more of a spread so it worked alright. I think I would have preferred a chunky salsa though.

Proscuitto, parmesan and gruyere croquettes (left); sticky lamb ribs dry-rubbed with fennel, mint and brown sugar (right)

The proscuitto and cheese croquettes were lovely and hot bite-sized cheese balls. They had a golden and crunchy exterior and the inside was oozy and delicious. These would make great beer snacks.

The dish that could be considered our main was the sticky lamb ribs. They were delicious. Ribs is probably the worst thing I could get as someone with braces but I threw all social caution out the window to embrace these saucy, sweet and succulent beauties. We polished off the whole lot in no time. Ladylike or not? We didn't care.

The Laneway was a nice establishment for drinks and food. Everything we ate was simple and tasty. We liked that it was a small bar with an intimate feel. It would be great for after work drinks or for catch ups with friends. I was eyeing off the burgers too... I might have to go back to try those!
The Laneway on Urbanspoon

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