133 Grey Street, South Brisbane
Trying to find a place to have dinner on a public holiday is a pain. We probably shouldn't have picked Boxing Day to have a date night out but the truth was, there was no food in the fridge, the grocery stores were closed and it was either head out or starve. I wanted to try Jamie's Italy because I feel like everyone in Brisbane has been there except me. The online booking said they were booked out and we didn't want to pay for parking only to be told we couldn't get a table or had to wait over an hr.
After tossing up and declining a few other options, we went for a random drive around West End and became disheartened by how many restaurants weren't open. We ended up in Southbank and to our relief, almost everything was open. We made a beeline for The Charming Squire because that's a venue I've been meaning to try since it first opened.
We had predicted that The Charming Squire would be packed with people drinking up before the weekend. It was busy but it wasn't crazy busy, which was a relief to us. There's a more casual bar area but we decided to try out the restaurant section. We didn't realise at the time but the two sides have different menus.
The sit down restaurant is quite classy without being too uppity. We had our own dedicated waiter looking after us, and he was on point with service and friendliness. Marc and I decided to share a serve of cheesy garlic bread to start with and we chose a steak each.
Cheesy garlic bread - welsh rarebit made with James Squire beer
The cheesy garlic bread looked small in serving size but from a taste perspective, it was everything I hoped for! It was soooo oozy and cheesy on the top and inside but wonderfully crunchy on the outside.
Giant rump - with mushroom sauce and lemon
The steaks and bbq meat options at The Charming Squire all come with sides of the day. When we were there, these were a potato dauphinoise and green beans.
Sirloin - with mushroom sauce and lemon
From the outset I could tell that the steaks were cooked perfectly. I cut a portion of my sirloin and revealed a gorgeous pink medium blush.
Close-up of steak
The steak itself was tender and juicy. I love mushroom sauce and the version at The Charming Squire did not disappoint. It was thick and creamy with chunks of juicy mushroom.
Dauphinoise potato with gratinated cheese and green beans with mustard butter
What really surprised me was the potato dauphinoise. I don't think I've ever had potato in this form before and I pictured a potato cube but it was a decadently layered, buttery and garlicky stack of finely shaved potato slices. Sounds simple but it was so delicious.
The green beans provided a welcome break from all the fatty components. They were blanched to the point of just being cooked but still vibrantly green and crunchy. As a salt-lover, I enjoyed the pops of sea salt flakes that garnished the beans.
The Chancer golden ale and (possibly) Nine Tales pale ale
It doesn't make sense to go to a brewery restaurant and not try their beers. Marc and I ordered a pint each to sip on throughout our meal. He chose two for variety. I liked them both but kept the darker one (possibly Nine Tales) for myself because it had such a nice flavour.
We had a lovely meal at The Charming Squire. The food was quite good and very, very filling. The dishes as a whole were a bit on the pricier side. A steak was comparable to fine dining restaurant prices and I can't say that it was that level. On the plus, they didn't charge extra for public holiday service so that helped. The beers were top notch and we experienced excellent service too.
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