Amalfi Bistro and Wine Bar

Overall score: 75/100

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Restaurants attached to hotels/motels/any sort of accomodation really, often has The Chameleon scrambling for his urbanspoon app dreading the bland offerings from the limited menus and the overdone steaks (example here). But also recently, Bazaar was a very acceptable option; and not far from Bazaar was Amalfi Bistro and Wine Bar, attached to the Watermark Hotel and Spa.       

THE EXPERIENCE
Amalfi is a rather nicely fitted out restaurant at the back of the hotel. The Chameleon had in fact walked past it a couple of times prior to his visit wondering if they were open or not; you see the doors were closed, only a faint glimmer of light emanating indicating life and no doubt a few diners would bypass this for the buffet next door which is open and airy and somewhat more inviting (review to come soon). 

All this hidden-ness does have it's benefits though, as when The Chameleon entered, the place instantly made him feel at ease, relaxed and smooth. The dim lighting and the ambience music worked well, the large window opened the diners to the intermittent traffic outside, the car lights of the metropolitan bustle that is now the Gold Coast seemingly adding to the cosiness of Amalfi.

The Chameleon's group's waitress was young and showed glimpses of professional practice, but alas her inexperience did show through on a number of occasions, for example as she bumbled through some of the menu items. 

THE FOOD
The entrees of choice was carpaccio and The Chameleon opted for one of his favourite pasta dishes for the main, Linguine alla Carbonara, from a menu which somehow felt limited.

After a somewhat reasonable wait, the entrees arrived and were well received. The quail egg in particular was masterfully cooked and overall, it got the evening off to a reasonable start. The flavours were very subtle, perhaps a little bit too subtle and The Chameleon was expecting a little bit more for his money, but a great start nonetheless.

The group ordered wine and the evening continued swimmingly as they patiently began the wait for their mains. And wait. And wait. And wait. And then....wait. The mains took an unnervingly long time to come to the table, and although the group was cheerfully engaged in conversation, the topic did turn to the aforementioned waiting time; this should never happen. The Chameleon got to such a point that he began to wonder whether this was a deliberate ploy for diners to buy more wine and alcohol. It wasn't a particularly busy night, perhaps 4-5 tables with a few couples and his group. He wonders still.

The main was indeed very tasty. The carbonara ideal was there and that sauce, although somewhat oily, had beautiful undertones of rich creamy complex flavours. But, what was this meal's triumph was also it's diminishing demise. There was simply too much topping and, dare The Chameleon say it, too much meat! Typically The Chameleon is able to proportion out a meal to finish with one full mouthful, a bit like a special fulfilling ending to a movie, but on this occasion, all the pasta had disappeared with only topping left. The Chameleon was indeed glad when another diner made a similar comment which confirmed his thoughts. Balance.

The wine at this place was amazing. Great examples of somewhat expensive wine, but of course The Chameleon isn't a wine tasting critic, so apart from seemiongly fluking a nice dry match for the somewhat oily pasta, the deep cherry flavours which slipped out of every drop was well appreciated.

OVERALL
The Amalfi Bistro was a relaxing venue which The Chameleon appreciated after a hectic busy day. The food was of a high standard but alas the small entree, the long wait, the lack of balance in the main and the inexperienced waitress all impacted on the overall experience. Would The Chameleon recommend Amalfi? Only if you have time to kill and love a drop or two of fermented grape juice. 75/100

Bazaar

Overall score: 83/100 

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Buffet dining, in a way, is admitting defeat. Let The Chameleon explain. Dining experiences are far and wide, and at different times of the day or different occasions, a suitable dining option is required. A buffet thus fits into...which one? The correct answer is of course all of them; it can offer options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dining for two, or 50. With a varied menu on offer from a basic breakfast bar, through to a full smorgasbord (which is very much what you get at Bazaar), The Chameleon has to wonder how right the food can be with such variety. And more often than not, his hesitation has proven correct with bland offerings that were not far off from Sizzler levels. He approaches with caution.  

The Bazaar however has changed his perception...somewhat. As you see, another dimension has entered the fold.     

THE EXPERIENCE

Bazaar is located inside the QT hotel, a glitzy venue but let's be honest, The Chameleon couldn't help but think back to any number of motels with a 'restaurant' attached and images of the Carousel began haunting his thoughts. These were quickly dismissed however, as when he slithered up the staircase he was greeted with a friendly staff member and instantly, he knew this was going to be a different dining experience. 

As he was shown to his seat, The Chameleon couldn't help but notice a glaringly obvious  fact; it was very very busy. So much so in fact, that you almost needed to pack a lunch just to get to the buffet section, traversing, if not climbing over and bumping into other guests along the way. This got to a point where The Chameleon at one stage got out of his seat, raised his little head high above the crowd and scouted out a route prior to his quest to get another delicious plate. So a piece of advice Bazaar: Bulldoze/redesign an entire level of your hotel to fit in more customers. Perhaps a trip to Sizzler for inspiration (not for the food). And while The Chameleon is having a go at your layout, it's noteworthy to add that you have tucked the actual business end of this dining experience into a nook! A nook for all those people! The Chameleon also suggests a police officer strategically placed to direct the flow of traffic. 

In all honesty, Bazaar is a wonderful place, very well decorated and a great dining experience albeit very busy and a little bit squashy, some design lacking. Perhaps initially the designers didn't think it would be this popular. 

A quick word about the staff; The Chameleon really appreciated the chirpy friendly nature of the staff here. Smiling, joking, catering to your specific needs is a refreshing change at a buffet. Well done Bazaar. 

THE FOOD

This buffet scores highly on urbanspoon, as well it should. The food, for a buffet, was outstanding. In fact almost all offerings would have gone down favourably in most dedicated restaurants and the variety naturally, was great. But it was more than that; the offerings included stuff like paella, on the spot cooked steak, dumplings, pasta, etc. etc. it was the way a buffet should be.

The highlight came as a surprise. The Chameleon ordered a freshly cooked steak and when he saw what arrived on the table, his heart sank. A piece of thin, flimsy slither of a beef sat, albeit very well presented on a wooden serving board, staring at him. Inside, The Chameleon cried. However, when he tasted what was supposed to be a rare steak, the flavour and texture hit him much like a wrecking ball hits a derelict building. It was superb! AND, even though it was so thin, it was cooked rare! This was by far the highlight, although the steamed dumplings weren't too far behind and let The Chameleon reiterate, this was at a buffet. The rest of the food was of a high standard, the only thing letting the culinary experience down were flavourless prawns, but there was plenty to offset this small mishap. 

A final note; the wine, while on the expensive side, was very nice and a great one on offer to diners.  

    

OVERALL

So this brings The Chameleon to an indifferent conclusion, a dilemma if you will. An outstanding buffet from the food perspective, the best ever actually. Offsetting this is the obvious by-product, a LOT of dinners and unfortunately, to such an extent that it was a significant annoyance. At a quality buffet, come people and come busyness. The cost too was high, something that entered the equation regarding the score. Something to think about Bazaar. 83/100   

Bistro Gitan

Overall score: 85/100

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Oh Melbourne, how cultured, how divinely old and new, how wonderfully diverse is her weather. The Chameleon recently enjoyed another trip to this wonderful city that is the mecca of multiculturalism in Australia and so it was that the visit to this French inspired restaurant on Toorak Road reflected much of what this wonderfully contradictory city is all about.    

THE EXPERIENCE

Bistro Gitan was (literally) only  a stone throw from where The Chameleon was staying on this particular trip (if you throw the stone that is a little bit round and it rolls along a little, perhaps helped by some moisture on the footpath, and a good arm, but I digress) and having walked past it a couple of times on previous evenings, a peek through the windows was all that was needed to lure this little critter in for a visit.   

The Chameleon was very, very glad he did, as Gitan excelled when it came to the atmosphere and, perhaps more importantly, created the type of mood that fits it's Melbourne location down to a tee; urban cool, old and new, simply brilliant. Any new restaurant looking to create that 'just right' ambiance should look no further than a visit to Bistro Gitan; wonderful use of textures and layout, mixed dining options (bar style/formal seating/group seating/casual/romantic are all options) and the lighting....oh the lighting was exquisite. How can lighting be exquisite The Chameleon hears you ask? Well, Gitan had successfully created an intimate, yet lively and adventurous mood by setting the brightness low, but with intense highlights and focal points with the employment of interesting lighting. In the past, The Chameleon has raved about the wonderful atmosphere created at Brisbane's Verve Restaurant Bar Cider House but Gitan has easily overshadowed that wonderful offering. Add to this the clever rich display of wine, artifacts, a creative bar, open see-through kitchen and music that worked a treat and you get one of the best ambiances you will find anywhere in Australia. It was no surprise that The Chameleon's group had a wonderful evening. 

As The Chameleon's party walked through the door, the host/owner welcomed them in with a cheeky smile, and, without appearing desperate nor pretentious (but just letting  the group know that he is doing us a small favour of some sort), he found us a table. The service continued to be quite acceptable throughout the night.

THE FOOD

On this particular evening, the Chameleon was able to run his long sleek tongue across an escargot entree, two different types of steak (one a special, the other off the menu), as well as some delectable red wine that the Chameleon tried to match to the steak.

The escargot (read: snails) was good. The unique texture, which in this case resonated as a somewhat unusual mixture of thick snot, loose overcooked tripe and melted duck lard, was quite pleasant. The flavour from the accompanying sauce was overly buttery, and the escargot only just emerged on the palate; but it worked. So a decent start to the evening. 

The mains were steak; Gitan did not get this right. The Chameleon's specials menu steak came out overcooked, definitely not medium rare. The texture too was overly dry and the flavour, passable if you were sitting in a pub. That's a bit harsh to be honest, but The Chameleon expected much higher considering the prices that were paid. The side of spinach that was ordered never really got past bland. It was...spinach; and nothing else, which came as a surprise since the robust full flavours of any steak will hide untouched spinach every time. A little garlic, some chilli perhaps, just SOMETHING to give it an edge  of flavour, but nothing emerged. Unhappy Chameleon. 

In stark contrast, the menu steak was absolutely spot on. Cooked as per ordered, it left The Chameleon yearning for someone else's meal. The meat was soft, flavoursome and looked outstanding on the plate. It didn't cost much more than the special and was by far the better choice. 

So there was some inconsistency and, for the price the group ended up paying, this is reflected in the overall score. 

A word on the drinks. Bistro Gitan is very much on the expensive side. You pay top dollar for beer. You pay top dollar for wine. The Chameleon paid top dollar for both. There are no cheap alternate offerings, no 'house wine' to quench your thirst. So expect to pay $40+ upward for a basic bottle of red. The French dry chosen by The Chameleon was a very unusual spicy merlot/shiraz style, not a bad drop, but there are better sub-$20 Aussie reds that you can pick up at a bottle-o. If you are interested, there is a very good selection of premiums, reaching over $500 per bottle, which The Chameleon can not comment on for various obvious reasons.

    

OVERALL

Wow, what a glorious bistro! Highly impressive atmosphere/setup, in fact, would visit again for this singular fact alone, but there were some deficiencies in The Chameleon's meal. Getting it right on one plate is fine, but to appease this reptile, it must count on his plate. Pricey for food, a bargain for the atmosphere. 85/100 

Verve Restaurant Bar Cider House

Overall score: 90/100

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Verve Restaurant Bar and Cider House has the unfortunate label of being the highest rated Brisbane CBD restaurant on urbanspoon and hence, expectations were very high for The Chameleon when a glimpse of a chance to dine presented itself one day.

THE EXPERIENCE
The Verve is located a very short walk from Queen Street Mall and hence it's central CBD location means it's within easy reach of anyone visiting. Quite unlike many restaurants in Queensland, the Verve has the romantic 'down in the cellar' feel as you walk through the darkly lit staircase and descend into the pit. For The Chameleon, this was akin to coming home to his beloved holiday home in a hole, which instantly created a mood of warmth and security. The red theme which welcomes visitors creates just the right amount of dark mood, as the paint was neither too bright  nor too dark, you can tell someone put some thought and effort into this decor. 

The Chameleon was greeted by a very friendly hostess and was shown to an appropriate table; it was as if she read The Chameleon's mind to remain hidden and chose the table accordingly. 

To be honest, the atmosphere was quite good. A large group was also dining this evening and it filled the room with a fair amount of cheerful laughter and the clinking and clanking of cutlery. As much as all this jolly spirit added to the mood, at times, it also became a bit over bearing. The room 'echoed' and bellowed with the sounds, almost like some sort of out of tune orchestra practicing for the recital, but someone turned up the amps. This was only a minor niggly distraction however, and overall, the Chameleon could see one of his business dinners taking place here in the future. 

THE MEAL
Verve excelled here. While the menu was extensive and offered plenty of variety, the waitress recommended the blue cheese risotto which, upon reaching the table, was presented simply but effectively. The ring of red sauce around the edge was a nice touch and the package in front of the Chameleon said "Go on now, dig in!" The multi-leveled flavours on the palate showed the craftsmanship of the dish, although The Chameleon did note that it was very salty overall. Luckily, the hostess also recommended a nice glass of dry wine which balanced out the saltiness, but The Chameleon  was somewhat disappointed. Salt, being a flavour enhancer, needs to be used sparingly in the kitchen, and then to taste by the diner; a meal should never present salty. Overall, bar the above, this risotto was exceptional. 

The overall price was very reasonable, in fact, tending on 'cheap food' level. The staff alone made the experience, tending to The Chameleon's needs and whims in a flash, with repeated visits to the table to see how the meal was, if he needed anything, and at one point, The Chameleon was thinking they may even ask him if he wanted a massage. This service was on par with the best he has received in Australia.  


OVERALL
The Verve Restaurant and Cider House is a very well executed dining experience, with a mood and ambiance that deserves a visit alone, augmented by outstanding service. The food was very very tasty, but the unfortunate over use of the salt detracted from the experience. Does it deserve the highest urbanspoon score for the Brisbane CBD? Yes, yes it does. 90/100