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High-end dining without the attitude.
era Bistro evokes textures. From the décor, service, food and ambience, the restaurant is finely woven with exceptional quality of service and produce.
The sleek modernity of the building, all glass and concrete, is softened by the lush coverings within and the bamboo grove along Merivale Street.
Upon arrival, we are pleased to be greeted with professional and friendly service from wait staff who share a genuine passion and knowledge of the food they are serving.
Owners Brad and Paul Hamilton have created a small empire on Melbourne Street, South Brisbane, with era offering a bar, café and cellar as well as the bistro, which continues their fine work from former restaurant Circe.
On this cool autumn Saturday evening, game is my choice for main course. Locally sourced from Gatton in the Lockyer Valley, the venison rump is served with braised red cabbage on a bed of chanterelles, alongside a goat’s cheese tart and cassis jus ($37).
The venison is silky in the mouth and rich with ‘wild’ flavour, and the autumnal mood is enhanced by the bed of braised mushrooms, the blackcurrant notes of the cassis jus, and the simplicity of the goat’s cheese tart.
This is a truly succulent and earthy delight, and my glass of Grenache (Yalumba Tri-century Vines 2003 $57.00 / bottle) is a perfect match.
My dining companion opts for a lighter meal, ordering a crisp fillet of salmon, which is accompanied by steamed asparagus spears, a subtle confit of tomato, poached egg and a superb crab hollandaise ($35).
The salmon is very fresh and sweetly textured, but the standout of this dish is the buttery hollandaise, infused with the pleasurable mixture of intense shell-fish flavours and slivers of fresh crab meat. A glass of 2003 Yarrabank sparkling ($10) provides a snappy, clean match, making the fish dance.
We share a pair of French cheeses (choice of two for $15) to conclude our dining experience, served with rustic walnut and raisin bread, and house-made apricot and sour cherry preserve.
The soft, delicate Port Salut Washed Rind, from Normandy, offers splendid contrast with the sharpness of the Fourme d’Ambert Blue, from Toulouse. Our dessert wine, Botrytis Semillon by Cookoothama 2006 ($7.50 a glass), is perfectly sticky.
era Bistro offers thoughtful cuisine, with obvious attention to detail and commitment to quality, but thankfully without serious attitude.
High-end dining like this comes at a price, but era Bistro’s loyal patrons know fine food and professional service when they experience it. Long may it reign!
era BISTRO
Cnr Melbourne & Merivale Streets
South Brisbane 4101
Ph: (07) 3255 2033 Fax: (07) 3255 2833
erabistro.com.au
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