The Brisbane ‘burbs is an unlikely place to find a celebrity chef restaurant, but it’s here you’ll find Billykart Kitchen, founded by Ben O’Donoghue of Surfing the Menu fame.
Restaurants owned by celeb chefs have a lot to live up to. We’ve seen their insanely drool-worthy foodie creations on TV, and we expect something similar on our plates in real life.
As taste-ovision is yet to be invented, we decided to head out west to try out some famed dishes for ourselves.
Was the meal primetime quality?
Let’s find out.
Restaurants owned by celeb chefs have a lot to live up to. We’ve seen their insanely drool-worthy foodie creations on TV, and we expect something similar on our plates in real life.
As taste-ovision is yet to be invented, we decided to head out west to try out some famed dishes for ourselves.
Was the meal primetime quality?
Let’s find out.
Brisbane’s suburban Annerley is where the original Billykart is found, with a more modern sibling recently opening in trendy West End. Not that Annerley isn't trendy. Ok it isn't trendy.
The Annerley restaurant is housed in an old corner store, with retro memorabilia on the shelves nodding politely to the building’s history, and creating a nostalgic feel as soon as you walk in.
The food here is anything but nostalgic though, with the menu full of modern takes on golden oldie recipes.
True to Ben’s Surfing the Menu roots, seafood featured significantly in the small but well-crafted menu.
The Billykart Spanner Crab Spaghetti with Tomato, Chilli and Basil was so hard to go past that we didn’t.
The crab in this dish was so fresh I swear it was still swimming earlier this morning. There was a fair amount of crab meat in the spaghetti too which is always a must with this type of dish. The simple sauce made with good ingredients worked well to not suffocate the crab’s delicate flavours.
Sticking to what Ben does best, we also chose another seafood dish; Whole BBQ Kingfish, Anchovy and Rosemary Dressing and Wild Rocket.
This is not a pretty dish, but it sure is a tasty one. The fish was fresh, fresh, fresh. It was crispy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside. I know not everyone likes navigating bones in a whole fish, so if you’re one of these people, this dish may not be for you as were a good many bones to pull out of your mouth as surreptitiously as possible.
If seafood isn’t your jam, there are other options on the menu, and one you shouldn’t consider lightly is the BKK Cheeseburger, with a House Ground Beef Patty of Brisket, Chuck and Rump with a side of Truffle Fries.
The burger actually comes with a side of normal fries, but for an extra $1 you can upgrade to the truffle. Do yourself a favour and spend the dollar. Treat yo self.
The burger itself was truly one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever had. The meat patty was juicy and ridiculously tasty. It was worth all of the mincing work behind the scenes.
The Annerley restaurant is housed in an old corner store, with retro memorabilia on the shelves nodding politely to the building’s history, and creating a nostalgic feel as soon as you walk in.
The food here is anything but nostalgic though, with the menu full of modern takes on golden oldie recipes.
True to Ben’s Surfing the Menu roots, seafood featured significantly in the small but well-crafted menu.
The Billykart Spanner Crab Spaghetti with Tomato, Chilli and Basil was so hard to go past that we didn’t.
The crab in this dish was so fresh I swear it was still swimming earlier this morning. There was a fair amount of crab meat in the spaghetti too which is always a must with this type of dish. The simple sauce made with good ingredients worked well to not suffocate the crab’s delicate flavours.
Sticking to what Ben does best, we also chose another seafood dish; Whole BBQ Kingfish, Anchovy and Rosemary Dressing and Wild Rocket.
This is not a pretty dish, but it sure is a tasty one. The fish was fresh, fresh, fresh. It was crispy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside. I know not everyone likes navigating bones in a whole fish, so if you’re one of these people, this dish may not be for you as were a good many bones to pull out of your mouth as surreptitiously as possible.
If seafood isn’t your jam, there are other options on the menu, and one you shouldn’t consider lightly is the BKK Cheeseburger, with a House Ground Beef Patty of Brisket, Chuck and Rump with a side of Truffle Fries.
The burger actually comes with a side of normal fries, but for an extra $1 you can upgrade to the truffle. Do yourself a favour and spend the dollar. Treat yo self.
The burger itself was truly one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever had. The meat patty was juicy and ridiculously tasty. It was worth all of the mincing work behind the scenes.
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After our nom-a-licious mains we knew that we had to make our way through the dessert menu too.
The Billykart tropical fruit meringue was the first to come out and while it was small, it was very obviously lovingly made. The pastry was firm yet crumbly and was honestly the best shortcrust I’d had in a very long time. The fruit filling was sweet and smooth and the air-whipped meringue felt angelic on your tongue.
We also had the Apple Pie with Ice Cream. This was a very rustic-looking apple pie and the taste also went back to basics with fresh ingredients shining through in this dish. Again, crisp pastry was a winner and the softly stewed apples were also on point.
What you should absolutely, totally, 100% no go past though is the third dessert in this post. The Cremino.
Comprising layers of Chocolate Hazelnut Creme, Amaretto, Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Meringue, the Cremino ticks every dessert craving box I have ever had. I couldn’t help myself and kept saying “wow!” with every mouthful. Unfortunately for my company I was eating with a tea spoon which meant about 50 mouthfuls before I finished my little cup of genuine heaven. I didn’t care though. Nothing else mattered other than The Cremino. If I didn’t already have a first-born, I’d name it after this dessert.
The Billykart tropical fruit meringue was the first to come out and while it was small, it was very obviously lovingly made. The pastry was firm yet crumbly and was honestly the best shortcrust I’d had in a very long time. The fruit filling was sweet and smooth and the air-whipped meringue felt angelic on your tongue.
We also had the Apple Pie with Ice Cream. This was a very rustic-looking apple pie and the taste also went back to basics with fresh ingredients shining through in this dish. Again, crisp pastry was a winner and the softly stewed apples were also on point.
What you should absolutely, totally, 100% no go past though is the third dessert in this post. The Cremino.
Comprising layers of Chocolate Hazelnut Creme, Amaretto, Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Meringue, the Cremino ticks every dessert craving box I have ever had. I couldn’t help myself and kept saying “wow!” with every mouthful. Unfortunately for my company I was eating with a tea spoon which meant about 50 mouthfuls before I finished my little cup of genuine heaven. I didn’t care though. Nothing else mattered other than The Cremino. If I didn’t already have a first-born, I’d name it after this dessert.
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The drinks menu at Billykart is also as quality as drinks I’ve lusted after on TV.
With lunch we had a glass (or two) of Hoddles Creek Chardonnay, as well as trying the Slipstream Brewery ‘Billy Cart Rye Pale Ale’. Both were excellent with the food.
There is a regular old coffee list for after the meal, but there are also some gems to be found here too. We went for a hot Matcha Latte, and an Iced Matcha Latte with Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Housemade Honeycomb. I think you can already tell which of the two ranked slightly higher on the wow-holy-crap-this-is-amazingly-delicious-scale…
With lunch we had a glass (or two) of Hoddles Creek Chardonnay, as well as trying the Slipstream Brewery ‘Billy Cart Rye Pale Ale’. Both were excellent with the food.
There is a regular old coffee list for after the meal, but there are also some gems to be found here too. We went for a hot Matcha Latte, and an Iced Matcha Latte with Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Housemade Honeycomb. I think you can already tell which of the two ranked slightly higher on the wow-holy-crap-this-is-amazingly-delicious-scale…
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There were some pretty high expectations when we arrived at Billykart. When we saw truffle chips were on the menu, those expectations just grew even more.
Luckily, these expectations were not only met, but were blown out of the water. The food at Billykart is phenomenally good thanks to fresh, local produce and quite a bit of flair and imagination behind the scenes.
We’ll be riding this wave of deliciousness for quite some time yet.
Luckily, these expectations were not only met, but were blown out of the water. The food at Billykart is phenomenally good thanks to fresh, local produce and quite a bit of flair and imagination behind the scenes.
We’ll be riding this wave of deliciousness for quite some time yet.
