e'cco bistro | Brisbane

There are a lot of reasons I love going out to dinner including not having to chop onions and not having to don yellow gloves to wash-up.

While these things are a given at any dining establishment, other things aren’t guaranteed: great quality food, friendly service and finding an ambience that’s a nice place to be.

One place that does offer all of these things is Brisbane dining institution, e'cco bistro.

Recently revamped at the end of 2014, e’cco now boasts some new killer good looks but still maintains its chilled-out vibes.

So how was the rest of the dining experience here? Let’s find out.

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E’cco has been around for 20 years now, with its winning recipe of excellent quality food, genuinely happy wait staff and a great mix of generally being professional yet down-to-earth.

I kicked off our night here with a margarita which featured Olmecca ‘Reposado’ Tequila, Cointreau and Lime, which was blended beautifully.

Another plus for e’cco bistro is that you can BYO, with corkage at $20 a bottle. We raided the cellar for a 2005 Clos Des Papes, Chateauneuf Du Pape which was deliciously smoky and plumy and drinking well.

While we started our alcoholic journey, we also opted for some fig and fennel bread which we loved with its kick of aniseed.

We then shared a starter:

• Ocean Trout Tartare, Fennel, Sour Cream Sorbet + Rye

and also ordered this side with our mains:

• Zucchini, Pecorino, Currants, Sunflower Seeds + Lemon

The ocean trout was fresh , fresh, fresh. It was awesome with the icy cold sour cream sorbet and very moreish puréed fennel.  

We loved the uniqueness of the zucchini side which worked so well with the blend of sweet currants and salty pecorino.

For mains we had:

• Lamb Rump and Sweetbreads, Pea Purée, Asparagus, Turnips and Jus
• Duck Breast, Slow-Roast Carrots, Dates and Pearl Barley

The ingredients used in both of these dishes were phenomenally good. The lamb was cooked perfectly as were the crispy accompanying sweetbreads. The pea puré was so tasty I could have eaten a whole bowl-full.

The duck was also crispy on the outside but nice and moist on the inside. It worked so well with the sweet carrots and dates.

For dessert, we did order two but due to a bit of a mix-up we ended up with three, which really is the best way possible to end a night.

• Hazelnut Ice Cream Sandwich, Salted Caramel and Raspberry
• Open Pavlova, Pineapple Curd, Passionfruit Sorbet and Berries
• Choc Fudge Brownie, Peanut Praline, Cherry and Nutella Gelato

The hazelnut ice cream sandwich was rich and oozing sweet, sweet goodness. It worked really well with the salted caramel sauce.

After such a rich meal, the open pavlova was light and refreshing and was a bit of summer on a plate with all of the lovely pineapple tastes going on. This dish was a bit on the small side though- another couple of meringues would not have gone astray.

Lastly, the choc fudge brownie was just as decadent as it sounded, with its super creamy gelato and dense brownie base.

There’s a good reason that e’cco bistro still hits the mark 20 years on. Its winning combination of using top quality produce served up with some friendly chit-chat gives you an overall relaxed experience that you don’t always get in restaurants with fancy white tablecloths.

Not so relaxed that you see any yellow rubber gloves come out though, there is a balance in these things.