The Queen St Mall at night can be a bit of a quiet pedestrian strip, with all of the shops shut until the next day's hustle and bustle.
There is however, a relatively new restaurant there that is worth a visit, turning the Queen St Mall into a destination in itself, rather than just a glorified nighttime footpath to Irish Murphy's.
Lennons Restaurant is attached to Next Hotel, but is quickly making a name for itself in its own right, as a place to bunker down for the night and enjoy some decadent food.
Just how good can the food be at a local hotel? Let's find out.
There is however, a relatively new restaurant there that is worth a visit, turning the Queen St Mall into a destination in itself, rather than just a glorified nighttime footpath to Irish Murphy's.
Lennons Restaurant is attached to Next Hotel, but is quickly making a name for itself in its own right, as a place to bunker down for the night and enjoy some decadent food.
Just how good can the food be at a local hotel? Let's find out.
Lennons Restaurant itself has a fun vibe to it with tall windows giving it a great airy feel and a connection to the outside city.
We were offered the house white to start with, which was a decent drop- A 2016 Cape Mentelle Georgiana Savignon Blanc. While it was young, the wine had some fresh peachy notes to it and the slight passionfruit flavours you'd expect. It was a great partner to our entree: Liquorice Root Pork Cheek with Parsnip, Cumquats and Crispy Pigs Ear.
The pork cheek was succulent and packed full of aniseed and citrus flavours which really made this dish interesting and ridiculously tasty. The pureed parsnip was creamy and had such a lovely, smooth mouthfeel to it. It soaked up the liquorice flavours well.
We were offered the house white to start with, which was a decent drop- A 2016 Cape Mentelle Georgiana Savignon Blanc. While it was young, the wine had some fresh peachy notes to it and the slight passionfruit flavours you'd expect. It was a great partner to our entree: Liquorice Root Pork Cheek with Parsnip, Cumquats and Crispy Pigs Ear.
The pork cheek was succulent and packed full of aniseed and citrus flavours which really made this dish interesting and ridiculously tasty. The pureed parsnip was creamy and had such a lovely, smooth mouthfeel to it. It soaked up the liquorice flavours well.
For mains we ordered the King Banana Prawns, as well as the highly recommended Sirloin Steak. We threw in a couple of sides as well: Broad Beans with Mint, Feta and Fried Capers, and Root Vegetables with Honey and Dukkha.
The menu is obviously designed to showcase good, local ingredients and it did this well.
The prawns were lightly grilled, and even though I was given a lemon water bowl, I didn't need it with someone else doing all the hard work and peeling the middle section of the prawns for me. These bad boys were fresh, fresh, fresh with a lovely slightly sweet taste to them still.
The 300g sirloin steak was grain fed for 200 days and made for one of the best steaks we'd had in a long time. The texture of the meat was lovely and firm, and again was grilled to a perfect medium which we had ordered.
Both dishes were complimented nicely with the sides, though the root veggies came with a bit too much honey and dukkha which smothered them a bit. The broad beans were an absolute hit with the fresh mint and creamy feta making this a very moreish side. The super crispy capers gave an awesome textural crunch as well.
The menu is obviously designed to showcase good, local ingredients and it did this well.
The prawns were lightly grilled, and even though I was given a lemon water bowl, I didn't need it with someone else doing all the hard work and peeling the middle section of the prawns for me. These bad boys were fresh, fresh, fresh with a lovely slightly sweet taste to them still.
The 300g sirloin steak was grain fed for 200 days and made for one of the best steaks we'd had in a long time. The texture of the meat was lovely and firm, and again was grilled to a perfect medium which we had ordered.
Both dishes were complimented nicely with the sides, though the root veggies came with a bit too much honey and dukkha which smothered them a bit. The broad beans were an absolute hit with the fresh mint and creamy feta making this a very moreish side. The super crispy capers gave an awesome textural crunch as well.
For dessert we ordered the Salted Caramel Tart with Vanilla Gelato and Macerated Strawberries, as well as the Ricotta Doughnuts in a Blueberry Masala Soup and Pistachio Ice Cream. Both of these topped off dinner beautifully.
The salted caramel tart was gooey and rich, with the slightly tart strawberries cutting through the sweetness brilliantly.
I generally don't eat many doughnuts, but even I couldn't go past the ricotta doughnuts for dessert and I was glad I ordered these. The soft cloud-like ricotta doughnuts soaked up the blueberry masala soup and nutty pistachio ice cream really well, meaning that each mouthful had a power-packed flavour burst.
The salted caramel tart was gooey and rich, with the slightly tart strawberries cutting through the sweetness brilliantly.
I generally don't eat many doughnuts, but even I couldn't go past the ricotta doughnuts for dessert and I was glad I ordered these. The soft cloud-like ricotta doughnuts soaked up the blueberry masala soup and nutty pistachio ice cream really well, meaning that each mouthful had a power-packed flavour burst.
While Next hotel patrons will already find Lennons Restaurant as a solid eating option, Brissy locals would do well to make the same call.
The Lennons kitchen does justice to locally sourced produce, creating dishes that showcase the natural freshness of its top quality ingredients.
Next time you're in town for dinner, it's now worth a walk to the Queen St Mall, rather than just through it.
The Lennons kitchen does justice to locally sourced produce, creating dishes that showcase the natural freshness of its top quality ingredients.
Next time you're in town for dinner, it's now worth a walk to the Queen St Mall, rather than just through it.