Gauge - Brisbane

Fantastic brunch experience in south bank! The garlic bread is a must! The elderflower fizz is a perfect summer cocktail for a warm day.

Such a great find in BrisbaneLove the commitment to farm to table products.

Gauge is by far my most favourite restaurant in Brisbane! Especially since they have now also opened for dinner.

Have been to Gauge a few times now, and it’s one of my favourite restaurants in Brisbane for sure. The most impressive thing is that they offer a new menu every two weeks, and if you’re revising in over a month you’d be having completely different dishes. That’s enormous amount of work and effort and people don’t necessarily realise it. What’s more, they’re always bringing out some very bold combinations like fermented mushroom ice cream and pigs ear croquettes (who’d know they’re so good For someone who loves to be surprised on the tastebuds that’s enough for me to go back again and again, and it does make me more forgiving to some of the minor imperfections. Their wine list is well curated, not very long but with some quite interesting wines to try out.

It was Lady Meatball's turn to choose the destination for our Friday lunch, so while I may have hoped for Italian, Indian or Mexican, I knew it was likely to be a bit left of centre and challenge my palate. She chose Gauge, a unique restaurant with a casual vibe, that serves up exquisitely crafted dishes that have been perfected over many months by Executive Chef Cormac Bradfield and Head Chef Phil Marchant. The menu is constantly changing and evolving, utilizing local, fresh ingredients. Everything is made in house and they are constantly testing out new recipes, like a vegan-friendly eggless cavatelli pasta. Their signature dish, a Black Garlic Bread with Brown Butter and Burnt Vanilla is so popular that it can now be found on their breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. We were offered the choice of a two-course, three-course or a la carte menu - we chose the latter and ordered five dishes and a Sauvignon Blanc: •Smoked Mussel Cream, Rye, Caraway and Bottarga - $5 •Cured Pork Shoulder - $12 •Baby Gem Lettuce, White Miso Dressing, Mekabu Seaweed - $12 •Sebago Potato, Malt Vinegar Cream, Smoked Onion Salt - $14 •Black Garlic Bread, Brown Butter, Burnt Vanilla - $14 The Smoked Mussel Cream was served atop a rye and caraway cracker, liberally topped with bottarga (salted, cured fish roe). The flavours were intense, but the dish was delightful and rated a 4. The Cured Pork Shoulder was reminiscent of Jamon Iberico (Iberian Ham) and was served with a drizzle of olive oil that helped to draw out the wonderful flavour of the meat. I would have liked some toast points or a bit of bread with this, but the meat itself was quite nice and rated a 4. Baby Gem Lettuce is a miniature version of Cos with a sweet, crisp and compact heart. Two Baby Gem halves were drizzled in white miso dressing and topped with ground mekabu seaweed. This was a light and refreshing salad that absolutely hit the mark and rated a 5 out of 5. Lady Meatball declared this her favorite dish and affirmed that she would quite happily eat it on a weekly basis. The Sebago Potato may have been the most perfectly cooked potato I've eaten in years. The skin was crisp and flavourful, while the body was uniformly textured - light and fluffy. This was topped with Malt Vinegar Cream and Smoked Onion Salt, before being finished with finely crumbled egg yolk. This potato with a couple eggs and bacon would make an amazing breakfast. This standout dish was wonderful and rated 4.5. Last, but not least was the Black Garlic Bread. The taste and texture of this dish are so unique that it is difficult to explain. Imagine the texture of a flourless chocolate cake, achieved by adding sticky fermented black garlic and treacle to a perfect sponge batter. Then slather a thick slice (like banana bread) with Brown Butter and Burnt Vanilla to create a dish that delights the taste buds, while twisting your mind. On their own, the individual ingredients are not necessarily even pleasant - the burnt vanilla is quite bitter - but together they made for a very special dish. Because there is no basis for comparison with this dish it is a bit of a challenge to rate. It was extremely enjoyable, but I couldn't picture myself eating it very often. Lady Meatball rated it a 4, but I think it deserves a 4.5-5. I have had the privilege to eat a lot of wonderful food in my life, from all over the world, but have only felt compelled to pass my compliments to the chef(s) on a handful of occasions. This was one of them. Well done, Gauge - I look forward to returning!