Urbane

Last night I attended a degustation dinner at Urbane for an end of month celebration with my colleagues at work.  People were allowed to bring their partners so it was a group of twenty in a private room with seven courses and matching wines which is the perfect recipe for an awesome night.  I’d never had a degustation with such a large group before and with some many people trying it out for the first time.  I was very much looking forward to sharing that experience!

I was also really curious as to how the food and service was going to be.  Particularly after the rather underwhelming night I had at The Euro which is run by the same people and was located in the same restaurant.  I had heard good things about Urbane however, which is highly rated in the Queensland Good Food & Drink Guide.

So how did it go?

Amuse bouche – peas, mango and shrimp soaked in lime

Lobster tartare, smoked scallop and salsify Organic carrot jelly, quinoa and orange

Cuttlefish gnocchi, fried tentacles and crackers Consommé with seaweeds and herbs

Tajima Beef cooked over vine, then rolled in ash Chanterelles, garlic and chlorophyll

Organic lamb shoulder braised in Pedro Ximenez Citrus, pickled carrots and rocket shoots

Garden salad of leaves and vegetables Different textures, tastes and techniques

Softened triple cream from Nagis, France Dried cèpe and brioche, enoki and shimeji

Marjoram sorbet with frozen yoghurt powder Lemon in various textures, flavours and herbs

Single Origin Terra Cacao chocolate Snap frozen, orb, bubble, spiral and raw cocoa ice cream

Petit Fours

Still more petit fours

Armagnac

Coffee

I was blown away by the quality of the meals and the standard of the service.  It was an absolutely terrific night.  The sommelier, an American dude, was very knowledge about the wines and was able to hold his own when presenting each accompanyment to the meals to an increasingly loud and boisterous group.  When I spoke to one of the waitresses Cammy about the carrot in the Tajima beef course, she admitted to not being familiar with its preperation methods but went away and came back with a notebook to explain they were dehydrated, thrice cooked and then deep fried.  The staff were friendly, courteous and impeccably organised – vegetarians and those allergic to seafood were catered for without any hiccups.  All the food was served in a timely manner and they carefully picked the right times to have a longer wait between courses as speeches were delivered and people swapped seats for a chat.

The food itself was excellent.  There was a range of influences for each course that you couldn’t pin down from any one particular region of the world and its always a good sign when so many people new to this type of dining experience immediately click with whats being attempted.  You could hear remarks about how the different flavours and textures complimented one another and how they suited the matching wines.  The highlight of the night was probably that melt-in-your-mouth lamb shoulder which was absolutely delicious.

All in all, a memorable night.