Brisbane restaurant review: Farrier Bar + Supper Club, New Farm
Welcome to Farrier, a cosy bar and supper club below the Queens Arms Hotel in trendy James Street, New Farm.
The dining space at Farrier is offers a cool, minimalist style juxtaposed against distressed tabletops and industrial ironwork.
Duck your head as you descend into another world of exposed sandstone walls and a set of dining rooms and bars adorned with large, gorgeous black and white photos of horses and blacksmiths — hence the name.
There are lounge chairs for late-night quaffers and there are bar stools and regular tables and chairs.
A cool, minimalist style is juxtaposed against distressed tabletops and industrial ironwork. Farrier has a strong visual identity and the subdued lighting adds to the hipster chic.
Seated a safe distance away we were able to admire the beautiful people crowding around the bar like so many strutting show ponies in the winners’ circle. It felt a bit like being at a house party.
Then I had dark thoughts of becoming trapped in another themed restaurant (gasp!) where they care more about the decor than the food. I was wrong.
Farrier was a lovely place to tie on a nosebag (and that, I promise, is my last equine reference).
The sizzling wagyu top sirloin is basted with Japanese worcestershire.
The East-meets-West menu was broken into four sections: Street nibbles, Big eats, Supper and Desserts. It is possible to order a whole fried chicken or a pulled-pork sandwich.
There was a little bit of epicurean fascism with a stern declaration on the menu which said: Non-traditional dining, menu items will be served as prepared. In other words, they will decide the order in which the food arrives and you the customer will just have to go along with it.
Imagine if this happened at say, the Brekkie Creek and they brought the steak before the oysters. Or consider the uproar there would be at Montrachet if the chef demanded you eat the duck leg before your soup.
We ordered Chinese baos stuffed with Peking duck and field mushrooms ($14.90), scallops in a crispy turmeric “taco” ($16), a red curry made from a slow-cooked brisket ($17.90) and a wagyu sirloin, “basted with Japanese Worcestershire” ($25.90).
We were wondering what order the dishes were served when, abracadabra, they all appeared together.
We didn’t mind this routine at all, as it turned out. It allowed us to pick and choose, compare and contrast. It was not perfect, but it was all very agreeable to our taste.
My young companion voted the sizzling wagyu her preferred dish. It was my least favourite. I thought it was overworked.
The blow torched scallops served in a turmeric wafer “taco” at Farrier.
However, I’d gladly hightail it back for the curried brisket, a brilliant balancing act in a dish that came with deep-fried bread, Asian salad leaves and radishes.
We made a mistake by ordering desserts; a satay ice cream rolled in chocolate ganache ($9.90) and a coconut ice cream with lychee jelly and caramelised chilli “snow” ($9.90).
They took forever to arrive and embarrassed staff apologised profusely and professionally and poured us an extra glass of wine on the house.
Were they worth waiting for? Yes, for the coconut ice cream and jelly. Divine. No for the ice cream with chocolate fragments. It was so much culinary artifice. It tasted to me like a Magnum.
FARRIER BAR + SUPPER CLUB
Address 64 James St, New Farm
Phone 3358 2799
Open Noon-2am daily
Owner Chris and Mary-Lou Condon
Chef Jason Anderson
VERDICT
Food 7
Ambience 9
Service 4
Value 6
Source: Brisbane Courier Mail, Des Houghton, July 8th 2015
