Goldfinch is described as sophisticated dining and one step inside it’s easy to see why. Sitting right in the heart of Brisbane city, just across from King George Square and part of the Pullman & Mercure Brisbane complex, this restaurant gives off light and airy garden conservatory vibes. It’s festooned with draped greenery, subdued mood lighting and complete with picturesque windows for people watching. But what really sets Goldfinch apart as a dining destination is the scrumptious food on offer.
Browsing the dinner menu, it was difficult to settle on what we wanted, purely because so many things looked SO DARN GOOD. Inspired by the “romantic simplicity of Mediterranean seaside bistros”, the offerings evoke feelings of that sorely needed Euro vacay I’ve been meaning to take for some time now.
We decide to get a starter to share rather than one each so we can fit in dessert. Because, well, DESSERT. To start, we order the confit garlic and cheese pizette with Italian parsley. (Pizette is fancy for little pizza.) Far from being your ordinary cheese pizza, this delicious morsel is oozing with flavour. The garlic is fresh, the cheese melt-in-your-mouth and the base had the perfect amount of crispness to set off the other flavours.
For the mains, we toyed with going for a few of their amazing looking share plates, such as Glazed pork belly, fennel slaw, preserved lemon, apple sauce or Fremantle long leg octopus, fennel & apple salad, burned citrus, hummus, salmoriglio, chorizo, toasted almond. In the end we decided the mains looked too good to resist. I am a sucker for a good steak, so I picked the Wagyu rump MB 9+ 300g, hand cut fries, grilled asparagus, roast cherry tomato, compound butter and added the optional red wine jus. My friend decided to go with the Moroccan lamb backstrap, hummus, roasted baby carrots, golden raisins, fetta, soft herbs, red wine lamb jus.
Both proved truly excellent choices (and I am speaking firsthand because my generous friend let me sample hers as well). Pouring my red wine jus over the compound butter was a sight to behold, watching the decadent butter melt seductively over the steak. The flavours were just as decadent, with the juicy steak made even more tender by the condiment combinations. The hand cut chips were less like fries and more like delicious fluffy potato logs with the perfect amount of external crisp. And the asparagus and tomato acidity was ideal at cutting through the richness of the meat (plus they made me feel better at having actual veggies on my plate.
My friend’s Morroccan lamb was cooked to perfectly pink perfection, with the combination flavours of fetta and hummus proving unexpectedly delightful. There was a sweetness that set off the saltiness of the lamb and left me wanting more. Alas, my friend actually wanted to finish her own meal… who would have guessed?
Despite being rather full (perhaps eating the pizzette before the meal was a rookie error? Nah too yummy to be a mistake), we decide to order dessert. As a big meringue fan, I opt for the Strawberries & cream eton mess, macerated berries, meringue, baby mint, while my mate goes for a good old Dark chocolate fondant, raspberry coulis, chocolate soil, fresh berries, vanilla gelato, red veined sorrel.
When they arrive, my dessert is popping… literally—I can hear a crackling sound coming from my plate. Much to my nostalgic delight, there were actual pop rocks on top of my sweet treat! And well… just look at how cool the dessert looked.
That is one tidy Eton mess! Similarly, the dark chocolate fondant also looked incredible and tasted as good as it looked. You can’t go past rich dark chocolate with berries.
At the end of our meal I was super glad I wore a dress and not pants, as I was full to bursting (not mad about it). For a fine dining experience in the middle of the city, I would definitely recommend Goldfinch. From the mellow Hamptons mood to the scrummy food, it’s definitely a golden experience.
Goldfinch, corner of Ann and Roma Streets, Brisbane City, (07) 3222 1128
In her spare time, she likes long walks down the makeup aisle and performing in Brisbane theatre. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and TikTok @thebeautypalate.
