Public

It was one warm spring night after work, a long awaited catch up was due for four friends. Well it had only been three weeks since they were all last together but so much had happened between then. The destination chosen was a restaurant named Public at 1/400 George Street, Brisbane. Unfortunately, for various reasons all four were running late. Ricki quickly rung ahead to make sure the booking was not canceled and the restaurant kindly hung onto the arrival of the four.

Once inside the restaurant, the atmosphere was very relaxed, made intimate by the candles on the table and the quirky lights hanging from the ceiling. A perfect place for a catch up. The music that was playing was a bit loud, but that didn't stop the four from chatting and laughing the night away.

Drinks were ordered and dishes were decided. The food at Public is designed to be shared, where each person choses between two to three plates.

The first dish that came out was the Prawn, Chorizo, Pequillo. Usually the dish was designed to serve three but the restaurant was able to add an extra prawn, it did come with an extra charge. The prawns were cooked perfectly and the accompanying sauce was delicious!

Next came the dish that Donny chose: Quail, Cashew, Masterstock. The quails were succulent and very tender.

Both Ricki and Yenface had to pick the Truffle Mac n Cheese, there's something about truffles that just draws these two in. The dish came out in a cute little pot, although it was a bit hot. Sadly, neither could taste very much of the truffles and overall, the Mac n Cheese was a little floury.

Moona liked the sound of the Barramundi, Saffron and Jamon. The fish came apart very easily and the jamon had a light citrusy flavour to it. A perfect combination.

The four also wanted to try something new, so Emu, Jerusalem Artichoke and Beetroot was chosen. Each found the emu to be surprisingly meaty and delicious but agreed that a full steak of emu would be a bit too much.

Alas, disaster struck, there was one more dish to come out, the much anticipated KFD - Kentucky Fried Duck, but the waiter or kitchen had forgotten. Not only that, but the table the four were dining at was booked for another group at 8pm, so the quartet were asked if they could move to the bar area and have their dish there. 

The maitre d' was very kind and tried his best to make the four comfortable by finding chairs, although mismatched, for them to sit at the bar area so they could finish off the remainder of their meal. Poor Ricki who sat on the tall bar stool would have looked strange to another person on the other side as it looked like she was laughing to herself and chatting to the floor. She would have soon look to have disappeared (or have fallen on the floor) as another chair was quickly produced so she could join the others.

When the KFD came out, it was a slight disappointment, although the skin was nice, the duck was a little tough with not much flavouring. The accompany sauce, however, was very delicious and quickly disappeared. Luckily, because of the mishap, the KFD were on the house.

It was an enjoyable night for Donny, Moona, Ricki and Yenface, each left feeling full and satisfied, their second stomach usually for dessert had also filled up. They parted their ways with smiles on their faces knowing that the next catch up would not be too far away.

Happy Eating!
Joanne :)



PS. I thought it would be fun to write this review into a little story, so let me know what you thought about it :)