Gerard's is one of those surprisingly rare restaurants that dabble not in food, but cuisine. We have a handful in Brisbane, but not enough. The stuff on its plates is as surprising as it is thought-provoking and, most importantly of all, it’s delicious.
Let’s begin at the end, with sweets. Actually it’s barely sweet, more a clever crossbreed of savoury flavours, dessertlike textures and just a whisper of saccharine: charred-eggplant sorbet, tahini crumb, cacao and Arabic coffee ($16). See what I mean? It reads like a mezze plate with a short-black on the side. Instead it’s a quenelle of the sorbet that tastes subtly of baba ghanouj, a scattering of somehow-dehydrated tahini and shards – speared into the sorbet – the texture of a good brandy snap and the flavour of thick Turkish coffee. It’s wild stuff: amazing.
Earlier came cauliflower. Liberally coated in ras el hanout (a North African spice mix), scattered with pomegranate and almonds, bonded with tahini, it’s a strong argument for cauliflower as a vehicle for better things. We paired it with a dish of suckling pig, Jerusalem artichoke, fossilised (really?) pear, walnuts and a puddle of sheep’s yoghurt ($42).
There’s a dish of nayyeh ($24) – a Lebanese equivalent, I guess, of tartare or carpaccio: raw (in this case) lamb with blobs of yolk, harissa, pickles, preserved lime and shards of some awesome dark crispbread. It’s sublime: thinking food with complex textures and flavours.
Chef Ben Williamson explained the yolk blobs: “The yolk is frozen, uncovered, for 48 hours to intentionally freezer-burn to draw out moisture. It’s then defrosted and whipped smooth. The result is really thick and lush. We then pipe it on the plate.” Magic!
And coal-grilled octopus? Its meatiness was cut by the bright punch of green strawberry slices and what’s described as butter, almond, chilli and smoke ($26).
Things at Gerard’s are not often what you expect. There are familiar ingredients and some more exotic, but there’s alchemy happening in the kitchen, morphing those ingredients and making each dish an adventure, an epiphany.
Outside the kitchen, Gerard’s is a good room, simple but sexy. And its team is on the ball, with thorough knowledge of the menu, explaining the oddities and quirks and guiding the dining process.
There’s a terrific and occasionally perplexing drinks list with a few big guns if you feel like playing, with plenty of quirky wines to complement the food. Simply put, Gerard’s is stellar.
This review originally appeared on couriermail.com.au.
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