Deer Duck Bistro — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Deer Duck Bistro is a bit of a jaunt from the CBD, but well worth the trip. Don’t be surprised by the seemingly abandoned block with a Thai restaurant at the end, look for the painting of the woman in an elegant dress from yesteryear, which is the main entrance. Check in is at the bar, and we were escorted through the maze to a smaller dining room past the kitchen. To reach the toilet to wash your hands before dining requires exiting to an outdoor stairway and up darkened stairs. The reward is the primitive painting in the hallway of a naked bacchanal. Most would prefer the ground level non-ambulatory washroom past the bar on the left. My partner and I both did the five course tasting menu, mine was vegetarian as requested 48 hours in advance, he had the additional cheese course for $22. The bread was presented as focaccia, but rather than a slice of dimpled bread, was a small very warm roll with a quenelle of butter on an artisan plate. The amuse courses were lovely, my veg was a smoky roast carrot. We both enjoyed the Jerusalem artichoke velouté, and considered it the highlight of the meal. Entrées were a lamb ravioli with creamed cavalo Nero (kale), the veg choice, gnocchi with similar accompaniments. Mains were a grilled swordfish with sweet-and-sour peppers and black bean purée, the veg was Japanese eggplant with a larger portion of the peppers on the purée. Both ample and tasty. For dessert, we both enjoyed the red wine, poached apple filled with raisins and persimmon, and Myrtle Anglaise, which reminded me of my grandmother‘s baked apples – not a drop of liquid was wasted. The meal concluded with some fruit jellies and assorted truffles, which were a perfect ending. Service is a team effort with runners delivering the plates promptly from the kitchen, rather than some where one server takes care of a few tables. The international crew l’s accents make understanding some of the descriptions a bit challenging and requires more attention. All were professional and attentive. Neither of us were drinking, and water glasses were promptly refilled. There was a bit of a wait as the previous diner’s voucher took a bit of attention to settle. We then took a leisurely stroll down the hill to the train station for our journey home. It was nice to stretch our legs after so much wonderful food. I will plan on returning once the seasons change and enjoy the new menu with the wine pairing option. For just a few hours, spoiling yourself in the ambiance of a private supper club from decades ago for a special occasion seems like an indulgence we all deserve...

My husband and I attempted to go to the restaurant on a Thursday night and it was probably the worst experience as a customer I have ever had. I should preface this by saying that we regretfully didn’t get to try any of the food so the poor review is based on the service and our experience in the restaurant

While a number of degustations were available we decided to go on a night where the a la carte menu was available as I don’t like duck and can’t eat shellfish which featured on all the degustations.

When we arrived our waiter gave us the menu for the degustation. When I asked him about the a la carte menu, he informed us that the chef had only prepared 6 servings of the a la carte menu and that they had already sold them all. After explaining that we had only come there for the a la carte he said he would talk to the kitchen and see what he could do. Shortly he came back and left the a la cart menus on the table and walked away before I could ask if there was anything on the menu that wasn’t available. He then later came back to take our orders. This waiter had an air of snobbyness and gave us the feeling he thought we were just being difficult customers which made us both feel very uncomfortable.

A few uncomfortable minutes later a different waiter came back to inform us that we actually couldn’t have the a la carte menu because the chef didn’t have enough stuff prepared as they were so busy the night before and wanted to make sure that we weren’t interested in a degustation instead. She did offer to see if she could organise some substitutions for the courses I couldn’t eat but at this point we felt uncomfortable and weren’t really enjoying ourselves so we decided to leave.The pros were that they filled our water glass and offered a drink on the house for our troubles however we politely declined as we really just wanted dinner. We left the restaurant disappointed and upset about the ordeal. I suggest that the restaurant removes the al la carte menu from the website if it’s not going to be available to save others...

We were fortunate enough to have dined at Deer Duck Bistro prior to it being sold to new owners. As such, Deer Duck Bistro was one of our first preferences for a group Christmas Dinner. Unfortunately, under the helm of its new owner, Harry, we were sorely disappointed. I ordered a Hendrick's Gin, but watched them pour Tanqueray. I was told we wouldn't be charged cakeage unless the staff served the cake, which they didn't. Needless to say, they charged us $30 cakeage. We had an entertainment voucher, to which the owner misrepresented himself as a mere employee and said "his hands were tied". The owner capped the evening off with the most arrogant and obnoxious behaviour - having served us with the bill, he came back demanding for the bill back as he "had to add some charges", to which we responded with "yes, that is fine, but what needs to be changed?". He looked annoyed and merely said "I just need to add some stuff." Following that encounter, he did not come back to give us the bill, rather, his girlfriend gave us the bill. We paid with an American Express card, which incurred a 2.5% surcharge. His girlfriend could not do basic maths and insisted our calculations of 2.5% were wrong. Only did we explain the fundamentals of calculating percentages did she accept the overall price. Furthermore, I had paid a $200 deposit, which was conveniently "forgotten" in the final bill, and when we noted it, Harry's girlfriend said, in a rather condescending manner, "you will just have to accept the final total of the bill." We did not dispute the cost of the bill, we were merely informing her that we had paid a deposit, which was not deducted from the bill. Though the food was good, the overall management was absolutely non-existent. The original owners created a truly remarkable fine dining experience, which I am sad to say, has been totally annihilated by the new owner, Harry. Needless to say, I will never be coming back again; no matter how...