You can never go wrong with having a hearty roast for dinner.

Recently, I received an invitation to attend The Brisbane Hotel’s Roast and Red night and thought that it would be perfect for Matt and I to go out for our very first dinner together. So, on a cold, chilly wintry Tuesday night, Matt and I set off to have our roast dinner at The Brisbane. This was also our first time dining at The Brisbane too.

Roast & Red is held every Tuesday night during winter at The Brisbane with a generous serving of a traditional pub roast. Each roast meal also comes with a glass of the Brisbane’s house-label Shiraz, both for $25! How awesome is that!

Looking at the table next to us having the roast, the serving was indeed generous. Everything on the winter menu looks good but in the end Matt and I decided to share a starter and a dessert. To start off, we had the Salt and Pepper Squid with Lemon Aioli ($16.90). I really like how the squid at The Brisbane is different to other places offering salt and pepper squid – it’s not like one of those chunky calamari rings. The squid is lightly fried and had enough salt and pepper to give its flavour. It was lovely with the lemon aioli. Simply irresistible.

Salt and Pepper Squid, lemon aioli

Not long after, our roast arrived. The roast of the day for the evening was half a roast chicken with stuffing. The other half of the plate comprised of winter vegetables – cheesy broccoli, roast pumpkin, carrots, potatoes and gravy. Yep, plenty of yummy goodness on one plate. It was very generous in portion and I was thinking “Will I be able to finish this?”.  Well, guess what? I actually did finish everything!

I thought that everything on the plate was delicious from the roast chicken to the vegetables. The chicken was cooked to perfection – tender and juicy, with a drizzle of gravy on top. The winner of the dish was the stuffing – it was not too dry and full of flavour which complements well with the roast chicken. Matt and I loved the cheesy broccoli which reminded us of our cauliflower bake that we made together a few weeks ago.

$25 for a roast meal and wine? You can’t say no to that for sure! 🙂

 Roast of the day with winter vegetables served with a glass of Brisbane Hotel shiraz ($25 -yes, that’s including the wine too!)

Although we were full from the roast, we still had room in our stomach for dessert. Matt and I shared the Chocolate Nemesis ($14.90) with rhubarb and raspberry gelato. The Chocolate Nemesis is a flourless chocolate cake. The cake was not too sweet and it was rich in flavours with a soft and moist texture. Matt thought that the chocolate cake felt like a baked chocolate mousse, which literally melt in your mouth. The Chocolate Nemesis was a great finish to the night.

Chocolate Nemesis, rhubarb and raspberry gelato

At the end of the evening, Matt and I were both very satisfied and full from dinner. Apart from the delicious food we have been offered, the service at The Brisbane has also been very attentive and efficient. Overall, we really had a great night!

Matt and I would like to thank The Brisbane Hotel and Nicole from David Gardiner Public Relations for the invitation to attend Roast and Red. We loved and enjoyed every bit of our dinner!

Mel’s Rating : mmmm (excellent)