Verve Restaurant, Bar and Cider House in Brisbane's Central Business District has been one of the most popular places for a meal for many years, and continues to be doing so. Maybe it is the food, or if there is something in the air of it. Whatever it is, there is definitely a draw to it and I knew I would eventually see myself here reviewing it. Lots of places I don't exactly see why they have their reputation, but this is one in which it is well deserved and apparent.
I was meeting a friend of mine in the city during the mid-week lunch rush, just for the usual catching up. After meeting with her, there was about a minute of aimless wandering done with the usual back-and-forth of asking "what do you feel like for lunch"? For once, she didn't really have anywhere in mind and it was up to me to think of somewhere. What was just so happening, was that the wandering got us half way to here, with the sign in view; therefore, I suggested maybe some Italian could do well. When someone has been working in the city for long enough - really been employed long term - it seems more or less this gains its reputation. With my friend, it was no different and she thought yes.
One of Verve's strengths comes from its uniqueness both in terms of location, and in terms of aesthetic. That term is easy to overuse, but for once it is really the only way to truly describe it. This is right in the heart of town, within the basement of the Metro Arts building. From a street view, it gives a few clues that it is inside - one sign that juts out into view of sidewalk pedestrians and several other signs describing the day's specials and a general menu. If that entices you, just walk in the door and head for the stairs going down into the basement . This is another place that gets the rare trifecta of great food, atmosphere and aesthetics all done really well.
It is hard to get two types of aesthetics and atmospheres done right together, much less be able to fuse them simultaneously, but by golly have they managed to do it right here. The seating has the casual red chairs often associated with lower-end Italian eateries, and you have the contrasting design of the exposed brick walls matched with modern art decorations adorning the wall all around the perimeter of the eatery.
You simply could not have the time to list all of the quirky details found in each nook and cranny.
You could definitely go there on a romantic night, and it would certainly be one of the best places for a first date (it has that low light that some find intimate). It is also a place that has one of the most relaxed atmospheres in Brisbane, like actually being relaxed. You can get the vibe to just stay here a while and take your time eating (and/or drinking) your order due to its low key nature. To get that desired drink order of yours, they have a big bar right at the end of the restaurant for which you can travel to between times.
Rounding it all up is the service. With such a warm cosy atmosphere to the place, it would only make sense for the service to be warm and welcoming. That perfectly describes the service that the two of us had here; the way he spoke to us you could imagine that we went to that place of a semi-frequent to frequent basis. It doesn't just end with the waiter being pleasant, he is also really capable at his job. In case you missed the day's specials from when you decided to walk in the door, he can rattle them off easily at the top of his head. It probably depends on how busy the place is (and it can get really packed, deservedly so) but it was somewhat sparse at this time, so the food was delivered in a timely manner.
Verve's menu is fairly to the point. It is mostly Italian in influence, but not a big shining example of the cuisine as a whole - many of the choices are merely inspired and go the more experimental route. Instead, you have the selection of pastas and risottos and a modest selection of pizza. There is a small selection of the bigger, meat-based meals as well, and salads. However, most of the rest of the menu is dedicated to a tapas style dining, of various snacks to share. As well as that, they have a big drinks menu of many wines and ciders and a good value banquet deal. They have caught onto their popularity in a really astute manner. Going to another strength with Verve, you are guaranteed to be given a generous serve.
Starting off, it was the drink orders. By now, it is apparent what I order: this is an Italian place, they do coffee, and even so I go for coffee anyways - doppio! Presumably, the coffee is made by Di Bella - the same beans in which they use for the espresso bar in the foyer. The coffee here was done absolutely correctly. It was hot, quite strong and had a range of sweet, fruity notes to its taste. It came with a small cookie on the side, which was a good touch. This was a sweet, caramel flavoured shortbread.
Going for the main order, I went with a risotto. Looking through the menu, which again, it is hard to know what to order, thus I looked for a small while about what looked the best. In the end, it was seafood that won out and I ordered a sand crab and snapper risotto. And as for the glue that ultimately sticks a place together, the food was phenomenal. Risotto is one dish that is hard to make well, much less perfect. Seafood as well, is a difficult food to cook well as it has a lower margin of error for cooking. Combine these two, and you have a tough act to follow. They managed to do really well. This dish was a fantastic mixture of roma tomato being mixed with cream, lemon and parmesan cheese, and it had quite an amount of seafood in it - tender, sweet, succulent seafood. The rice was very hot, molded into a good, cheesy mixture and infused with the flavours of the aforementioned ingredients. This is how you make a risotto - through honesty.
On the side, I sneaked in an order of beer battered fries (one of my friend's weaknesses) to share. Even though this was a side order (.....okay, it was listed as a starter) even between two people it was a fairly generous serve. These beauties were served with sides of aioli, and tomato chutney, then drizzled with a glaze of balsamic syrup. I was a bit in different to the tomato chutney - it was a bit watery for being a dip - and aoili is always a good choice, however with the balsamic drizzle over the fries I reckon that the two sauces are unneeded. The balsamic adds its unique flavour to the fries, which in themselves were cooked perfectly. They were really hot, crispy and well seasoned.
There's a very good reason as to why Verve has continuously been held in the same regard that is has over all of the years. Few people would consider eating in a basement on an inherent basis, but with the way it has been prettied and spruced up it is almost like you would not want to leave. If you live in Brisbane and somehow have not gotten to this place, stop what you are doing right now and make time to head there (or if you are a tourist, this is one of the highlights of the city). Let your time there speak for itself.
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