Rebekah Prosser
We had a beautiful tapas dinner at Vaquero. The decor is understated but warm and the service matched the quality of the food. We had lamb ribs, charcuterie, basque potatoes and a chocolate tart. Each dish was delicious and well presented. A perfect place for date night or dinner with family or friends.
Djoko Tjioman
Great place n atmosphere, staff very friendly n helpful, foods was great.... enjoying our dinner with family.
Kate R
Staff were very attentive, professional and friendly. My water glass was never empty. The menu was 95% gluten free which was perfect for my partner who is coeliac as it provided a lot of options. The place has a lot of history and created a great environment to have dinner in. A nice rustic feel. The food was of great quality however for the price, it was small portions. I would recommend booking before going. It is a lovely spot to go and have dinner, not too noisy and can have a conversation in a relaxing atmosphere.
Kerry D W
4 people dining, ordered Banquet Menu at $49 per person. Surprisingly, to me, a full restaurant. To me, Vaquero fits into its own specific spot of restaurants. Lamb, seafood, Pork, beef but in a unique style. The attention to detail of each dish was there and tastes were subtle but able to be appreciated. Hervey Bay scallops were special to me because of the presentation and the sauce. Definitely equal to a speciality seafood restaurant, which Vaquero is not. One thing I do not like on any menu is a baked Brownie. This was part of the banquet menu so no choice to not order. But, I would have this Brownie every day of the year it was so good.
Lots more good things to say but I'll leave that to next time. Lamb was as expected, good. Pork was excellent. Celeriac puree, some sort of white stuff, I consider just to put the Pork on top of, was so good that I found myself scraping off the plate the last little bits. The texture was much more than just Puree as was the taste.
Staff were friendly and helpful with smiles that set a positive mood in the patrons, very important too.
Overall: Yes, we will be back.
Anna Boyle
Tapas, Lychee Martini's and amazing customer service. Lovely ambience, stella food & cocktail! I enjoyed a lot of sensational Lychee Martini's after our amazing tapas upon tapas so I did want to name our awesome waitress but I have forgotten... Mia!? We dined 4.12.21 at 6:15 inside under booking 'Anna' so to the lovely lady who was amazing to us that night, we thank her ššøšøšøšø
Thank you for a wonderful night, we will be back!
Shannon Victor
Staff were quite rude. The food took a long time to come out and we were berated for asking how much longer it might be. The tapas entrees we ordered were nice however the octopus and fish mains were severely underwhelming abs overpriced for portion size. The ācharred broccoliā was completely flavourless.
Saying this, four of our eight diners had the banquet and they certainly enjoyed their meals more than we did. Just didnāt order the right things I suppose. Good wine and ambience.
Gary Spencer
My wife and I had dinner on the night 25.6.22.
For my wife and myself we had a of best dinner experiences for years. The food so good and staff are friendly and helpful.
I would highly recommend this place to anyone. As the table that were beside us, it was there 4th dinning experience.
Hannah Paterson
Lovely ambiance, along with great service and food.
If youāre looking for somewhere a bit nicer to go, Iād recommend Vaquero.
For two people we shared two starters, a main, a side and a dessert. This was enough food for us. I highly recommend the gnocchi.
The sangria was good too.
Nejla Hassett
Ambience and fit out of the restaurant is lovely. Service is very friendly, even though this was our first time, we were treated like old friends - also knowledge of the menu is outstanding. Food is quite obviously prepared with passion and it comes through to the plate - couldn't fault our meal. This is a place where everyone is passionate about great food, offering diners an experience to remember! Will be back! x
Ray Williams
Service and food was outstanding a great variety of dishes with a great wine list and craft beers for the beer lover I will be back and highly recommend anyone to try it out Ray Williams
Christine Gado
Fantastic food, amazing service & & lovely ambiance. I have been here several times & it continues to not disappoint
You need to make sure you have room for desert; they are outstanding. This visit I had the deconstructed rocky road. It was amazing, an explosion of flavours that make up the rocky road flavours.
Sterling Bonython-Romanov
Friday night went to Vaquero Dining Albion with friends. While friends are fantastic, what a disappointment the meal was. Very expensive for tiny little servings, trying and failing to be artistic and poor quality food. I had the most expensive thing on the menu, which turned out to be three bite size morsels of overcooked tasteless meat with a mushroom paste, with one 'wilted green' languishing over and trying to hide the misery of food. An additional $16 for three TINY little anorexic carrots that had spent the past 2 weeks in a smoker until they were inedible??? $15 potato things were neither crispy or soggy (probably microwaved), and overdosed with chili to disguise how badly cooked they were. Dessert - word of advice Vaquero: there is nothing trendy in having exactly half the plate devoid of anything, and the chocolate mousse (using the worst chocolate they could scrape up) is awful. One of those places where you spend $100 on your meal, and go home hungry and dazed at the incompetence, inadequacy and poor skills of the chef. Horrible place, and there are so many quality restaurants in close proximity. AVOID!!
Rhiannon Dempsey
What a great find - this great little restaurant in Albion with amazing food. Our favs included the charcuterie plate, sea scallops and the Meringue Snowman to finish. Great selection of wines, knowledgeable and friendly staff, and good atmosphere. We will definitely be back :)
Elo Casey
Just outstanding ! The food is exquisite, the place is beautiful and the staff is just amazing ( thank you Viviane š )
Even the toilets are great.
Thank you so much for that wounderful lunch, you made that very special day even more perfect.
Well be seeing you again soon.
Georgie McNally
Amazing food. Unique combination of flavours that just melt in you mouth. Sensational.
Highly recommend
Will be back
Helen D'Silva
Great service. Atmosphere is very modern, chic high-end cocktail bar and dinner. Love the Spanish coffee. The scallop dish we had was exceptional in fluffy full of flavour, texture...I could have eaten 100 scallops! Service exceptional, great staff, friendly polite and engaging team.
Lois Robertson
Food was simply amazing presented beautifully. Great decor. We were there for lunch and it was not very busy so the service was spot on. Only issue was trying to find a car park which was almost impossible. Would recommend but get a taxi !!
Hailey Holmes
Everything about our experience was perfect! Delicious food, great service and fantastic cocktails!! Highly recommend ļæ½
Jan Dale
Food, service and ambience wAs awesome. The menu was carefully explained so that we could receive the best palate delights.
Rod Bower
Fabulous atmosphere, very friendly and knowledgeable staff, great food and bar. What more can one say but a wonderful journey for the palate and local too! Only negative was that we couldn't eat our way through the whole menu in one sitting. Oh well maybe next time.
Nicky Maitre
Romantic, intimate + amazing food and top service. Thank you for making our visit one to remember, will be back for sure ļæ½
Paul Cooke
The charcuterie starter plate is a must have. The scallop mousse was very innovative. Now waiting on the venison. Very helpful staff in a beautiful decor. Will definitely be back.
LeeAnne Brent
Went there for drinks and was served one of the best cocktails I have ever had by a
Pleasant and knowledgable young women. Will be back to taste their fabulous looking food
Sophie Ligouras
Food was amazing . Service very slow . 7:45 booking . Told waiter we were ready to order . He came back a good 20 minutes later .Ended up having mains at 9:40 . š¢. Could have been a great night . Unfortunately it missed the mark for me . Pretty much ate and left to get back to baby sitter . So much for our first night out without baby. Drinks weren't offered regularly. Ended up going to the bar to get a drink . I would definitely go back ! I think we had a bad experience at a good place .
Felicity Mauger
An absolute must to visit on a regular basis. Fabulous food. Superb service. Amazing atmosphere. Delightful decor. Loved it. Will be a frequent occasion on visits to Brisbane.
JenJen
Wow!!! This place was fantastic. Service was great, food was amazing and loved the atmosphere. Each dish we tried was put together so nicely and the quality of the food was very high. I loved that the head chef was very involved in the experience as well.
Gourmetpig
A return visit to Vaquero, after what I thought was a disappointing start a few years ago, was a very positive surprise. Iāve had the paella Saturday lunch and the weekday 4 course menu. The paella was delicious but Iād rethink the tuna pieces which can be dry. The 4 course menu was great. Exciting house-made charcuterie, Atlantic salmon with roasted peppers, goat roulade with charred broccoli, and petit fours to finish. The maĆ®treād is especially skilled and attentive. I admire the effort to get people into the place mid-week and for Saturday lunch which Iād guess are usually not busy.
Albino Diner
After a long absence after a disappointing meal, weāre back to this stylish local. Weāve been trying their ādealsā - Saturday paella and sangria for 2 people at $49 IS a deal, carafe of sangria and a sufficient and incredibly tasty paella. Yes, it was one big prawn, one small piece of tuna, one mussel each, but for that price? A deal. Very yummy, some nice crisp on the rice, could taste saffron. Yay. Last nights four courses for $49 also good value. A truly excellent charcuterie board with lots of variety followed by a trout tartare with EXCELLENT whole roasted peppers was great, followed by a piece of rolled goat meats (belly, shoulder, etc) and roasted broccoli with a. Japanese mayo. Lots of sauces, attention to detail, big bold flavours. By the time of petit fours and coffee? I was very happy and will go back soon. Only critique is some nervous seeming waiters and (at times) breath taking mark up on wines. But a terrific local, charming place with seriously good food
Ronnielui2003
Re-visited this renowned restaurant with my relatives a weekās ago in a group of five. Service is very friendly and passionated.<br/>Ordered the signature charcuterie broad, charred broccoli, Brisbane Valley quail, Qld Hinterland venison, suckling pig, spiced confit potatoes and wood fired fish and prawn. Overall, all the savoury dishes are faultless. Hero and surprise should be the huge size quail with tenderized texture and charcoal flavour. Although we missed the most impressive dessert (they took it off the menu),the replacement desserts are not bad to try.<br/>Thank you for the team to offer such a memorable night.<br/><br/>Previous visits: Dec 2018 4/5; Oct 03, 2017 5/5
Vlyf
Have heard positive things about this place and was not disappointed. We enjoyed the house-made charcuterie board, couple of mains and desert. Service is efficient and friendly. Love the fit out too. A very comfortable restaurant for sharing great food with great company.
Spanner
Funky little place which has a nice feel to it. Wine selection was ok and staff were attentive and accessible. I had the wagu brisket which was fantastic. The seafood was also very good as was the chanteuse tasting plate...the only down side was the noise...acoustically its not good...gets very loud very quickly so if your after a romantic evening this probably isn't the place but overall I thought it was pretty good and worth the cost
Teana Ma
If I can I would like to give a 4.5. I love the food. They are tasty and special. The food on the menu is not what we often can get in any random restaurant. Preserved rabbit, venison and marinated octopus give my taste bud a unique experience. Unfortunately there is tiny sharp bones in the rabbit. Wish it can clean it better before preserve/cook it. Otherwise I will give a 5!
Adam Pinzone
Late lunch to escape the dreaded heat... There's nothing like dry-aged meats to make my taste buds quiver.Ā . COAL FIRED OCTOPUS, BABA GANOUSH, PICKLED GARLIC & SMOKED ALMOND. WHITE VINE TOMATO, CUCUMBER, FREEZE DRIED BALSAMIC, WHIPPED RICOTTA, BASIL. That octopus was a magnificent creature to devour. Nice and tender, with so much freshness in each bite. Delicious smoky flavor with so much to enjoy.
Ilovefood
Great vibe and atmosphere. The staff were extremely helpful in accommodating my vegan dietary requirements and the chefs cooked a delicious main meal. Would highly recommend!
Reviewer
Exquisite food although be prepared to spend quite a lot to purchase enough protein and sides to satisfy your hunger. It's definitely quality over quantity and you pay for it. Very loud venue - hard to talk at our table of four.
Blah Blah
A hidden place set in a lovely, dimly lit atmosphere.Ā It's quite popular, and the acoustics of such a cosy space can be trying, so if you're looking for a quiet, intimate place, best to look elsewhere; it can be hard to hear both the staff, and the other diners in your party.<br/><br/>Excellent food, but I would like to see more vegetables served with the meals, or even just as an option.Ā I'm not a vegetarian, but by the end of a meal here, I'm looking for more 'greenery' than just microherbs, and there's no side/entree/main to order...the last couple of menus I've tried anyway.<br/><br/>The dishes that aren't vegie based might have a peeling, dust, foam, or something, but it would be nice to have a bit more vegetable substance, and some that isn't beige.<br/>Still, it's very good food despite that nitpicking. <br/><br/>Edit: Went back here fairly recently, and the green veg 'issue' has been resolved.Ā Had a great roast broccoli dish, and the rest of the meals were even better still.Ā The acoustics were better too, having dined on a less busy mid-week night.<br/><br/> 5/5 now, and some of the best food I've had in a long time.Ā Plenty of technically amazing chef prowess, but not at the expense of taste; it's there to improve, or accentuate the ingredients, as it should be.
Owen
Currently I could not find a better place in Brissy to eat n chill out than this one. Thumbs up for the staff. Great food, great service great atmosphere.
Michael Rover
Fantastic, interesting restaurant to be found after you enter via an equally extraordinary butcher. Beautiful indoor and outdoor setting. A great atmosphere. Menu is limited but imaginative. We shared a scotch egg which was perfectly cooked, soft in the middle. Wild venison with fig and rhubarb, just slightly under cooked. Sweet potato with yogurt and spiced cream cheese. Following a delicious desert of lemon curd topped with meringue. Service was attentive and well paced, although they bought our coffee to us before our desert. Staff polite and helpful. Prices are high but still good value.
Jamin65
What a shame the food was such a let down. The location and presentation of this restaurant is great. After finally finding the front counter and someone to help - we came through the side entrance - we were sat at a terrible table in the middle of the restaurant, beside several party groups - however the staff went out of their way to move us on request - but I never quite get why you would sit someone there in the first place, unless you were trying to put them off and get them out the door early? The service overall was efficient and well informed. The strategy of putting our wine and water on the shelf behind me so that the waitress had to reach behind me every time she came past to fill our glasses just doesnāt work for me - while I appreciated feeling we were developing a strong bond between us, it really became a little weird. Ultimately the pork belly was a little raw (seriously there was uncooked fat in it - how is that possible with pork belly - that canāt be a mistake) and the duck, while tender and well cooked, became dusty with, what I think was blood pudding, added. Just not up to it - so, nice place, shame about the food.
Hellsta22
Beautiful venue, great space for booking a party of 20-30.<br/>Food was good. Desserts beautifully presented and very tasty.<br/>Only disappointment was the service. Felt like we were a nuisance to the staff. Wait staff were rude and did not make the experience pleasant.
Taking Brisbane One Coffee House At A Time
My most amazing dining experience in Brisbane in a long while. Went on a Friday night a couple weeks ago, so found an hour wait for a table. We were easily accommodated at the bar, and decided to order there. Great staff! Amazing cocktails ! Outstanding food! The Hot smoked oysters, with white Bloody Mary and Chilli Watermelon, was an outstanding starter. Hope to go back and try the the 'Meringue Snow Man' ...as it looked amazing going out to other tables. Sadly I could not fit dessert š
Peruvian Palate
You will have to cross through Albion's butchery to reach this intimate venue. Very cosy and funky fit out with a great wine list. We started off with the basque potato's, morcilla arancini and duck liver parfait. Stand out dish was the parfait. The arancini had something sweet I couldn't quite get my head around. Still unsure what the sweet element was but it had cinnamon notes through it. Didn't really enjoy this. The potato's were OK. Surprisingly, they had little flavour given the potentially strong tasting components like fermented chilli and smoked butter. For mains, the coal octopus...smoke and sweetness paired with the freshness of the sea. The sobrasada oscura (Spanish sausage) added great depth of flavour and much needed saltiness. <br/>Unfortunately, my friend was disappointed with his meat. My dry aged beef was cooked perfectly but he had an over cooked piece which spoiled his whole experience.
Navvii Lingam
Had a lovely dinner here with the husband last night and you know you're onto a gem if it's packed on a Tuesday night! Despite being only open for 3 months, they're frequented by lots of regulars. The service from the moment we arrived was impeccable especially after we asked to change tables. The food was just spot on and topped off by the knowledge of the waiter/host for the day (Marco), we were nothing but impressedš we had the manchego custard, morcilla arancini sticks, sheeps brains (our fav) and lamb ribs. Yuuummaayy!! We loved both their drinks and food menu cos it stood out and was different to what's being served in other restaurants. Plus, everything was a shared-plate basis which we think is amazing..you just get to try more šWell done, guys! Keep up the good work and will be sure to visit again soon š
Charlotte Adderley
Our Vaquero Dining experience was nothing short of stunning from start to finish. The decor strikes a balance between soft and rustic; it feels romantic and cosy. I loved the morcilla arancini; a contemporary take on the traditional arancini - delicious. We ordered the beef short rib and pork dish to share and both were exceptional. The wine list had great variety, with some interesting glasses from which to choose. The service was flawless; Vaquero's staff are friendly, helpful, and know their stuff. Thanks for a great night - we will be back!
Pat
It's ok. They are trying hard - or at least they did tonight. So the service was ok but not like Melbourne.If you like venues like Gerard's or Hatch then you will find it similar without being quite as good. Didn't have their full range of beers or wines available!!!!!!Hopefully it can improve by 25% to make it really worthwhile.
Jaydeecee
Vaquero is hands down the best new restaurant that I have been to in Brisbane in 2016. <br/><br/>I snuck in here on an unassuming Tuesday night at the suggestion of a friend with absolutely no idea as to what I was about enjoy, my expectations were low as we were in suburban Brisbane afterall!<br/><br/>This, however, is a beautiful fine dining establishment, hidden by the guise of the Euro style Albion Butchery at its facade on busy Sandgate road. Once you enter the restaurant through this secret door you are transported into a refined dining space, outdoor courtyard and bar that has old world charm and designer Euro chic with a warm inviting and intriguing feel. I just know that I want to taste the whole menu!<br/><br/>The menu consists of delicate sharing platters for the table to share from starters, mains & deserts. I won't comment on how amazing each of the dishes were, I just recommend ordering an assortment matched with their plentiful & delicious wine list to enjoy with some great company.<br/><br/>I highly recommend searching out this amazing little secret in Albion before it becomes a challenge to get in!
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