eatingtheweekaway: Prive 249 Recap

This week I have really been eating the week away, lots of posts to catch up on and lots of food experiences to share.

Prive249 is one of the restaurants located in Sofitel Brisbane. Normally we go there for the buffet but I wanted somewhere quiet and hopefully kinder to the waistline.

Tucked away in the back corner it is often forgotten and always seemed empty. Never heard much about it but it filled my one brief for the night and that was somewhere quiet. Hotel food and restaurants don't always have a great rep, with the recent experiences I have this may have to change.

Plush seats and two dedicated staff made this seem like a more exclusive dining experience and of course because we eat early at 6pm, we were the only table. The outlook over some buildings in the city is definitely a plus, coupled with black glass tables, dim lighting and the quiet surroundings--definitely a romantic place for dinner--for couples who are comfortable, not first dates or else there would be a lot of awkward long silences to fill.

Menu is French inspired as expected of Sofitel and slant towards classic more than modern. No issues there because everything as delicious, cooked well but more within the 'safe' territory.

Entree of the Forest Mushrooms stood out--great nutty flavour of the mushrooms, rich consommé and rich egg yolk to bind it all together. Could have been more generous with the foie gras on the quail dish though.

Quail, foie gras, pumpkin, golden raisin

Forest Mushroom, consommé, yolk, truffle

Size of the mains could have been a bit more generous and I really do not like foam and fish, or the cauliflower in buttery sauce which reminds me of the veggies you find in meals on wheels. While the Wagyu beef was cooked well, the crumbed bone marrow--to put in in hubby's blunt words was 'a complete waste of effort and time'. After such a generous amount of bone marrow at London Fields we were hoping for a bit more than a crumbed ball which dissolved into a mouthful of bland fat.

Potatoes were flavoursome but once again, generosity would have gone a long way.

Blue eye Cod, cauliflower, almond, bottarga

Wagyu sirloin, shallot, bone marrow (sort of)

side of roasted baby kipflers

The Imperial dessert immediately caught my attention and it didn't disappoint. It doesn't quiet meet the presentation but is a worthwhile try, especially after some of the richer flavours of the main. Flavours could have been bolder and more pronounced but maybe subtlety was the aim.