Looking for quality food with an entirely gluten-free menu? One gluten-free restaurant Brisbane offers unlike any other is the Covent Garden Gin Bar & Restaurant in the city’s West End. Not only does it have over 600 gins for you to try, which are inspired by native botanicals, it’s set in a tropical garden courtyard and the food is mouth-watering.
As my partner is gluten intolerant, we’re often searching for places that accommodate. The fact the Covent Garden Gin Bar & Restaurant accommodates, with style, led us to book a table of five for Mother’s Day just gone. At the conclusion of our afternoon adventure, we all decided we’re coming back. Here’s why.
The Service
From the moment we walked inside we were taken care of and our waiter, Rob, was a super nice guy. After chatting with him we found out this is his first hospitality job and he’s totally a natural. Rob was very polite and friendly and always made sure we were comfortable, which set a nice relaxing vibe for the afternoon. Fortunately, everything came out timely as well. Win!
Drinks
Like any good afternoon adventure, it started with drinks. Again, this wasn’t just any old gluten-free restaurant Brisbane dishes up, this was the place with over 600 gin varieties. So, my partner ordered the Cavan-bah – which had both Brookie’s Slow and Brookie’s Dry Gin, grapefruit and creamed honey. Ooh la la. Also a cocktail fiend from way back, my mother-in-law ordered the Lady Lust – which contained Ink Gin, limoncello, thyme and lemon.
I like gin and buy bottles of it occasionally, as we’ve previously lived in the land of the gin in Spain. However, as I’m primarily a beer man and a stout drinker, I sampled the Ballistic Mexican Hot Choc Stout. The beer was cheeky for a lunchtime session and full-bodied fun. I also had a flavour of the gins and they were smooth and tasty.
The Food – Gluten-Free Restaurant Brisbane
Back to Spain, I love tapas, or small shared plates of food as it makes for a more convivial atmosphere. So when we spied the menu at the Covent Garden Gin Bar & Restaurant, which was made up of ‘small shares’, ‘large shares’, ‘complements’ and ‘grazing boards’, it put a smile on my face. This is the way eating should be. Fun. So we all chipped in, ordered plates of this and that and shared our food.
We shared the mushroom arancini with truffle aioli, the Schezwan fried baby squid with nuoc cham and pickled ginger, the ponzu glazed zucchini with olive and goats cheese mousse, the boneless Korean fried chicken with gochujang sauce, and the sweet potato gnocchi with truffle alfredo sauce.
There was nothing on the menu that wasn’t appetising. Perhaps the zucchini dish wasn’t totally to my liking, but everyone else seemed to like it. I mostly had the squid, the gnocchi and the arancini and my favourite of the lot was the arancini (pictured at top). Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, with subtle waves of truffle aioli and gruyere cheese. The problem was, I didn’t get many, as it was an all-round favourite.
The setting
We’ve eaten at a few places now in town and there’s no other gluten-free restaurant Brisbane offers that has such a pleasant outdoor setting. In some sections it looks like a Japanese garden, in others, a tropical Brisbane garden, while inside it could be European. The bar is small but every inch of space has been utilised and there’s a big stained glass ceiling above the servery that’s impressive.
There are plants everywhere and the back courtyard has a trellis roof with pretty flowers. Furthermore, the Covent Garden Gin Bar & Restaurant is situated on West End’s busy Boundary Street. It’s pretty mental outside for Brisbane, so when you step inside it’s as if you’re entering a sanctuary with all the nice trimmings. Stylish ones too. You might not want to leave.
A few extra details
- The Covent Garden Gin Bar & Restaurant is also entirely celiac-friendly.
- Covent Garden’s gin can be purchased online and delivered to your doorstep!
- The restaurant also has Sunday themes, like its ‘bottomless brunches’.
Check out the Covent Garden Gin Bar & Restaurant’s website to find out more.
Vibe – quaint garden.
Go for – the service (thanks Rob!), the mushroom arancini and the gin.
