All the way with Montrachet

It was the big night. As Darren Hayes would say, we were On the Verge of Something Wonderful. We were experiencing child like excitement starting our adventure eating at THE restaurants of Brisbane people talk about. The restaurants that draw awe when mentioned and whispers of I know someone who has eaten there. Well, they are not really that exclusive, but that is how it felt at the time.

With all of this excitement, mixed with my small town boy upbringing (well, on the Gold Coast), I certainly felt a little like a fish out of water. I put on my best adult walk and nonchalant look and faked it until I made it.

Walking into Montrachet, my first thoughts were how charming it was. It was decorated in a classic French theme (or what I think is classic) but without being cheesy (even though the French love their cheese). It was also disarming because it was so quaint. We were seated at the bar, which I have always enjoyed after my time in the US and also that's where we were seated at a recent visit to another French restaurant (more on that later).

But now for the main event- the menu. There were so many treasures to choose from. We devised a plan of attack to maximise our joy. We opted to share an entree, each select a main (sharing allowed), and then we would consider dessert. This meant we could get through three courses without exploding. We also decided not to look at the dessert menu and leave it as a surprise. We ordered from the appropriately arrogant French waiter who fit the place well. He was not rude, he was minimalist in his approach to communication and I loved it. Now and then I'm sure I would get a look from him suggesting he wanted to hit me over the head with a French stick, but being a professional, would not act on it.

We decided to start with the Soufflé aux Crabe et Gruyere, and me being fluent French, knew this meant crab and cheese souffle. Souffle in a French restaurant - it was so clichéd we had to do it. Unfortunately, when it arrived, it food did not live up to our hype. It was nice but it was not wow. It was a cheese souffle and tasted like cheese and crab but there was no wow factor.

It's ok. We will call this a slow start and let ourselves get blown away by les plats principaux. Again, the menu was a feast for the eyes and everything sounded extraordinary. I elected to have the Lapin Sauce Forestière (Casserole of rabbit with white wine, tomato, smoked speck and mixed mushrooms served with sautéed potato and tossed green beans) and Carla went for Poussin et sa Fleur de Courgette (Spatchcock served with a lemon thyme ratatouille and zucchini flower farced with quail and truffle mousse). Our mains were much the same as the entree. It read so well but lacked the punch we were expecting. Don't get me wrong, the food was good, but it was just not great. It was not the experience Carla had been building up or as the menu had insinuated.

We opted for the Crème Brûlée to finish because while in Rome. . . What I can say for Montrachet is that it is consistent. We had a pleasant dessert to round off a pleasant meal. Nothing more, nothing less.

We did not know this at the time, but we had developed the Anise rating system. It is much like the Richter scale or the Richard Wilkins 5 star movie rating system. We had eaten at Anise recently and were utterly delighted by the food, wine, service, and the feel. It then developed subconsciously in our mind as the standard that all restaurants will be measured by**. We may have romanticised Anise, but I think because it was so good and unexpectedly so (I chose it based on proximity and cuisine) and also because it presented to us the best gnocchi every made, by anyone, and forever known as pillows of love. So, based on the Anise scale, we rated Montrachet a 7/10. The restaurant was well presented, the service was great and the food was good. A seven may sound good, but out of the top ten restaurants in Brisbane, I expected more.

We are going to give it another try because poor little Carla's heart was broken by the experience - she had hoped for so much and it had been promised by so many (you know who you are).

Up next is Alchemy and those sweet, sweet beef cheeks.

** I know this is going to disturb the more judgemental of our readers, you know who you are