Southbank Grill

For some reason, the dinners I’ve consumed in the Townsville eateries of late have not left me entirely satisfied.  I’ve suffered singed lips from a seafood pasta dish crammed with chillies at one venue and was almost punched in the face by the owner when I politely complained.  Another popular restaurant served me lard instead of pâté and I’m sure used dish water to flavour their soggy risotto.

I was beginning to lose hope in eating out and had opted for nights in with my trusty stove instead, inventing my own attempted restaurant style dishes in an effort to avoid further disappointment.  At least if I screw up a béarnaise sauce I can blame it on my amateur cooking.
After a few tiresome weeks of gnocchi making, steak frying and pastry baking, I decided enough was enough and we needed a treat so my boyfriend Chris and I decided to try out a haunt my mum had detected when she was out visiting.
Southbank Grill is located down Townsville’s main restaurant strip (Palmer Street) and is the in-house eatery for Rydges Hotel.  We often trotted past the protuberant, green and gold building but found it looked like the sort of venue where plump, rich gents with monocles and cravats would meet for a late night cigar and a brandy.  The menu advertised out front however had me dribbling like a dribbly thing and I saw why my dear mum had suggested we pay it a visit.
Upon entering the establishment we were greeted by friendly, young staff who led us quickly to our table where we took in the intimate surroundings of sandy brick interior, plush carpeting, chocolate leather seats and crisp white tablecloths.  It felt cosy and modern with a nice buzz of merry chatter and the meaty aromas flowing from the kitchen made my empty stomach grumble.
We didn’t have to wait long before our refreshing Sauvignon arrived and it was a delight to sit back and enjoy our wine whilst looking out on the busy strip outside.
We decided on our menu choices pretty quickly (since we’d already been perving away over the menu outside) and the service was speedy and professional.  We opted for the Tiger Shrimp and Crab Cake with Panko Crust and Remoulade sauce to share for our entrée and this arrived looking immaculate.  The textures and flavours made my mouth water as I rolled sweet, moist seafood enveloped in crispy crust around my tongue united with the occasional twang of capers and anchovy from the creamy remoulade sauce.  I wish Chris and I hadn’t shared however as the portion was rather teeny tiny and we bashed forks aggressively a few times over the last couple of mouthfuls.
Our order of award winning eye fillet steaks arrived shortly after the starter, which was a relief since I was so tempted to finish off the delicious looking chips left on the empty table next to ours!  I went for a side order of rosemary chat potatoes and a creamy blue cheese sauce to compliment my steak and we also shared a portion of asparagus and broccoli with onion and garlic confit since we do love our greens! 

Cutting the perfectly medium rare fillet with my knife felt like cutting soft butter and I excitedly crammed forkfuls of succulent beef dripping with rich, blue cheese sauce into my mouth and groaned with pleasure a bit too loudly.  A few of the rosemary potatoes were slightly undercooked but most were crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle as anticipated. 
My plate looked licked clean much to Chris’ disappointment since he had sat patiently with his cutlery still in hand waiting for my leftovers as usual- not tonight though mister, not tonight!
I couldn’t resist when our smiley waitress popped the dessert menu in my greedy hands and Chris and I agreed to share the unique sounding baked Lavender and Honeycomb Cheesecake with Red Bean Ice Cream.  I had tasted red bean ice cream before at a memorable Chinese restaurant in America and was hoping this place would do it justice!

I yelped when our perfect round lilac cheesecake arrived brimming with real honeycomb and glistening ice cream.  The tastes were like no other- the rich, fragrant cheesecake crumbled in my mouth and the crunchy, sticky honeycomb along with the aromatic, flavour packed ice cream worked together beautifully. The ice cream was reassuringly a winner! Chris can often take or leave a dessert but unfortunately for me, he was certainly taking this one!  We both hurriedly spooned the creamy dessert into our pie holes leaving the plate spotless and our bellies busting. 
After our wine bottle contained no more than a lonely drip, we paid up and went on our merry way both agreeing it was the best meal we’d enjoyed in Townsville so far.
It wasn’t long before we were back again and every time we dine at this little treasure, it never disappoints on the service, atmosphere or the food and to all my local friends, I fully recommend a voyage there.  You will be relieved to hear you can leave your cigars and monocles at home.