With a long weekend in Melbourne, it was time to head somewhere where there was actually some sunshine. With a quick search for flights, the top choice was Noosa. Although a small town, we were hoping to find somewhere decent that we haven’t been before (since we frequent Noosa often). We spoke to the concierge at our hotel who had recommended Gaston for great steak.
ATMOSPHERE & SERVICE
I found the decor of the restaurant quite busy, however being a bar it seemed to work. There were some tables with linen and some without, which I found a bit messy. Walking into the space, it was a bit confusing on where to go to let someone know we had arrived for our reservation. We finally got the attention of the host and were told to head to the back bar area and wait for our table to be ready.
I did like the bar area (although small) with a great wine list to enjoy while you sit and wait for your table. I was a bit disappointed with the service throughout the night. The maître de was wonderful and friendly, however the bartender never asked for our drink order (even though we were the only ones there) and our waiter seemed to be having a bad night. She was rude and ignored our table the entire night.
FOOD
The menu here focuses on bistro style foods with a great wine selection. The menu is quite small, however we all seemed to find something to satisfy our hungers. After waiting for what felt like forever for our waitress come and take our orders, hubby kept with his original place of getting a steak, where I on the other hand wasn’t too hungry.
After having a quick look at the menu, I decided to just go with something small and order the ‘Red Braised Duck’ spring rolls served with peanut and sticky plum soy sauce. Two oversized spring rolls came to the table, which were good, however nothing to write home about.
MC ordered the ‘Char Grilled Beef Eye Fillet’ with parsnip puree, broccolini, green beans, mustard pickle and bone marrow crumbs. He had ordered it medium rare, however came out medium to medium/well. A bit disappointing since he was keen on having a great steak. The veggies were cooked to perfection and quite tasty, however we had only come here since we were told they did the best steaks in town.
Overall our experience left us a bit unsatisfied. We have tried quite a few restaurants in Noosa and would definitely rate this restaurant on the lower spectrum. The service was inattentive, the food mediocre, however a decent wine list. I don’t think we will be in a hurry to head back on our next trip.
