Pony

Loved this place!
We started with the marinated olives and calamari, both were excellent.
Also, highly recommend this scotch fillet and the gnocchi. We got one side, the charred brocolinni, and practically licked the bowl. For dessert I got one PB&J $ 3 petit four, bite size and decadent.
The services was great and the outdoor seating was excellent. There were plenty of heaters and the view was next to none. I would definitely return here in a heartbeat.

Ok. I’m crawling out of my Unilocal hiatus to warn fellow Unilocalers to steer clear. Tonight I had an extremely underwhelming /​expensive ($$$) dining experience at pony.
My partner and I arrived at 8:15 for our reservation. We were seated at a nice table with a fancy view of the river and bridge. We were given menus. We were both content.
Our drinks took at least 25 minutes to come. I acknowledge it was busy but for such a big establishment, I feel as if they should know better and have more wait staff on to deal with the influx of patrons. Our starter took 40 minutes (calamari w a mild mayo) it was nice but probly not worth the wait and the $ 17 dollars. We were still having a nice time at this stage. We thought we might order another drink. Another 15 minutes to get our waiters attention. Another 25 minutes for the drinks to arrive. He made some apology about it being busy and he was annoyed because he has to serve more people. (I work in customer service you shouldn’t complain to the customers that you have customers).
Mains finally arrived 1 hr and 45 minutes later. They didn’t offer us any bread or complimentary snacks for the wait which would have really changed the whole night for around for me.
We ordered the rump with onion rings ($ 36 ish) and the salmon ($ 34). We also order kipfler potatoes ($ 15). The potatoes were nowhere to be seen. 10 minutes later still waiting. The waiter came and told us to «not go so crazy on the food because the potatoes are coming” — I’m sorry I was so starving by this stage– I am not going to have anybody tell me to not eat when the food finally arrives.
The food was nice but the whole experience just left a bad taste in my mouth. We had to ask for a water top up and the staff determined to avoid eye contact.
To top things off nobody offered the dessert menu (not that we would have ordered it because we would have been waiting until 2017), or the bill. And the lady at the desk put a credit card surcharge on when we were paying on cheque account & then seemed annoyed when we pointed this out to her. Ok rant over. Underwhelmed & I am easily pleased.

I brought the boyfriend here for dinner as a little birthday surprise recently.
Holy hell, the food. But we’ll get to that.
We arrived and were seated outside with an amazing view of the Story Bridge by a very friendly waiter whose name escapes me. My guy was asked what sized ice cube he wanted in his scotch, which we found hilarious but may be standard for a place like this?
Being a Sunday night at 8pm in Brisbane, the restaurant was maybe ¼ full. It seemed to take an awfully long time for everything we ordered to come out, but we were in celebratory mode and didn’t mind too much. Boyfriend ordered a few oysters to start, which he said were delicious, and I chose a buffalo mozzarella entrée with peaches and other deliciousness that appears to have disappeared from their menu since then, unfortunately!
The mains: Pan roasted Barramundi for him, Gnocchi for me. I love it when a place known for their meat can still nail a vego dish, and nail it they did. I must have been just in time, though, because looking at the menu online it seems to contain different ingredients now– I’m sure it’s just as good.
We had a great time at Pony. Friendly wait staff, amazing food and no unexpected surprises at bill time. In saying this, though, the wait time for our drinks, entrees and mains did leave me a tiny bit unimpressed. One other thing (tiny really) — I’d emailed prior to let them know we were coming for a birthday and asked to be seated with a view. The restaurant manager was happy to oblige and offered a dessert plate as a little extra, which was unexpected but lovely. On the night though, after our mains were well finished I asked about the plate and was met with an «oh, yeah… there is one of those out the back, I guess that’s what it’s there for.». it then took another 20 or so minutes to bring out (restaurant was empty by this stage). I just found it a little weird, I guess.
I would go back again for the food, but the service, while friendly, left a little to be desired. Being so close to Cha Cha Char which is just outstanding across the board, I think Pony need to pick things up a little.

Best meat I have ever eaten. Great menu anyway, they divide between small and big plates (and sides). We ordered about six starters, 600g Steak and five sides with five adults. They served all as shared meals. Everything, really everything was great and special. Outstandig Service too. Not cheap but great value.

Meat palace. Amazing steaks and grill selection. Excellent sides and a great bar and wine list. Can’t fault the ambience and River views — sit outside if you can. Great for work dinners or groups. Not cheap, but if works paying, awesome option in Brisbane.

A friend and I organised to catch up for a midweek dinner last week. She left the choice of venue to me. I currently prefer to dine at venues with a selection of small plates so I can have a few dishes at a time. I ended up choosing Pony Dining at Eagle Street Pier, having dined there before but over a year ago so it was definitely time for a revisit. I hopped onto their website and booked a table for two via Dimmi online. Apparently I have 8,000 points on Dimmi now and thus qualify for a free meal. I will have to look into how that works.
The booking was for 6.30pm and we were to be done and out by 7.45pm. I mentioned this to my friend, saying that I chosen the 6.30pm seating as the next available was at 8pm and that was a bit late for me on a weeknight. She said they must be pretty busy for a Wednesday!
She was already there when I arrived at Pony and the waitress at front counter ushered me to a table for two on the balcony. We had a view of the Story Bridge and the river. They were quite nice seats and we enjoyed a bit of a breeze on a balmy evening. There were a couple of other tables already taken when I arrived.
Pony is quite eclectically furnished with gleaming metal, dark wood and what appeared to be a pony fur rug on the floor. I’ve always felt it had a classy young vibe, I imagine that it is most frequently patronised by the business and fashionista 20s and 30s set.
In between bouts of chatter we managed to order our dinner and drinks. I am a salmon fan and quite enjoy trying different types of cured salmon, so the fennel cured salmon was the first and easiest choice for me. After that I selected the salt and pepper squid which is another favourite which I like to try at different venues. I also wanted some vegetables and ended up with the roasted carrots at the waiter’s recommendation. I originally wanted baby carrots but was swayed when he said this dish was really quite delicious. For my drink I ordered a non-​alcoholic ginger beer, another favourite of mine.
The salt and pepper squid was the first dish that I tried and it was delicious. It came with aioli or mayonnaise with flakes of volcanic black salt which delivered quite a salty punch. I would have this dish again. The fennel cured salmon was fine, I appreciated the texture but I think fennel cured isn’t my favourite of the cured salmon varieties. The accompaniments were enjoyable especially the tiny green pearls which looked like fish roe, their saltiness provided a pleasing balance to the other flavours of this dish. Visually this dish was also very visually pleasing with the orange and green almost glowing on the plate. The roasted carrots were also delicious and had a sweet glaze on them which I assumed to be honey.
I ordered dessert because I figured I might not return to Pony for yet another year given my current record, so I might as well have dessert while I had the chance. My eye was immediately drawn to the peanut butter in the description of the white chocolate parfait and so it was the white chocolate parfait that I ordered. This dessert is perhaps a bit too sweet for my liking though I was very pleased that the presence of peanut butter was definitely in full force and not to be ignored.
There was a little mix up with my friend’s meal when a chicken dish came out instead of the expected salmon but this was quickly and effortlessly rectified with apologies given at our table by the waiter. Service was friendly and courteous throughout.
It neared 7.45pm and our area of the balcony was filling up with more patrons arriving at the tables. The indoor area was looking full too. No one had approached us with the bill or other subtle hint that we should pay and leave but we decided to go anyway, assuming that our table was required for the next seating. We went up to the counter and paid our bill then made our way through the other seating area to the ladies room. This entire area was empty. So really it appeared to me that there wasn’t much need for restrictive seating times.
I would return to Pony Dining as I enjoyed this meal and have had other enjoyable meals in the past. The menu is varied enough to keep me interested with a selection of small and large plates to suit different budgets and appetites. Bonus marks for the sleek interior and gorgeous view.
In summary, delicious food, comfortable seating with a lovely view and friendly and efficient service.

I chose Pony at Eagle Street Pier for a Monday lunch to celebrate our anniversary with my partner. I called in advance to make a booking, however was told that it was not necessary as it is normally quiet on a Monday lunch, and it certainly was — only one other group in the whole restaurant. This was pleasant, and therefore very quiet and enjoyable.
The ambience is spectacular with such perfect décor and design — the natural skylight through the dome roof and the view of Brisbane’s Story Bridge and River through the glass windows makes it a perfect location for any event.
Our meal started with an entrée of Salt and Pepper Squid, featuring volcanic black salt, Chinese pepper and lime. Succulent curls of squid were cooked to perfection, and with the accompanying lime and aioli, it was a perfect start to our meal.
For my main meal, I ordered the 200g John Dee Premium Eye Fillet, sourced locally from the Southern Highlands of Queensland, alongside red wine jus and a side of chips with smoked barbecue sauce. My partner ordered the Wood Fired Grilled Salmon with baby beets, goats fetta, sweet potato and horseradish. Both the steak and salmon were cooked perfectly, and there couldn’t be anything put wrong with either meal.
Finally for dessert, we ordered the White Chocolate Parfait and the Mille Feuilles Tatin, which were both devoured and left a perfect finish to an excellent lunch.
We will definitely be dining again at Pony Eagle Street Pier.

For some reason I keep ending up at Pony on each of my Brisbane trips, I’m not sure why but it’s just one of those places that has clicked with me.
One of the many restaurants along the Eagle Street dining precinct, it is privileged have a higher vantage point for river and bridge views from its second storey location.
The interior design of Pony is sleek, almost industrial but still inviting, with its dim lighting, exposed concrete walls and pillars and a hanging basket garden covering much of the main dining area ceiling space. There is seating in main dining area for small groups (1 to 4 diners) with an interesting mix of scattered both round and square timber tables, larger tables off to one side for bigger groups, high tables outside with river views and bar seating. The kitchen is also open view with some bar-​style seating running along one side.
Pony’s food menu is constructed well and divided into a number of sections — Small Plates with entrèe dishes, Big Plates with mains, The Butcher’s Block with an array of steaks and Big Share Plates with a small selection of large meat dishes, it includes a 1.2kg slow roasted lamb shoulder. The cuisine is largely Modern Australian with a focus on steak and some Japanese influences on the small dishes, with dishes like the wagyu tataki, gyoza and teared tuna.
On this visit I ordered the fennel cured salmon with wasabi tobiko, orange, dill and cucumber and a main of the 200g grass fed eye fillet with sides of truffled mash and carrots topped with whey, parsley and walnuts. The salmon was how I imaged it would be, cured salmon seems to be a bit of a trend at the moment, however the orange slices were an interesting and welcomed addition. The steak was cooked perfect, rare, and the quality of the meat was noticeable with some marbling. This was accompanied well by the flavoursome creamy, truffled mash and carrots. The size of the sides was a little too much for one person though.
Dessert was the mille-​feuille tatin with apple, vanilla cream and almond ice cream. This was an interesting dish with the mille-​feuille presented on its side which, although creative, unfortunately was a little impractical as cutting upright pasty caused the dish to fall apart.
Service was great, especially for a busy Saturday night. The food took a little while to come out, though expected.
I keep returning to Pony for a reason and its great food, service and views certainly contribute to a quality casual dining experience.

Again, I’d like to thank Pony for opening its doors and enabling me to have some some delicious eats with friends during the Brisbane Christmas/​Summer shutdown.
I could not make an online reservation for 3, despite being given plenty of seating options for groups of 2 or 4 and above online so not sure what was going on there. We arrived and were told there would be a wait of 30 minutes for a table outside with a view of the bridge so popped down to Mr & Mrs G for a pre-​dinner drink which was all ok. We did raise our eye brows when we were seated at a table of 3 that was free when we first go there, so will assume perhaps someone made a cancellation.
Waitress was absolutely lovely as was the outdoor view of Brisbane River and the Bridge.
Food is fantastic to share, ensuring you get a mix of flavours and dishes to enjoy as a group rather than having individual meals. The steak to share was pretty exceptional and we left very full and satisfied.
The only niggle, that does get me in Australia where wages for service staff are good compared to America and other places in the world, was the little question when putting my card through to ask me if I wanted to add any more to the bill (blatant tip touting). I will tip in Australia for exceptional service but as wages are very good for most people working out here, tipping in restaurants is really is not the norm. It really puts you in the same position as you feel when charity people tout raffle tickets at your door. Spoiled the service a little as I like to discretely tip on merit, rather than be coerced into giving at the end of a meal.
Anyhow, be strong, only tip if you want to and give this place a try, especially if you are new to Brisbane and would like to check out the views of the river over a glass of wine and a tasty feast. ENJOY!

Waiter: John
Total: 149.60 without tip
Food:
Pear salad
Wagyu Meatballs — Dry and somewhat tasteless without the sauce.
Parmesan Truffle French Fries
Lamb cooked over Iron Bark Coal Pit
Duck Breast
Rangers Valley Wagyu Rump (Steak)
Sunday: Not very busy
Arrival: 12:10pm
Left: 2:58pm
Meatballs were served around 1pm. The rest of the meal was served around 1:45pm. Waiter was never filled. Asked for ketchup and we never received it. Waiter never checked to see if everything was alright. I had to ask for check twice. They never picked up the check so I ended up walking to counter to pay. Others around us received their meal before us even though we ordered before them. Restaurant was 80% empty.
Wagyu meetballs were dry and somewhat tasteless without the sauce. Lamb was tender; however, it had no real flavor although they made strong claims about it being cooked over iron bark coal pit. Duck was tough, overcooked, and dry. They tried to mask it with a glaze. Eggplant was average. Truffle fries were good (that’s hard to mess up). We asked for ketchup and never received it. Steak was cold as if it had been sitting out for a while. Lamb was steaming hot which was probably the last part of our meal to be cooked.
Our waiter left a lot to be desired in comparison to every other restaurant we had been to in Australia over the past 6 days. My biggest gripe about this place was the poor service.

Was our Xmas party, we had a second sitting, staff of which there were many we polite and relatively efficient, although sometimes the alcohol was a lottle slow. The food was good without beinf outstanding although my pork cutlet was down on flavour and pannacotta a tad confused but had a zingy flavour although served in jam jars wasa little too cute. Drinks were by consumption so when what we ran out after dinner, no one was really interested in pushing anymore which would have been nice and staff had gine into clean mode as she became focused on that. Not sure what it would be like to just eat as the décor and music type and volume smacks more of bar that food. But in the end everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Pony and Saké are two of the best restaurants in Sydney, and they exist here in downtown Brisbane as well.
I was here in a group of 4 on a busy Friday night recently. It was pretty good but maybe not quite where the experience should have been.
The space was good, big enough to allow room even when it’s very busy. The menu had lots of interesting food on offer. The wine list was fine, although with few low-​end options.
The Crispy School Prawns we had were a little too charred, I thought. Many were just bits of black feet. Although the server who took our order talked up the coal pit lamb she had to come back and say they’d just sold out, and were now offering goat. They didn’t have the listed beer that one of our group asked for. Our steak came rare, not medium-​rare as we’d asked, and had to be sent back for a few minutes.
The steak, once it was cooked right, was really good. The replacement lamb rump we got in lieu of the coal pit lamb was fine. The service was excellent throughout the night. The chocolate fondant dessert was fabulous.
So it averaged out to OK.

Had a superb meal here last night. Great service relaxed but professional. Oysters room for improvement a tad small but tasty. Steak amazing –size, taste, tenderness, everything. I would return and recommend.

I had a really nice and relaxed evening at Pony. Celebrating a birthday at their place it was actually quite easy to reserve a table for Saturday night. The only thing that I was not happy with, was, that when reserving the table, no one actually told me or was asking me if outside seating would be okay. It was quite chilly that night, so we did not stay for too long.
The food was delicious. I was a little disappointed with the Moreton Bay Bugs that I ordered. It came with white beans and fennel as a side. Very salty. But I’ve tried the sirloin steak, lamb of the spit, a couple of different entrees and they were delicious.
The views are amazing as you literally sit in between the beautiful Kangaroo Point Cliffs and the Story Bridge.
I would actually give Pony 3.5 stars, but I rounded it up. Why?
Our waiter was just amazing. And also all the other staff on that evening. Very friendly, very attentive, very knowledgeable. No water glass was ever empty. Very polite. It was obvious though that it was a «new» restaurant and people were not completely settled in yet, still they did an amazing job.

My mum and I wanted to finish off an epic shopping day with a cold beer and something nice to eat on a Saturday afternoon. We spotted Pony after we decided to give the Bavarian beer café a miss, since we both didn’t feel like a heavy meal.
We were seated on the patio after requesting outdoor seating, and promptly ordered from their lunch menu as the kitchen was closing in 5 minutes (at 3pm… I’m still weirded out by kitchens closing after living in sf).
Our beers were served in hurricane glasses, which made them a litte special. They have Kirin on tap! Bonus.
We split a Greek lamb salad and a wagu beef burger. Wow. Talk about a knock out. The lamb was perfect, pink on the inside with a smokey flavour. The goats cheese in the salad was smooth and complemented the balsamic onions scattered through out. The only negative, I wish Australia would catch into the complementary bread thing. As the salad was quite light, it would have been nice to have some bread.
The burger was also a winner. particularly the tomato chutney on it.
We were going to skip dessert, but I’m glad we didn’t! With a real french pastry chef on staff, the recommended hazelnut and fig tart was the meal highlight.
Can’t wait to return and try it out again. The décor was AMAZING!
(I know this restaurant has a baddddd rap for service. I think we got lucky with our French waitress, who was lovely and prompt).