Gaslight Bistro

A small friendly bistro opposite New Farm Cinemas. They serve decent snack food and plenty of drinks. Pretty busy place on the weekends, as it’s the only open nearby around midday. Live jazz music is a plus!

The first time we ended up at Gaslight Bistro my partner and I cursed ourselves for not finding this beautiful little restaurant snuggly presented in an unassuming Queenslander before. We had been wasting our time with sub-​standard meals and ordinary service for too long, if only we had discovered this place sooner!
We ordered drinks to start and I enjoyed a non-​alcoholic mocktail (mocktail with Apple, strawberry, rose and ginger). It was light, fruity and fun for a night I wanted to sidestep the booze.
For dinner I ordered the duck breast, smoked celery, apple and salt baked celeriac off the specials board. It had just gone up that day and I was excited. Being gluten free in this fair city dishes up its challenges (pun intended) and it had been a long, long time since I’d been able to eat duck. The helpful wait staff assured me this was totally 100% OK for me to eat and I jumped at the chance.
The staff explained our meals would come out when they were ready and would be served immediately to ensure ultimate freshness from stove to table. We were encouraged to eat up as soon as it arrived.
Despite the warning our meals came out after around 25 minutes and within a few minutes of each other. This meant we were able to dig in without to much concern for the other person gnawing on the table out of hunger and frustration as can sometimes happen.
And this is where I start raving.
My duck was exquisite. More than exquisite, it was exultant. Stunningly presented with a symphony of flavours that surprisingly weren’t at all overworked, all mingling in my mouth. The celery taste and texture was so different in each element but so precisely presented that it just sang in a beautiful unison.
it was a very generous serving with all of the elements combined and I was going on and on about the dish the whole time I ate.
My fiancé’s choice was the beef brisket with smoked oyster mayonnaise, pickled kohlrabi, and horseradish. He agreed with my raving, his meal was delicious but after tasting his and having been deprived of duck for so long, I held out that my choice was superior to his. ;)
I recommend trying to sit on the balcony of this beautiful restaurant to soak up the character of the area and people watch as you eat and drink. It’s laid-​back while still being extremely polished and it’s just perfect for an intimate dinner.
New Farm Cinemas is just across the road and provides a fantastic double-​whammy for your next date. Who can go wrong with dinner, drinks and a film at two exceptionally cool places that are ACROSS THE ROAD?! Ultimate convenience.
My only advice is to leave time to locate a car park, or find other arrangements as street parking is scarce over this part of town (Über is great for places like this).
Now stop reading this and get yourself booked in for a brunch or dinner at this beautiful little gem in New Farm. You won’t regret it.