Nickel Kitchen & Bar
Fortitude Valley
NICKEL KITCHEN & BAR IS CLOSED AT END OF 2017 AND AWAITS NEW OWNERS.
Nickel Kitchen and Bar is a vision of old world glamour and Euro chic in Fortitude Valley, with a retro-inspired menu and a wine list that is up there with Brisbane’s best.
Step through the sliding entrance door into a stunning other worldly art deco style room with dark-wood panelled walls, dining booths with marble tables, sheer curtains, a chandelier made from champagne glasses and a smooth soundtrack from the golden era of rock’n’roll.
Customers can take a seat at the bar and enjoy a pre-dinner aperitif, post-dinner nightcap or dine European style from a bar list that includes Spanner Crab Cakes, Oysters Natural Kilpatrick or Rockefeller, Flat Breads (Sobrasada, Four Cheese or Hot Smoked Salmon), Duck Liver Pate or ‘Poutine’ fries.
Yet Nickel Kitchen and Bar is best enjoyed by partaking in a sit down lunch or dinner (perfect for a date or special occasion). The menu includes classics from the 60s, 70s and 80s, but with a contemporary lift, so a whole new generation can enjoy Tuna Tartare, French Onion Soup, Grilled Moreton Bay Bugs, Duck a L’Orange, Chicken Kiev and Steak Diane, but not as you know it.
At Nickel Kitchen Tuna Tartare comes served with sesame, soy and parmesan crisp, Steak Diane is 300g Tajima 100% Full Blood Wagyu Sirloin with sauce Diane fries and leaf salad and the must try Chicken Kiev is Barossa Valley Chicken with garlic butter, heirloom vegetables and herb crumb.
As for Dessert, Red Wine Poached Pear, Baked Apple Crumble are delicious blasts from the past but the star is the Bombe Alaska, a work of art designed to share.
Wine buffs will be in heaven here, with a top notch wine menu that could take years to go through and try everything and, luckily a sommelier on had to advise the best matches for the dishes.
Wines from owner TJ Peabody’s family winery Craggy Range feature heavily on the list and black and white photos on the wall show the winery in operation, while the rest of the list takes a trip around the regions of Australia and the globe. Along with French Bordeaux Burgundy, Alsace and Loire Valley wines and German, Argentinian and Spanish wine, there’s a whole section devoted to Nebbiolo, Saigiovese and Italian Blends and Sweet and Fortified wines from Spain and Portugal.
Beer drinkers can choose from one Newstead Brewing and 3 Stone and Wood beers on tap and a small selection of craft beers and international beers.
Cocktails come classic with a twist such as Old-fashioned (I’ll be Damned), Long Island Smoked Tea, Sazerac and Pineapple Mojito or Nickel’s own Creations, such as Orient Fizz (Remy Martin Cognac, ginger, Chinese 5 spice, lemon juice and soda) or Walkers Wild Side (Johnnie walker Black Label, Antica Formula Aperol and maple syrup served up in smoke).
In a nutshell – Nickel Kitchen and Bar is a class act, reviving a golden age of dining with a dash of 21st century panache.
Need to know - Nickel Kitchn and Bar is also open for an elegant brunch on weekends - think Boudin Blanc and Eggs, and NKB's own pastries and waffles.