Berado’s – Hastings Street, Noosa

Berado’s

The Wednesday before the wedding, Will and I had our last romantic dinner just the two of us before we became husband and wife.

Despite the fact that we’ve both been visiting the Sunshine Coast for more than 20 years, neither of us had ever been to Berado’s. It’s a lovely restaurant on Hastings street with a laid-back but elegant beach feel.

The service is very professional and the menu consists mainly of locally-sourced produce. I can verify this fact because the Berado’s chef is the reason I couldn’t buy any halloumi at the markets the following morning. He’d bought them out!

Berado’s

In case you’re wondering, no I didn’t take the camera on our last date but we were lucky enough (0ops typed clucky enough the first time… must be spending too much time with my friend and her baby girls!), to visit again last weekend when we stayed with mum and dad.

The food was just as good as the first visit.

Amuse bouche

Berado’s does offer a 6 course degustation with matching wines but we opted for a la carte.

As soon as we’d placed our orders the waiter brought out a little amuse bouche for each of us. I’m not a big fan of soup but I rather enjoyed the lentil puree with duck prosciutto. It was hearty but light at the same time.

Multigrain bread roll

‘Multigrain or wholewheat?’

That was the bread selection. I went for multigrain. It was a yummy bread roll, served with butter, but not spectacular.

Setting the scene

The pianist reminded me a little of our wedding. Not that we had a pianist but she was playing music like ‘the way you look tonight.’ It was really beautiful and not too loud either. I have issues with restaurants with loud music. I like to be able to hear the people I’m eating with and not have to scream for them to hear me.

I’m probably very backward but I was impressed/wowed that she was reading the music from her iPad. So techno!

Exotic Mushroom Risotto – Truffle Tapenade, Yarra Valley Marinated Fetta, Oregano $21 for entree size

On to the entrees. I was in charge of ordering starters so of course there was a mushroom dish. This was my favourite out of the three. The mushroom to rice ratio was quite biased towards mushrooms which is just the way I like it. They were perfectly cooked (not mushy like they can be). The fetta on top has me nearly licking the plate.

Hervey Bay Scallops – Avocado, Saffron Fennel & Bottarga, Maleny Peppers $24

It would have been a nice touch if we’d been given four scallops so we could have one each and I thought $24 was a little steep but it was quite tasty. Note the use of the very in-fashion edible flowers.

I also got my first taste of botaga. I’m still at a bit of a loss to describe what it tastes like given that it was just a very small sprinkle on the side. What I did like was that the fennel didn’t stand out. I can’t stand the stuff but it lended itself to the dish nicely when combined with the other flavours.

Noosa Spanner Crab Raviolo – Noosa Red Consommé, Flowers $22

The last dish (sorry for the terrible yellow pic!) was a raviolo of Noosa Spanner crab. I really liked this (flowers again!) but mum thought he consomme was a little to acidic.

Wild Barramundi – Cherry Tomatoes, Organic Olives, Beans, Preserved Lemon $34

Now on to the mains. Bad food blogger that I am I was too engrossed in my meal to even ask mum how her fish was. I assume it was good because there was none left.

‘Kilcoy’(Qld) Marinated Eye Fillet – Red Wine Jus $37

I wasn’t going to order the eye fillet after hearing dad and Will were ordering the same thing but I just love eye fillet at restaurants. Try as I might, I can never make it quite as delicious as in a restaurant.

The fillet came sliced in four with a red wine reduction.

Eye fillet

I wouldn’t really give them points for presentation. The sauce looked quite messy (more flowers!), not that it bothered me though. I devoured it in record time. It was buttery tender and so so so tasty.

I thought that the sauce had a bit of an Asian flavour to it. When I asked the waiter what it was he came back and listed every ingredient which gives them brownie points in my book.

Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes & Italian Leaf Salad

Each eye fillet came with a side of duck fat roasted potatoes and a salad. I didn’t touch my salad. I’m of the school of thought that lettuce is a waste of stomach space and not worth the effort it takes to eat it (sorry if I offend anyone – give me veges over lettuce any day!) but the potatoes, which I think were kipfler were deliciously crisp and I managed to get through the whole bowl.

Apple and cinnamon sorbet

After the mains we were presented with a very tasty sorbet. It was a bit like a frozen apple sauce, which might not sound great but to me it is a compliment.

Bombe Alaska – Berry Ice Cream, Hot Chocolate Sauce 19

Please don’t judge me but yes I had the whole Bombe Alaska to myself. It wasn’t nearly as big as it looks I swear.

Bombe Alaska

I love to order things that I wouldn’t usually make at home so my eyes went straight to the Bombe Alaska. Every mouthful, from the berry ice-cream and meringue topping to the crumbly brownie bottom and chocolate fudge sauce, was scrumdidilly.

Espresso and petit fours

It’s the little things that stand out at Berado’s. Before the bill two plates of teeny tiny cakes were brought out. One was an orange madeline and the other, mini walnut loaves. They were the perfect way to finish (not that I needed anything else!).

Berado’s

Berado’s is the perfect restaurant for a romantic dinner or small group. They also hold functions. I could picture a beautiful wedding there.

Will’s favourite painting

Berado’s is open 7 days from 6pm. It is located on the upper level, Ocean Breeze Resort, Hasting’s Street, Noosa Heads.

Berado’s