Spanish culinary appreciation reaches new heights at Ortiga, the labour of love of Simon Hill, former owner of Isis Brasserie, and head chef Pablo Tordesillas, a veteran of Michelin-starred London restaurants as well as Brisbane's Bar Alto and Sydney's Otto.
First thing you see is the chic street-level bar, where you begin your journey across the 40-page wine list, easily one of the most comprehensive wine lists in Brissie, let alone Australia. After bites like freshly shucked oysters and sardines in olive puree, it's time to descend into the underground dining room, a warm bunker of Spanish seduction.
Tordesillas's molecular-inflected menu makes an impact with dishes like the braised leg and seared breast of quail with foie gras, or the whole roasted flounder with a refrito sauce. Most of the menu is in Spanish, but the wait staff - or a fluent friend - are sure to explain anything too tricky.
Adam Bub
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Dinner
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Bar: Tue-Sun 4pm-late Restaurant: Tue-Sun 6pm-late
Spanish and Tapas
Signature dish: Jamon iberico (cured ham)
Mains: $17-$30
Tapas $3-$25; Cured meats $8-$56
Payment accepted: MasterCard, Visa and EFTPOS
Licensed with bar. Wine is available by the glass.
This venue accepts bookings. Group bookings are supported.
All reviews and ratings are the expressed opinions of our users, and in no way reflects the opinions of yourRestaurants, its staff and its affiliates.
Posted by:
lover_of_food
|
8 August 2010, 10.28am
All my expectations were met!
I am a lover of food, it is my passion. I have been wanting to dine at Ortiga for sometime, and finally made the booking for a Saturday night. We arrived after 8:30pm, and every table was full. I knew what most of the spanish words on the menu meant, so I did not require the full explanation, but when I did it was provided with eloquence and understanding. We selected 5 of the tapas style, and one main. 4 out of the 5 tapas were amazing, I am still thinking of them now, and two of my favourites I have just found on the bar menu upstairs, so I am heading back today (the day after) to have them again, that is how brilliant they are. I loved the tastings of the hams in different age brackets and percentages of breed. The bottle of wine I had from the Mercia region was great and of the pinot noir style that I favour. After we finished that, the waitress said I should try a glass of the Rioja, which was even better. Service was good, could have tried to have sold me up on the wine. Food was amazing and met my expectations, and the fit-out of the restaurant is great. Very happy, and not resenting my $100+ tip at all!
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Visit: Sat 7 August 2010
Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by:
lilly lala
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7 May 2010, 8.57am
What a disappointment
We love Spanish food and like to think we know it well - we have been to the best spanish restaurants in London (according to the critics) and have travelled widely through Spain over many years. We know the difference between tapas sized portions and racione sized portions. I mention this because at the start of our evening the waiter explained that the dishes for the most part are racione sized. In my experience that's more than a few mouthfuls and having had a quick google, yes, raciones are enough for 2-3 to share. Well, we were 3 and we had on average for each of the pathetically mean and ridiculously overpriced dishes about 2, maybe 3 mouthfuls each and I am not exaggerating! To make matters worse, we waited 2 hours for these 5 dishes which came out in painfully slow gaps. The annoying thing is that the food is delicious but I cannot recall ever going out for dinner and leaving at the end so annoyed and unsatisfied. We were there for a special occasion and the whole thing was a massive let down. We did say to the waiter that the portions were too small for 3 to share and that we did not have enough food. He explained that the chef had been in Noosa and was a bit off form so food was coming slowly. Not good enough! We will certainly not be back.
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Visit: Thu 6 May 2010
Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by:
drsisyphus
|
18 February 2010, 2.20pm
Patronising fare
Now I don't know about you but as an Australian, I am not fluent in Spanish. Yet this restaurant provides customers with a menu which is 95% Spanish with almost no explanations of what each dish is and how is it prepared. To me, I am the customer, and I am there to chose food that tempts me and that I will enjoy. I am not there to be made to feel small and ignorant by a restaurant and that is what this place does....repeatedly. For example,we asked the waitress to explain what some fo the meals were and her response was "duh. That's what they pay me to do. That's my job." Excuse me for asking. Her explanation was almsot incomprehensible. When presenting information orally, waiters need to slow doen, to give you time to process the information and imagine the food. The explanation was rattled off very quickly. We were also given a condescending explanation as to the meaning of "tapas." And then the meals arrived. Tiny insignificant, fussy portions. Two tiny filleted sardines for about $20 AUD!!
On the plus side they have an extensive wine menu but this restaurant is not about service. It is about condescending, looking down and making customers feel stupid. Would I go there again? No. Would I recommend it? No. Fussy, fiddly food presented with arrogance.
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Visit: Tue 16 February 2010
Mealtime: dinner
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