Lure at the Coro
Cuisine: Seafood

www.thecoro.com

28 McDougall Street
Milton, Brisbane
07 33699955

Yes, its my turn for a birthday post now! This is just the first instalment from a few weeks ago before my friend Froggy left on a trip. She’s away for my actual birthday so we celebrated early.  Birthday girl’s choice, so I picked seafood, and we headed to the Lure restaurant at the Coro.

When you walk up the stairs you find a trendy little bar/waiting area with a $5 beer menu for Fridays, including some imported beers. Strangely they list Tiger beer as a beer from Thailand which this Monky with parents from Singapore can safely say is from Singapore, not Thailand. I contemplated mentioning this to someone there but the last time I was with someone who mentioned an error in the drinks menu (bar to remain unnamed) it started the bar manager on a big rant about something that we could care less about. (Long story, ask me in person next time).

From the moment we stepped into the restaurant we found the staff to be very friendly and they really did provide excellent service. Our reservation had gone missing but they were able to fit us in and were apologetic about the disappearing booking. Our waiter was very attentive and took the time to explain all the specials in delicious detail. And it had quickly spread from the woman who seated us to our waiter that it was a special occasion.

On to dinner. Since it was “my birthday” I wanted to try lots of the entrees, and convinced my dinner companions to order the following with me.

Jindi Triple Cream Brie & Sweet Potato Fritters. Chive & Potato Scone, Pecorino Cheese & Baby Spinach Leaves

Lobster Tortellini. Bouillabaisse & Thyme Sauce, Petite Herb Salad

Scallops!

And of course…

A plate of 24 oysters (in four styles), for only $50! Natural, Kilpatrick, Oysters Retro – Black sesame tempura oysters with black bean aioli and a dash of wasabi oil, and Oysters Rockefeller – Baked oysters with spinach and garlic cream topped with Tasmanian salmon roe.

The Oysters Retro and Oysters Rockefeller worked well for the non-oyster-eating diners at our table. And for the rest of us (namely me) I enjoyed them all. The oysters were fresh and I thought the price was great for the number of oysters and it also allowed us to try each style.

Onto the mains…

There was the fish of the day, if memory serves me correctly it was Snapper, with a choice of two kinds, and we chose the Gold Band Snapper. This was the freshest tasting fish I have ever eaten. Not just the fish itself but the way it was cooked with the lovely flavours of coriander and bean sprouts. So tasty. And a very large portion for just one man (which is why we could all try some!).

Froggy ordered a Live Whole Mud Crab. They had one 700g crab left and it had Froggy’s name on it. She chose to have it chilled with salad, potatoes and dipping sauces. The crab was very tasty and of course we all loved the potatoes. The three sauces were an aioli, a seafood sauce and also a “chilli sauce”. To give you an indication of how spicy the “chilli sauce” was, when Froggy and I were trying to figure out what the sauces were before we bothered to ask anyone, we thought that sauce as a capsicum sauce. Absolutely no kick, and usually I find things spicy that are only peppery to others. Other than that, the crab was wonderful.

This was the Pan Seared Coral Trout with Grilled Prawns on a celeriac and leek puree with blood peach butter sauce. I almost ordered this but luckily I didn’t because I really don’t like the flavour of celery. I did when I was little but now I can’t stand it. However Mr Monky who ordered this one LOVES celery and he enjoyed this dish immensely. I had a taste of the coral trout and it was fresh and I loved the crispy skin. I didn’t get to try the grilled prawns but was told they were very good.

And finally this was my main, grilled barramundi and soft shell crab on a bed of potato mixed with a leafy green vegetable and topped with asparagus. The soft shell crab was AMAZING and it was very sad that there was only a tiny piece on top. It made me wish I had ordered the soft shell crab entree as well. But the fish was beautifully done, again very fresh, and the potato was delicious.

This is how much I loved my meal.

We weren’t going to order dessert, because the plan was to head somewhere else for coffee and sweets, but since it was my birthday (almost) our waiter let me know that they would be giving me a complimentary dessert of my choosing.

Passionfruit Brulee with pistachio nut biscotti was my choice and it was such a good one. The brulee was lovely and the biscotti was the nicest biscotti I have ever eaten. In fact I usually find that I don’t even like biscotti, but everyone loved this one and there was barely enough to share around.

Lure has been winning awards and its not hard to see why. The seafood is fresh and prepared elegantly and the wait staff have perfect manners. They really made it an enjoyable dining experience and a wonderful early birthday.