Anise

Ph: (07) 3358 1558; 697 Brunswick St, NEW FARM 4005 www.anise.com.au

Modern French, $$ +, ** for Ambience, Good Wine List
Open Mon-Thu 5-11pm Fri-Sat noon-midnight (kitchen) 1am (bar); Licensed, BYO; AE MC V EFT, Seats inside 21
Chef Jonathan Bryant (27-12-07) Owner Guy Edensor (27-12-07)

Mietta's Review
One of Australia's best wine bars hides in this tiny New Farm shopfront. Sixteen can sit at the bar and four at the window table. That's it. At the bar, simple but very adequate food is served. A blackboard lists a few wine specials and the shelves behind the bar groan. However, to alleviate their load you must talk to the bar staff who will then unlock their comprehensive knowledge of wine. As most wines can be ordered by the glass, the evening tends to unfold as a vinous voyage with the trusty bar staff, your pilots, steering you to a clearer (though perhaps not in the short term) understanding of wine at a reasonable but, depending on your capacity, not inconsiderable cost.

Other published opinions

Courier Mail food and wine guide Queensland 2008 Score: 14/20 "This pint-sized stayer melds modern bistro and super-wine bar. The many different styles and international boutique labels attract discerning drinkers and the culinarily curious"

Courier Mail Lizzie Loel, 22-10-2007 "AS HOLES in the wall go, Anise is one of the best and has become a national favourite, particularly with hospitality workers and those who love a good glass of wine and plate of wine-friendly Francophilic food. Originally the brainchild of local wine guru Tony Harper, the concept was a 17-seat wine bar with a freestyle wine list (read no wine list - just hundreds of bottles lined up and the odd blackboard scribble tacked up around the walls) and a rustic menu that featured pigs trotters stuffed with foie gras, cassoulet and prunes wrapped in bacon and the like"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "It's dimly lit but Anise is a bright star on the Brisbane dining scene. Pull up a stool to its tiny bar (the restaurant seats just 21) and order a platter of charcuterie, or chevre-stuffed semi-dried figs wrapped in Bayonne ham"

Brisbane News Dining Out Guide 2007 "This 17-seat European wine bar is intimate and sophisticated, with a focus on food and wine matching"

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Australian Restaurant Guide "Blink and you'll miss Anise on this lively dining strip: it seats just 21 along a J-shaped stone bar. Bistro food with an urban edge to match the setting consistently keeps it a cut above the usual in flavour and presentation. Smoke suffuses the two-way salmon (hotsmoked and cold-smoked), which makes an elegant entree on generous buckwheat blini."

Courier-Mail Goodlife Restaurant Guide 2006 * "Chef Norman Belts tasty French-inspired fare ensures Anise is more than just a good wine bar. Perched at the stylish comptoir you can picture yourself in Paris as easily as New Farm."

Brisbane News Eating Out Guide 2006 "Good things come in small packages, especially at this 22-seat bar where you'll find tasty, rustic fare with a French provincial influence, and an inspired and extensive wine list."

Courier-Mail GoodLife Bar Fiona Donnelly 23/8/05 "STEPPING into New Farm's Anise is rather like entering someone's lounge room. The well-designed bar has comfortable leather stools but seats only 16 (with another four at the window)"

Courier-Mail Goodlife Restaurant Guide 05 "It's an icon and a beacon of sophistication to the wine aware all over town and beyond. Seventeen seats isn't much, but they are prized and very comfy. Anise is a glace to relax and know you will soon ingest some great things, both culinary and vinous."

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2005 Best bars "the best bar in town, with a freestyle wine list, awesome French provincial food and great atmosphere"

Brisbane News Dining Out Guide 2004 "This hole-in-the-wall wine bar seats only 22, but boasts an excellent menu, matched by one of the most interesting wine lists in town. Expand your wine knowledge as you choose from more than 200 drops."

Brisbane News 08/04 Natascha Mirosch score 8/10 "At Anise, about 90 whites and 100 reds are available by the glass, with an additional 30 by the bottle. The wine list is mostly verbal, filed away in the vast mental cellars of Kiwi sommelier Jodi Woodcock and co-owner Guy Edensor, who are both well-equipped to advise on the best matches for their rustic French-inspired cuisine. "

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 1 Black Star,'What Anise lacks in size it makes up for in style and comfort...There's a serious wine culture going on here...deliciously rustic style in the kitchen is perfectly suited to the casual dinner party-style atmosphere.The food is colourful and beautfully presented, with lots of interesting morsels to have with a drink, as well as more substantial items on the dinner menu.'

2002 Eating Out Guide, Brisbane News