Menu
Menu
It’s being sold as an ‘alpine-inspired winter wonderland’, but instead of being cosy and wonderful, my Brisbane winter village experience left me cold.
I’d been looking forward to lunch in a private ‘igloo’ for weeks, the thought of sipping \warming beverages and soaking up the wintry vibes was an appealing one, especially in the age of Covid.
As with so many events these days, the online photos of the pop-up looked enticing, and as I hadn’t been up to Brissie in a while I thought $69 a pop for a ‘premium’ package sounded reasonable enough – so I bought two tickets and invited a friend to join.
A ‘magical winter wonderland’ it is not – if you’re tossing up between an afternoon by the fire at the Fox & Hound at Tamborine or this, go with the former.
Apart from the fact that it didn’t feel like winter – Brisbane is a far-cry from a traditional winter destination like Tassie or the Alpine regions – the location was all wrong and the accompanying ice-skating rink hardly worth considering given the number of people fighting for every inch.
Our hopes were that the private igloo dining experience would turn things around.
We were grateful that our igloo was in the shade, because true to form the day we were booked it was a balmy 23-degree winter’s day and within a few minutes of sitting down we were looking for ventilation.
I had ordered a gluten-free meal for myself (they did cater for vegan and gluten free diets according to their website), but as the starters came out they set the tone for what was to follow – it was going to be a long 90-minute sitting. The stock-standard mezze board was nothing out of the box, in fact I could have done better myself. Then came the mains – hot chips, deep fried chicken, prawn rolls for Megan, and a less than fresh coleslaw, a green salad that I had to dig around to find anything other than lettuce, and a poor excuse for a prawn cocktail.
To add salt to the wound, despite repeatedly asking, we were served our second drink about 10 minutes before our session was due to end, and politely asked to drink it by the bar as our sitting was over – talk about a bubble burster.
To make up your own mind, head to the Brisbane Winter Village website.
*** The writer was a fee-paying customer.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been a writer, combining that with an inquisitive mind and a desire for adventure and cultural immersion, and well, that’s me.
