Flute Fine Foods - Carindale

My sisters have been raving about brunch from Flute for ages, and as I've just moved home to Brisbane I was pretty stoked to see that a new location had

Love this place, I took my brother and his kids here while they were visiting from New Zealand.

Flutes is such a refreshing break from industrial chic overpriced cafes that have now become mainstream.

My friend Benny was staying from Bundy and we were looking for somewhere for breakfast. I saw the truffle and it was love at first sight. There’s an interesting atmosphere, it’s quite quiet and one side is very clean and minimal while the other is busy and luxurious, all in a small space. ...Read full post on wanderwonderwonton.com

I've spent the last 36 hours flip-flopping on how to write this review. I honestly don't know if I've ever experienced such wonderful service (4) and beautifully plated food (4.5) - they even pump air conditioning to their outdoor seating (bonus points) - when the food itself tasted so poor (2). If I was on Instagram and bothered to bring the good camera, Flute Fine Foods would have been everything I could ask for. But the difference between posting pics and writing a review is that the taste, texture and flavor of the food itself is the main event. We ordered the Absolutely Fabulous Scones (that is what they are called - they were not fabulous), Belgian Waffles, Jambon Beurre Baguette, and sides of Bacon, Spicy Chorizo and Chips to go along with an Iced Latte and Babyccino. The Iced Latte was large and had good flavor - 3.5. The Babyccino was beautifully presented, and was served with a marshmallow and a piece of chocolate, as well as a cocktail umbrella. Mini Meatball was more than pleased - 4. The Absolutely Fabulous Scones were freshly baked and were slightly overdone. The texture was more akin to a rustic corn bread than a scone, and it was served with Fruit Compote and Vanilla Bean Infused Double Cream. The scones themselves rated a 3, while the Fruit rated a 4, and the Cream rated a 2 (way too sweet for my taste). Half of the scones went uneaten. Overall, the dish rated a 3. Sadly, the underside of the Belgian Waffles was burnt. This was initially overlooked due to the many flourishes on the plate - Persian Floss (candy floss), Ice Cream, Vanilla Bean Infused Double Cream and Salted Caramel - but was plainly visible after the ice cream accidentally toppled over before I could photograph the dish. Knowingly serving burnt food is a cardinal sin in my book. The dish was also meant to include mixed berries (there was one split strawberry as garnish) and was not meant to have ice cream. The dish that was served to us did not match the menu description and was burnt - all the fancy plating can't make up for that. The waffles rate a 2. The Jambon Beurre Baguette was described as including Leg Ham, Matured Cheddar and Cracked Pepper. The baguette and the ham were fine, but the shaved cheese did not taste like matured cheddar. If it was an aged cheddar, it wasn't a good one, though I suspect it might have actually been a Pecorino Romano or Grana Padano. Either way, the ham baguette missed the mark - 2.5. Unfortunately, the side of bacon was served with the same shaved cheese on top. It looked beautiful, but the cheese's flavor detracted from the bacon. This rated a 3. The Spicy Chorizo was plated on the same plate as the bacon and was served with some kind of Sweet Corn Salsa, a green sauce and drizzled with a glaze. Like the bacon, it looked beautiful, but the flavor of the chorizo was in competition with several other flavors that I did not find complimentary. I had to push myself to eat one of the two chorizos, but just couldn't bring myself to eat the second one. I mentioned to the waitress that I didn't enjoy the dish, noting an unpleasant tangy flavor. She advised that this was a BBQ Balsamic Glaze and that she would pass my feedback to the chef. It is a shame, because I suspect that the chorizo on its own would have been quite nice. As it was, it rated a 1. The chips were good - nice and crunchy. The aioli was quite runny and a bit heavy on the lemon. The chips and aioli rate a 3.5. Hopefully the kitchen was just having a bad day. I may revise my rating lower to a 2.5, but it just feels so harsh for a restaurant that did so many things right...sadly the food just wasn't one of them.