West End Garden

LOCATION
Corner of Boundary and Melbourne Streets, near the Melbourne Hotel.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
In a cool contrast to the searing Brisbane heat on busy Boundary Street, West End Garden boasts an outdoor seating area with a water feature and tropical-style plants. The restaurant tends to fill up on weekends, with punters spilling out into fold-out tables on the footpath. A Garden banquet menu caters for tables of three or more, and the Vietnamese and Chinese menus are equally tempting. A meat focus is evident in the selection, with dozens of different styles of beef, chicken, lamb and seafood on offer. At West End Garden it’s possible to try something new, such as the pepper chicken, flaming pork ribs, Vietnamese-style barbecue duck or sugar cane prawns. But the familiar Chinese and Vietnamese favourites are also available, with pho soup and Chinese-style lemon chicken not far from sight.

West End Garden proudly offers refreshing traditional drinks, too. The Vietnamese-style iced coffee packs some uber-sweet condensed milk, and a freshly squeezed lemonade is sweet and lip-smackingly tart too. Dessert is also a high priority at this relaxed restaurant, with deep-fried ice-cream the list-topper, followed by the house speciality of coconut pudding, and lychees or mango with ice-cream. The tasty food and the cool exotic touch of the outdoor garden make West End Garden the perfect destination for a comfortable and easy night out.

Ilana Tulloch