Tiger Eye Bar

Came here on a whim after going for a really long walk, and we were exploring the area near the city and somehow winded up here. I was drawn by their very tasty sounding menu, so we ended up going in and making an order. There was a deal going on where it stated 3 tapas dishes for $40, whereas each tapas dish was usually $15. I was happy to go for this deal because it allowed us to try a few different things for a reasonable price, and when we ordered there was a bit of a hassle because the price didnt reflect what I saw I the menu. I was shortly informed that the offer had only occurred on weekdays, and it was a weekend when I was here so it was completely my mistake. The staff however, was kind enough to had given us the offer regardless, which we were grateful for. We sat outside, and it was during the day so it seemed like it wasnt like fully prepared to be open or something because the place looked a little messy, as there were a few puddles of water on the chairs outside. We had the calamari rings, Kilpatrick oysters, and the tempura prawns. I ordered an additional pork ribs because I was pretty hungry and assumed that they were going to be fairly small servings. When the food arrived, i was gobsmacked by how large it ended up being, but I was excited to get started on eating because it looked absolutely delicious. I had a bit of the tapas platter and they were all delicious and to my expectations. The ribs may have been a mistake for me since Im not an avid fan of bbq sauce, and this was covered in it. Regardless, the ribs was cooked well, and the meat had separated from the bone so easily. It was nice and tender and it was way too much for me to finish. It was a surprisingly good meal that they had served us here, and for very reasonable value as well.

FOOD & DRINK My wife and I dined on a quiet Wed night in late October. For drinks, we ordered a schooner of the house special, my fav Stella Artois, at the reasonable price of 6 pesos, and a non-alcoholic fruit cocktail called Coco Loco, which arrived in a plastic take-away cups with a straw, except we weren’t here for take-aways. For the food, we stuck to a fairly standard ordering protocol of one entrée, and two mains: with the mains being the rack of lamb and a rump steak. The lamb was succulent and tender and served with crispy sweet potato chips and a nice serve of fresh salad. I ordered the rump well done, but it came medium rare, and quite red inside which I detest, but I didn't have the patience to send it back. The meat was tough with a lot of fat and gristle and I didn’t enjoy it. The chips and salad, and the pepper sauce were decent enough. AMBIENCE We found the ambience a bit dull and soulless. Apart from us, there were only two other occupied tables, which didn’t help matters. The décor is fairly utilitarian with low hanging lamps, wooden floors and furniture, although there are comfortable upholstered couches against the back wall. There’s a lot of rather old fashioned, heavy wooden features like the bar counter at the far end, which also adds to the overall gloomy tone. Given the paucity of other diners, the acoustics were good and we were easily able to converse. SERVICE Our server, Mr Raj, seemed to be having an off night, despite the fact that, besides us, he only had two other tables to deal with, and one of those seemed to be ordering only drinks. The coco loco we ordered took ages. When we enquired what had happened, Mr Raj explained that they couldn’t find the bottle, as they didn’t know where the day crew had left it! Odd, but at least he was honest and it did eventually arrive. Which is more than we can say for the entrée that we ordered, and which simply never arrived. I had asked for my steak to be well done, in the end it was medium rare. Add to that, the fact that it took about 25 minutes from ordering till our two meals arrived, and it doesn’t add up to very efficient service. COST After our 30% Eat Club discount, we paid 57 pesos for two drinks and two main meals. In terms of value for money, I’d say it’s just on point. Full price would have been 78 pesos, which would have been too expensive for what was a below par dining experience. TOILETS There are no toilets in the restaurant per se, so you have to take a short walk down the corridor outside and enter another building, which looked like something from the 1950’s, but was quite elegant, with high ceilings, polished floors and sparkling clean toilets, which were well lit and adequately provisioned with soap and a modern hand dryer. PARKING The Barracks provides two hours of free parking in the basement car park. That’s a bit stingy and means that one has to rush through one’s meal, especially if one is planning to do shopping afterwards at Coles or BWS. And given the number of empty spaces in the evenings, the centre managers are shooting themselves in the foot by not allowing unlimited free parking after 6.00pm. In our case, after our meal, we would have liked to shop at Coles and then BWS but as it turned out, given the slow service at T.E, we only had time for a very brief shop at Coles, before having to dash back to our car, so as to avoid an extra charge. Had there been unlimited parking, we would have done a bigger shop at Coles, then stocked up at BWS, but it was not to be! SUMMARY We had a disappointing evening here and I’m not surprised there was such a small turnout. The food was average, although the lamb was superior to the steak. Service was inept and slow. Ambience was gloomy. Toilets are clean and well provisioned, but two hours free parking in the centre in the evenings is not enough especially if you want to do some shopping afterwards. I don’t think we’ll be rushing back.

It’s definitely not about the coffee If you’re looking for a beautiful cup of roasted beans and frothed milk then jog on, this place isn’t interested in serving a Saturday cup of coffee at quality tables or in cups that can be washed. Specifically ordered a cup that wasn’t a take away but still got the quality of paper and plastic

Extremely grateful for their small help during flooding and power outages in Brisbane (I was one of the unlucky people who didn’t have power for 5 days). Didn’t require us to buy anything if we needed to charge any batteries but the hot breakfasts were appreciated. Very friendly staff, tasty food and great drinks.