Kitchen at Treasury Casino

Wanting a simple but nice lunch in the city, somewhere indoors to escape the mixture of humidity and summer showers we've been experiencing lately and the casino came to mind. Downstairs is the aptly named Kitchen, simple and easy meals, a good variety of burgers, steak, ribs and salads. It was well after midday but I hadn't had breakfast so my lunch choice was theVegetarian Big Breakfast, the exact same thing as their regular Big Breakfast, just without the bacon. Yes, shock horror I didn't feel like bacon. But I definitely felt like coffee and their Brazilian Blend of coffee was delicious. I almost drank it in one big sip. The poach eggs were just perfect with the sourdough bread and a bit of butter. Lovely mushroom, but I found the spinach to be a little bitter on this occasion. And there was a mini stack of hash browns made from shredded potatoes and seasoned with herbs. These were so cute and tasty.

Sometimes there's nothing better than a fantastic burger and fries. Their special was the Tempura Barramundi Burger with a side of fries (presented in a steel basket, so quirky) and salad. I snuck a bite and it was interesting and delicious, definitely not a plain old fish burger. Fresh fish which you could definitely taste, not bland at all with lettuce and a kick of lemon slaw. Of course fish & coleslaw go perfectly together.

 There's a display of beautifully delicious desserts when you walk in, spoiled for choice from fruity tarts, pavlova, chocolate mousse to flourless white chocolate. But the pistachio hazelnut definitely caught my eye. Creamy pistachio on top, a layer of hazelnut cake and coconut sprinkled on the bottom, best eaten with a mouthful of all flavours. It's such a beautifully decorated restaurant with a cosy feel.

Harvey's Bar and Bistro, James Street

James St, Fortitude Valley was my destination in mind for a Sunday Lunch with mum. I was curious to try the Haloumi-crumbed chicken schnitzel but felt more like fish since it's lighter. Mum chose the beer-battered fish and chips with tartare and I picked the Salmon, corn salsa, salad and herb-yoghurt dressing. From the description it sounded great but I was pleasantly surprised to find pan-fried Polenta under my salmon. The salmon was cooked medium-rare with a crispy skin, which is just perfect as it's not too dry, the salad was fresh and a nice side compliment. The polenta was a good match for salmon  it tasted amazing and was the perfect consistency. Drizzled a bit of lime on top and it melted in my mouth with a zesty flavour. On the other hand Mum found the beer-battered fish and chips fairly average, the fish was a bit oily and the chips and salad accompanying the dish were very standard. For the price of $25 we expected something a little more exciting. Service was friendly and the atmosphere was relaxed perfect for a lunch date.

Harvey's James St, Fortitude Valley

La Linea Caffe

La Linea is the ideal lazy sunday lunch style cafe. Located on Old Cleveland Road in Coorparoo, it's definitely one of the suburbs highlights. Best of all they do an all-day breakfast. Spoilt for choice I ended up ordering the Avocado and Haloumi stack, with 2 poached eggs on top of a slice of turkish bread, with rocket and pine nuts scattered around. This was surrounded with a circle of balsamic vinegar which I took so much pleasure in dipping each bite into.

I've been to La Linea a few times and have always found it to be wonderful, such friendly and polite staff, relaxing atmosphere and the food is exceptional with delicious coffee.