Verve Restaurant Bar Cider House

www.vervecafe.com.au

Apparently Verve's actual title is longer than we thought, Verve Restaurant Bar Cider House is certainly a mouthful. Located in the basement of the Metro Arts Centre on Edward Street in the city, its certainly more difficult to find than we thought as well. After a performance at La Boite Theatre on a weeknight, we were looking for somewhere to eat in the city and thought we might try it out. 

They certainly nailed the basement look. Descending a staircase, the restaurant is brick walled and very dark. The place was noisy and we got a student vibe from the patrons. Seating involves plastic orange chairs, but tables are plenty. There is a bar up the very back,  not that we ventured far. 

Verve serves up italian food, and also has a considerable cider list. We aren't sure, but there must not be many bars in Brisbane with such a variety. I ordered my glass of usual sauv blanc, however L decided on a Bulmers pear cider (500ml, $10). Served on ice, it was most refreshing. Other varieties sound quite interesting, including Rekorderlig strawberry and lime, and St Helier pear and blackcurrent and I regret not trying one of these.

We were both in the mood for pasta, and noted the menu is definitely full of different types of creamy pastas and risottos. We usually try to order tomato based pastas to be healthier and because we prefer the taste, but there wasn't much in the way of these that I wanted to order.

Whilst deciding on our mains, we elected to munch on Verves pan bread ($6), topped with kalamata olives, fetta and basil. Unfortunately it was also topped with a substantial amount of salt, which we didn't feel was necessary due to the saltiness of the olives. Nevertheless, it was definitely good to munch on and helped to calm down our hungry stomachs. 

I decided on the Goats cheese and chicken gnocci with pumpkin, rosemary and cream ($22). A substantial portion with plenty of goats cheese, I found the creamy sauce to be delicious but was unable to eat more than half as I started to feel a bit queasy. Thats my fault for ordering a creamy sauce, I suppose. The pumpkin was thinly sliced into large pieces with the skin still on, I feel it would be more user friendly with cubed softer portions. 

Pork belly linguini with garlic, chilli, shitake mushrooms, mint and olive oil ($22) was L's choice and certainly very Asian inspired. Pork belly pieces were plentiful and flavours were strong, although no mintiness was detected.

Verve doesn't serve up food you will be amazed by, but is a solid choice if you happen to be in the city and want Italian food. We can see that some might be put off by the basement location and the noisiness however, and it would likely suit a younger crowd. Head there if you wish to try out some interesting ciders.

C.