Trevor Pepys reviews Thomas Corner Eatery
I probably don’t need to say this, but Trevor is a big fan of stating the bleeding obvious, and a worthy exponent of it to boot. When it comes to names for restaurants, he likes nothing better than a street address or the name of the chef or owner hanging on the shingle.
No need for ick-making clever buggery like Thai Me Kangaroo Down or banal does hip, like the ubiquitous Margaritaville variations for anywhere that puts pineapple on a pizza, for God’s sake. So, Trev’s favourites include Number Six, Bill’s, Casa Anita, Hot Gillies, then cleverly Filligan’s, Palmer’s and Thomas Corner Eatery. It’s a good honest name for what it is, and it evokes some of my fave Brit establishments, like Kensington Wine Room, which tells you exactly what it is, and Jamie Oliver’s 15, which wasn’t the street number but the average age of their chefs, but you get my drift.
So Thomas Corner immediately appealed as a BS-free zone when it opened a decade ago under the guidance of David Rayner, a true star in the tucker firmament, local and otherwise. Simple d¨¦cor, verging on industrial chic but tempered by a river view, classy but affordable menu, tailored to very casual thongs and tees folks who have companies listed on NASDAQ.
But Trev, (who doesn’t, by the way, have a tech empire, currently) hadn’t visited in far too long when the other night he found himself caught short between legs too wobbly for the walk after a session at the Yottie, and a sudden Uber drought. Staggering to Thomas Street, bride in hand, he trotted gladly up the stairs of the Eatery and was offered a table that afforded the view of stars over the river but was far enough to keep the sea breeze off. Perfect.
David Rayner once described his Eatery food philosophy as, “No froths, frills or fancy garnishes. Just food people love to eat.” No better way to put that to the test than to order off the bar bites casual menu, mixing some regional seafood with a local ham hock terrine, and smoothing out the wrinkles with a reliable Tar and Roses Pinot Grigio ($52, and here we go again, Martin Field, where’s the house option!)
Tar and Roses is a decent quaffer, no problems there, just the price. But let’s get to the tucker, which was light and excellent, giving Trev pause for thought as to why he hadn’t been back in a long while. Needing to get home to monitor the latest Trump outrage and the Dan Andrews blunder of the day on the late news, we ordered everything at once, and so it came.
Coal-grilled king prawns with smoked paprika and mayo ($18), Fraser Island spanner crab with potato cake ($12) and ham hock terrine with garlic toast and grain mustard ($19). A quirky combo for sure, but this worked a treat and was plenty for two people. The prawns were probably the star dish, but jeez it was close. And the terrine fitted perfectly in the middle, before a perfectly-concocted crab hash brown. Yum.
Of course, she who is never satisfied insisted on sharing a honeycomb chocolate mousse ($16), which was a lovely way to finish an evening, can’t think of anything I’d rather do. (And if you’re old enough to remember, Trev sings it considerably better than Don Lane ever did.)
The verdict: Always had a touch of class, and celebrating its 10th anniversary last month, this place is still delivering the goods. Just get a house wine option.
Thomas Corner Eatery, Gympie Terrace and Thomas Street, bookings 54702224.
