A restaurant worth noting

I've been so busy I have not got around to praising a Brisbane restaurant.

Last Friday night, I was shouted to a fantastic meal at Moda, a tapas restaurant/bar at Paddington, Brisbane.  It was not planned ahead of time, we had just headed into Paddington hoping to get into another restaurant without a booking, but of course in this Christmas post-COVID season, a lot of places were full.

I like tapas bars as a concept, but its been a while since I have been to one where I thought every plate was great and good for the price.

Well, let's deal with the price issue first:   Moda is not cheap.   But - the quality of each and every item we had was fantastic.   (Making it simpler, if expensive, we had the $95 a head chef's selection of plates, mains, and desserts.  It was pretty much a blow out meal that you probably really only want to tackle if you have missed lunch.  Which I had.)   

What can I remember of the dishes?   A duck liver parfait that was just about the best I think I have ever had; ceviche that was also pretty spectacularly nice; an octopus salad; some pipis in a cream sort of sauce; baked figs with something or other;  a couple of croquette type things; some lamb; some beef with something (the details are starting to get fuzzy) and the desserts cake and pastry pieces.  

To drink, we had a $60 bottle of Spanish cava - which I continue to say I find to be a more reliably pleasant sparkling wine than French champagne.   And a glass of chilled French muscat at the end - it was delicious too.

Service was great, and the food came pretty fast and at pretty much the right rate (a bit surprising especially give that the place was packed inside, while we managed to have a pretty pleasantly quieter time at a table outside).

Honestly, it was the best restaurant meal I have had for years.   I wish the place well.

Oh, and now that I look at reviews for it (as I said, we just ended up there by luck, really), it's not just me who thinks it's good: