Bianca (or, Quite Possibly the Best Hospitality Group in Brisbane)

Bianca, an Italian eatery in the James St precinct of Brisbane, is another of the Anyday Group’s offerings.  I’ve been to Agnes* twice, and tried out (and thoroughly enjoyed) both Honto* and Same Same*, so visiting Bianca during this month’s trip was a no-brainer.  And luckily the wonderful E lives here, and is always willing to be a dining companion whenever I come up to visit the family.

We had an early 6pm booking, and our server was bubbly if a little inexperienced (no, we don’t know what we want to drink because we’ve literally just sat down).  I, having begun my new meds, wasn’t feeling too hungry so we decided against the set menu.

We tried not to over order, we really did.  But it was hard when faced with so many delicious sounding things...

The antipasti special was a mixed fish carpaccio, and my pick of the bunch.  My only pet peeve was one that is found at most restaurants offering specials: the price was not given with our waitress’s description.

My second favourite dish was the stracciatella-eggplant-mixed nut combination.  A gooey gamble that paid off, and I was glad we followed the recommendation of our server and ordered some bread to go with it.  The only improvement would have been that the pizza bianca came out pre-sliced: our butter knives didn’t really cut it (ha!) and we had to resort to tearing it apart with our fingers.  I don’t mind, of course, but it seems a little odd for a dish designed to share.  Or is that just post-COVID thinking on my part?

We had the prosciutto and melon as well, and whilst the former was lovely, the latter was a little… bland.  In hindsight, at the middle of winter, we probably shouldn’t be ordering a summer fruit, so note to always remember seasonality with produce orders! My last comment was that this dish was beautifully displayed... but I did think there was too much meat: absolutely fine for me as a diner, but, Chef, you could reduce your COGS here! (#accountant)

The cauliflower was good, a little reminiscent of a similar Agnes dish, but probably unnecessary if you’re getting the ribs later on (as we were) which came with a similarly flavoured wood-roasted cabbage.  Our vegetable side though was a treat, and had I not been so full, it might have been my favourite.  I mean, it’s hard to mess up potatoes, true, but these were some of the best I can remember eating.

Of all of the Anyday venues, I must confess, Bianca was my least favourite.  But look, the standard is pretty high: Agnes won Good Food’s Restaurant of the Year (well deserved - if you’re going to try the firepit craze, theirs is much better than Gimlet!); Honto is accessible Japanese (there’s both a raw bar and a katsu sando on the menu) and Same Same takes Thai and makes it fancy.

‍_{*sadly no individual posts for these wonders because it was before the Confab with Charli concept was born, but here is the cheat’s guide in my order of preference:}

_{1. Agnes. Firepit. Need I say more?}

_{2. Honto. Japanese Fusion.}

_{3. Same Same: Thai Fusion.}

_{4. Bianca: Made-to-Share Italian.}

_{**I do drink alcohol, by the way.  But I survived a year without it, which made me into an utter snob when it comes to non-alcoholic options.  A poor alcohol free offering (i.e. soft drinks and juice) offends me when I’m fine dining… I’m not a child, thank you very much}