Never Enough, Fortitude Valley. The name turned out to be prophetic, just not in the way they intended.
The room is genuinely cool. European bistro vibe, moody lighting, the kind of space that makes you want to settle in for a long night. Which is convenient, because that's exactly what we got. Service had an off day. It took 20 minutes just to get a menu. The first dish landed 55 minutes after we sat down. The room wasn't even that busy.
The eponymous gilda should be the calling card. Instead, the olive bulldozed what little mortadella was there, and one arrived missing some ingredients entirely. The oysters came with bits of shell inside. Not the start I was hoping for.
The nduja croquettes pulled things back. Good, honest, crunchy. Shattering crumb outside, molten and spicy within. The hiramasa kingfish with passionfruit vinaigrette and pickled peach was better again, silky and clean against the sharp fruit, though by then I was grading on a curve.
Then the dry-aged beef tartare arrived and genuinely stole the show. Soft, almost buttery beef with a proper kick from the fermented chilli, and the waffle chips brought the crunch the dish needed. This is the dish that tells you the kitchen can cook. I just wish the rest of the menu got the memo.
The Copper Tree Farms ragù was fine. Nothing to write home about. The fried chicken tenders with white sturgeon caviar are a great idea on paper, but the execution was terrible. Dry, chewy where it should have been juicy, and the caviar couldn't save it. The 21-day dry-aged cheeseburger looked better than it tasted. Also dry. A theme was emerging, and it wasn't a good one.
As mentioned, service didn't help. I asked for cutlery a couple of times. No napkins provided. Water sat empty until I flagged someone down, more than once. The pacing was all over the place, and we didn't finish until 10pm.
Here's the thing. The reviews before mine were glowing, and the tartare proves there's real talent in that kitchen. So I'm chalking this up as a possible off night. I'll give them another go and update this review if the second visit tells a different story.
