With menu relaunch designed by two talented chefs, the secret is out about Art Deco style restaurant Salon de Co in Ovolo Inchcolm.

Full of playful twists on Australian cuisine, the Salon de Co menu comes from newcomer head chef Andy Ashby and one of Ovolo Hotels’ creative culinary partners, Ian Curley.

Using flavours and seasonal ingredients from both Australia and abroad, the dishes are a delight to behold and eat. Think Queensland spanner crab with burnt butter and macadamia or Maremma tea smoked duck with rosella and beetroot.

When dessert comes, it’s all about the autumn produce with the flavours of feijoa, white chocolate and coconut dancing on your palette.

Hidden within the historic building on Wickham Terrace at Spring Hill, the intimate and eclectic 30-seat restaurant embraces the 1930s-era building’s rich in history.  You will be tempted to browse the bookshelf décor which goes all the way back to the roaring 1920s, revolutionary 30s and ruckus 40s.  It all adds inspiration and an electric atmosphere to the dining space.

What’s on the menu at Salon de Co?

The evening started with trays of salt and vinegar churros topped with camel fromage from Summer Land Queensland and tartlets of Queensland spanner crab with burnt butter and macadamia.

At the table, we sat down to much with fun paper bags filled with rabbit and cauliflower popcorn accompanied by a deep green gribiche sauce. 

The tasting menu unfolded with Ian Curley’s plate of kingfish gravelax accompanied by confit York and horseradish. 

Next came a dish that showcased some great local flavours using Mt Tamborine scampi with pork jowl and Queensland blue pumpkin.

Andy Ashby’s autumn menu signature dish certainly lived up to taste expectations.  The Maremma dry-aged duck was deliciously pink with a crisp skin hiding a decadent layer of fat.  It came with a vine leaf, beetroot and rosella but my taste buds were saying there’s liquorice there too.

Dessert took us to New Zealand’s favourite feijoa, grown locally on the Sunshine Coast, combined with white chocolate and coconut.

Just for fun, Aussie lamingtons coated in Daintree chocolate with a dob of Davidson Plum completed the evening.

I was pleased to see acknowledgement for Salon De Co’s suppliers, Prime Cut Meats, Pretty Produce, Suncoast Fresh and The Fish Factory, who gave the chefs the freshest produce in the market.

From the kitchen

Chef Andy Ashby, ex Point in Melbourne, Qualia in Hamilton Island, Thompson Reserve in Brisbane and nel. restaurant in Sydney certainly seems happy in his new kitchen.

 “I’m stoked to unveil my new menu at Salon de Co and evolve the restaurant to the next level! We’ve put in a lot of TLC, focusing on some of the freshest produce of the local Queensland area. Ian is an enormous visionary in the culinary space and his knowledge, and creative influence is unmissable through our new dishes”, says Ashby.

British-born chef and hospitality consultant, Ian Curley brings over 25 years’ experience in the Australian hospitality industry, and own and operates French Saloon in Melbourne. Ian’s role within the Ovolo group sees him overseeing the direction and menu development at both Salon de Co, and Monster Kitchen + Bar in Canberra.

“I’m thrilled to be sharpening my knives alongside talent like Andy. We’re evolving Salon de Co, developing its food and beverage personality while showcasing what the state has to offer”, says Ian.

Salon de Co is open for breakfast and dinner, seven days a week. Find it at 73 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, Brisbane.   

Ovolo Inchcolm

Salon de Co is located inside the heritage listed boutique design-led hotel Ovolo Inchcolm on Wickham Terrace at Spring Hill, just a skip from Brisbane’s city centre.

Once a medical practice and private residence, the Art Deco building was first constructed in the 1930s and still evokes much of this era.  Check out the lift!

The Ovolo refurbishment has created a feeling reminiscent of Gertrude Stein’s Paris salon, where Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso and Matisse would comfortably rub shoulders indulging in food and wine while sharing trailblazing ideas.

About Ovolo Hotels

Ovolo Hotels was founded by Girish Jhunjhnuwala in 2002.  Ovolo has become one of Hong Kong’s largest independent owners, operator hospitality firms, and focuses on providing business and leisure guests with high level relaxed living.

Award-winning interior designs, focused comprehensive service, detail-driven comforts and cutting-edge en suite technology, all done in the hotel’s signature style are the Ovolo hallmarks.

Ovolo Hotels is still a family-owned and privately-operated business with a charitable core. The company runs four hotels in Hong Kong, and six hotels across Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane, including Ovolo Inchcolm and Ovolo Emporium in Fortitude Valley.

Disclaimer: Ed+bK was a guest at the Salon de Co menu launch.