The Survey Co

Just because I’m no longer Unilocal Elite after six years doesn’t mean I don’t know how to find the culinary treasures all over the world still. The Survey Co has everything you are looking for in a fine dining experience. The food quality was superb. The plating was true art. All of the flavors blended well and the everything was cooked flawlessly. The music and ambience were spot on. The server was genuine and even made us laugh a few times closing out an undebatable five star experience. I’d stack up The Survey Co to anything Las Vegas has to offer.

I was referred by a client of mine and was in town and dropped in and the had a free table. Instantly welcomed and Sat down to a beautiful sophisticated yet very cool setting. The food and service is exceptional. Recommened this to everyone :)

I loved how Burnett lane is this somewhat hidden side street off the main Queen st mall area with a handful of cool bars and restaurants.
I was immediately taken aback by the iron gates. Survey has a vintage theme which is nicely put together. Being an engineer I enjoyed uncovering old survey pages of Albert St inserted in the drink menu. Nice detail I must say.
I ordered the lamb ribs and hands down the best lamb I ever had. The fat was beautifully rendered but the outer surface was crisped just right. Truly an amazing dish worth every penny.
I loved the attentive service provided by the staff as well.
5 stars. A must for anyone walking the Queen st Mall area.

A «hidden» part of Brisbane’s dining scene, but well worth the find in one of Brisbane’s thriving Laneways. The Survey Co tucked away at 32 Burnett Lane turned out to be perfect for dinner & potentially one of the best meals we’ve had. Sometimes it’s the unplanned nights that turn out to be the best. The Survey Co immediately makes an impression in the aesthetics department. As you enter the metal gates, which reveals a narrow dimly — lit dining hall, we were led into another area just past the sleek lounge & bar area (to the other side of the restaurant), in front of the open kitchen. It all feels like you’ve just discovered a secret society & become a member of some very suave club. It’s probably fitting then, as Charles Burnett, who was a surveyor & explorer, is where the name The Survey Co comes from.
To start, we ordered the:
serve of the Scallops each with apple & fennel (1 piece each $ 8) & Pork belly tacos, with bean paste, cabbage, & apple kimchi ($ 14 — 2 pieces). Both were absolutely superb! It is all there, flavour, texture, uniquenes, so perfect.
For mains, we ordered the:
Curry Beef Cheeks, steamed rice, cabbage, fried shallots & peanuts (medium — $ 30) & the Z’tar dusted spatchcock, buttered leeks, chickpeas, tahini yoghurt (medium — $ 32)
The beef cheeks were so tender it literally melted. A beautiful balance of flavour, spice & texture. Amazing dish. The spatchcock was equally tender, seasoned perfectly, & tahini yoghurt adding a fresh dimension to the dish. Blown away by how delicious this all was. As a «side» we actually ordered, the patatas bravas ($ 16) with thinly sliced crispy chorizo salamis, was probably the best patatas bravas we’ve had in Brisbane! Whilst traditionally it can be a spicy Spanish dish, this one was a beautiful sweeter tomato base with a delicious aioli, & the potatoes were larger cuts.
For dessert we decided to go with the «laneway cones» (to share), of raspberry, salted caramel, chocolate ($ 12) & an additional cone $ 4. The cones stacked in a bowl of fried, choc powder & specks of raw sugar. Such a perfect dessert made for sharing. You’ll be licking & dipping the cone in the choc powder in no time. Before you know it, the cones are all done & you’re left with a bowl of dreams. Amazing! The Survey Co, is no questions, one sexy restaurant that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also delivers big on atmosphere, with it’s intimate setting, and of course dishes that are Superb!

Just like other capital cities, Brisbane too has a thriving but subtle laneway culture. Tucked away just off Queen Street Mall is Burnett Lane, Brisbane’s oldest, which is host to an array of restaurants, cafes, a vinyl record store and boutiques. Named after the occupation of the lane’s namesake, surveyor and explorer James Burnett, is restaurant The Survey Co.
Greeted by a motorised sliding metal gate which opens to reveal the long, narrow dining hall, there is a certain secret hidden hideout vibe to the restaurant. A series of thin hanging spotlights light each individual table. Exposed brickwork and large, slightly tinted windows into the kitchen complete the resulting intimate dining experience. On the other side of the kitchen is a bar for the less hungry.
Touting as modern European, The Survey Co hosts a creative and adventurous menu. Choices include edamame, seared scallop tostada, truffled salami, Roquefort ravioli and roast spatchcock, highlighting the vast styles on offer. For the extremely hungry or small groups is the humorously named section «Life’s Challenges» which consists of a rotating special «Death Row Meal», today’s was a whole ham hock, a tin of Don Bocarte anchovies and a whole duck of the day. There is also a selection of cheeses and desserts.
On this visit I went straight for a main dish of the Achiote braised pork shoulder with Dutch cream potatoes, agave, ricotta salata and chicharrón. Oddly, some of the mains come in a medium or large size, I ordered large being quite hungry and not really knowing the difference or why the choice existed. When the dish was served the immediate thought is of the gigantic blob of grated cheese that is visible. In fact, the only thing really visible — I had to gently push the cheese to one side in order to take a photo. A cheese lover at heart, there is no complaint to the quantity or the flavours it added but some rethought into the presentation of the dish would made it more visual appealing. The overall flavour combination of the dish was fantastic with the spiced pulled pork contrasted by the creamy potato and bed of what could be described as refried black beans. This may be my own ignorance, but the dish, as tasty and flavoursome as it was, came with a bit of a surprise and slight confusion as the menu didn’t exactly describe what being was seen and tasting. A nice dish nonetheless.
Dessert was a real treat, condensed milk pannacotta with Vietnamese coffee syrup. Providing a bit of creative flair, the waiter poured the coffee syrup through a filter on top of the pannacotta at the table. The flavours of the sweet but ever so slightly bitter coffee syrup combined well with the creamy pannacotta, although the syrup appeared to cause it to break up a little.
The Survey Co offers an exciting and creative dining experience hidden right in the heart of the city.

Amazing dinner. We booked a table 2 days in advance just to make sure we get in this time. The last time we wanted to check this place out was my birthday and it was fully booked.
Service was prompt but not too formal. And the waiter and waitress were friendly and knowledgable enough to recommend some star dishes since it’s our first.
We started off with Edamame as well as pork belly with apple kimchi sauce in soft tacos. The soft tacos was delicious as the pairing of pork belly and the sweet apple kimchi balanced out perfectly.
For mains, I heard good reviews of the raquefort ravioli so we went straight for the beef ragout ravioli (huge portion) and another main of roast chicken spatchcock. The ravioli lived up to my expectations. You have to order it! The roast chicken spatchcock with chipotle was equally delicious. The chipotle sauce definitely gave a hot punch to the roast chicken.
For dessert, we couldnt make up our mind which one to order so we asked for suggestion. The waiter suggested the Laneway Cones — which consist of chocolate ganache, rasberry purée topped with vanilla ice cream all in a cone. Simple pleasure to round up a rather perfect evening. Will come again.
2 entrée, 2 mains, 1 dessert and 2 glasses of wine — $ 150-​ish.

We enjoyed the unusual environment. drinks menu was great just the food although nice as you’ll read from all the other posts here, not really my cup of tea so do speak…

hello mysterious alley way! (I didn’t notice you there!)
If someone had told me there was a chill, chic, hipster-​esque restaurant right in Queen St Mall, before today I would have questioned that person’s sanity. Now I know, they would have been referring to Survey Co. The location puts you in the heart of the city, but puts some distance between you and the rest of the mall hustle and bustle. I love the atmosphere (and the leather menus!), which is laid back and unassuming.
The menu had me guessing as the items could be a bit more descriptive (but perhaps that adds to the air of mystery?). I had the spiced lamb with nori and pickles… interestingly enough, I was told to use the nori as a wrap and add the lamb, pickles, radish, and kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise) all together. It was definitely an interesting mix of flavors and quite tasty! My friend had the tostadas, which were also pretty good and had a twist to them!
I really love when a restaurant gets innovative and plays around with different flavors. I am already looking forward to seeing what else Survey Co will come up with!

We had a great night here last year — top notch food, service, ambiance. So last weekend we took some friends to the Survey Co thinking we were on a sure thing. Unfortunately we were disappointed. We remembered a european inspired menu from our last visit and now the menu has a strange mix of mexican and japanese and we found it hard to choose. We ordered a range of starters and mains and everything was just fine but we skipped dessert because we felt so underwhelmed. Sadly, the service was also surly and the music playing in the background sounded like classic 80s FM radio. I love a good 80s hit but perhaps not before the second bottle of wine :)

Tucked in a hide-​away lane near Queens Mall, it offers a surprising ambiance with it’s industrial styled fit outs. It might just be the cocktails and wine talking, I found food and drinks and service here to be extraordinary.
I normally am not a cocktail gal but when we initially stopped in here during my usual Birthday bar hop (first one in Australia), I tried the Jam Drop in a martini glass. Ingredients are simple but was magic in my mouth. The husband and I reviewed the food menu and stated that we should check it out. Two months later we did!
We first enter by pressing the door button. Kinda felt like a secret entrance (even through you can see the place through the windows).
Of course we started with two different cocktails for me (lemon & lime bitters, coke for him), I was more than surprised with the flavors. We started with a bunch of «pickled things» — now if you think garlic is a date deal-​breaker, you’re in for a loss. EAT it all up. They all tasted like candy — pickled and vinegar-​y ones at that. (And we still managed to kiss afterwards.)
For dinner, he ordered the harrissa lamb ribs, I got the peppered brisket buns with sriacha coleslaw (best thing ever). And we shared roasted pumpkin and broccolini. Goodness! And of course for the occasion we had red wine with it’s flavors changing throughout the meal. To finish, we shared sticky date cake and the vietnamese pannacotta.
Throughout it all, I seated myself facing the kitchen, so I can see what food was coming and going, and it was heaps of fun watching them whip out plates. And I can see the passion that the dude who plates them at the ‘going out” station has in the food. Waiter/​waitresses finish it up by cleaning the edges of every plate going, so it’s pretty cool to watch.
You get what you pay for. So while the drinks and food are on the pricey side, everything was a party in my mouth! So quite happy with the selections, service, and environment.
No, it wasn’t just the liquor talking.

Let’s just get it over with and rename this joint The Swanky Co. Anyone on their suit & tie s**t would fit right in here amongst the sleek, streamlined, polished décor and dim lighting.
So for the record, it’s pretty.
Sexy as the surroundings were, the food was hit and miss. The unquestionable hits were the brussel sprouts that came with the fish of the day (best ever, I’d say), corn on the cob with all that delicious whipped feta, the pork shoulder that could have (and in fact did) feed a small family, and the roast spatchcock. The undeniable miss of the night was the duck — it was dry and lacked any distinct flavour, despite how beautiful the presentation was, and the service. It would have been really nice to have a few more suggestions/​options for a group dining experience to make sure we were getting a good sampling of their «best ofs». So let’s be honest, it was mostly hit. Certainly a great spot to impress a date or to enjoy a rowdy feeding session with close friends.

This update is the culmination of two separate visits. The first, dinner with colleagues, which I had to unfortunately excuse myself from just before the mains arrived due to an overwhelming migraine. The second, dinner with visiting in-​laws and hoping to impress them with Brisbane’s one laneway charm. It worked a treat. It also helped that the service was outsanding. We’d mentioned during making our reservation that we had to be at QPAC by approx 7:45pm for a concert and a few times throughout our meal they stopped to remind us of the time.
The food on both occasions was worth every penny. Entrees of chicken oyster skewers, edamame beans, the ‘pickled things’ (eat the garlic — it tastes nothing like a clove of garlic but rather a delicate sweet bite), the three little pigs tortillas — all a wonderful introduction to your mains. Between us we were able to try their lamb cutlets in a honey sauce, the spinach brik pie (great but could have had more kick in the pie) and the barramundi. Paired with a sancerre wine and the night was off to more than a smooth start.
It’s a place to dine knowing your experience will be of high quality, a place to dine solo or with friends and certainly to remind even locals there’s something wonderful happening in our city!

One of my all time fav places to eat in Brissie. The ambience, fit out, menu, wine list and service are all perfect!

The Survey Co occupies a narrow space in Burnett Lane as a mark to Brisbane’s growing obsessions in redeveloping laneways a la Melbourne. The space is well used and outfitted, and the décor actually hides how small the locale is quite well.
The menu is quite extensive and impressive, and changes frequently to avoid becoming stale. The entrée that I had was venison carpaccio with bread, which was excellent. I had lamb on preserved vegetables and mash, served with a sauce vierge. The sauce vierge was overloaded with vinegar and lemon, easily overpowering the rest of the dish. While I actually enjoy these flavours, they were too powerful and detracted from the other flavours. the lamb was a strange cut, so while most parts were cooked as required (medium), some parts were overdone, and the chef failed to cut off a few bits of gristle.
The wait staff were very attentive, though it was a quiet night, and the restaurant has a mâitre d’ to seat guests and check coats and bags.

The nagging that accompanied my search for the entrance of Survey Co was well worth it in the end — we were greeted by a wonderful ambience and lovely staff. Despite not having made reservations prior (still on a mission to find a place to feed the parents without getting nagged at), and having mum dressed in just a t-​shirt and capris, the staff that greeted us was lovely and helpful.
The food was amazing — between us we has the pork, the fish, and the lamb ribs — each dish better then the other. The servings were perfectly portioned as well .
The house pink lemonade, as well as the lime & ginger were beautifully blended non –alcoholic drinks, and the Ma Cherie cocktail that I had was lovely too.
Would definitely recommend The Survey Co to everyone.

This laneway restaurant and bar was THE place to be last Saturday night after fashion week was cancelled, with a host of fashion bloggers and designers turning up to drink some wine and look attractive (translation: it’s hip. Very hip. Potentially too hip for me to attend on a regular basis).
My friends and I had a reservation, a must for this restaurant, and were greeted and seated by lovely, attentive waiters who made you feel welcome without overwhelming you. It was good service without a stick up its… there was no pretension. Let’s keep it g-​rated.
The food was pricey but divine. Between the table we sampled organic potatoes (drowning in butter, as they should be), seasonal greens (crisply blanched), beef cheek (falling apart in its tenderness), eye fillet (cooked to perfection with a great accompanying salsa-​type thing) and lamb rump (amazing teamed with pickled eggplant). All in all, a lovely restaurant for a special occasion or just to treat yourself.

Food: Fresh, simple and tasty. Menu changes a little every month or so. Portions are perfect. You can order sides from the dinner menu for lunch if you need more.
Drinks: Fairly standard. Leans towards wine. Great place for coffee and a chat if you need a quiet place that’s out of the way.
Service: Very friendly and accommodating. Very. This is a good thing.
Price: Lunch is very reasonable. Dinner is a little expensive but not overly so.
Venue: Modern and cool. Consists of a laneway of tables, a main dining area, a front bar/​low seated area and a massive outdoor table. Deceptively a lot of tables but frequently booked out for dinner Fri/​Sat and lunches later on in the week.
Other: The music is awesome if you like bands like The National and Bön Iver. Impress friends/​dates by leading them down a laneway to Survey.
Context: Have had lunch and dinner here over a dozen times.

After reading the other two reviews, I guess I made the right decision in heading to the Survey Co for dinner (instead of lunch — though that pulled pork baguette is still calling to me).
I’m a fan of Melbourne’s laneways, so I couldn’t resist the call of the Survey Co — particularly on a cold and windy night! My friend and I were sat in the line-​up hallway of table after table, where it does get a bit chilly — but being a fan of the cold, I was totally okay with this. (I also noticed that Survey Co has a coat rack at the entrance — perhaps instead of encouraging diners to place theirs there, they could have some to hire out for the evening?)
The fast and friendly service did wonders (doesn’t it always?) and the meals were super classy. You know you’re at a nice place when you pay a lot of money for a small portion. To be fair to the Survey Co, the small portions ended up being just perfect — had we been sensible and just had an entrée, main and dessert each, it would have been the perfect amount of food. The use of «had we been sensible» implies that we ended up having 1.5 desserts each because we both ordered the cannoli and then decided to share a dark chocolate tart, too. MISTAKE. SWEET, DELICIOUS MISTAKE. Such good food but so painfully full. I’m glad I walked all the way home that night. Sometimes you just need to walk it off.
Oh, and the soundtrack to the evening was right on the money for the vibe — Sigur Ros followed by the National. Kill me, you are perfect. See you again soon, Survey Co. THE Survey Co. S.Co.