We have a very long and delicious history with Sand Crab Lasagne (SCL). From the moment it was…read morecreated at the Italian restaurant Il Centro in Brisbane's Eagle Street Pier by Gillian Hirst and Sous Chef Tony Davis, it was a decadent winner of indulgent flavours and richness. The sauce so moreish you'd lick the plating bowl clean if other more posh diners weren't watching. And we've had so many SCL birthday dinners, feting overseas friends who visited and anniversaries that we've lost count. More recently, Il Centro changed hands and so with it went the SCL menu and recipe. But it's funny how things work out, and here's why.
We've lived in The Gap, a Western suburb of Brisbane, for over 30 years and have driven past the Ashgrove Golf Club probably a zillion times. It's like 1.5km from our house and we knew it had a restaurant called Zegatos but we never thought much of dining there, for no other reason than we like "Vietnamese lunching out" instead, and prefer to make dinner at home. However, recently something out of left field fell across my Social Media map. It was a Facebook ad for SCL and where else but Zegatos! It seemed surreal, how could this be? And with my wife's birthday approaching and her all-time favourite dish within walking distance. So we booked, with some trepidation because would it be like we remembered and loved?
Our fears were quickly quenched when we discovered the chef/owner of Zegatos, and a fellow Gap resident, just happens to be Tony Davis. And the SCL was as good as, if not better than, Il Centro, and being the voice of my the partner, that's something in itself. The serving as a main, $42 at the time of writing, is a substantial stack of sumptuous goodness...perhaps with even more sand crab than the original, according to her. It comes with a salad of mixed greens, but push those aside, if necessary, to fit this glorious dish in your gob.
Our party of four for her birthday included an elder son and his partner so for starters we had two serves of Zegatos Famous Calamari at $14.90. It was superb, so tender, delicious and on par with any metro restaurant you'd pay double for. Apart from two SLC orders we had a Truffled Mushroom Pizza, $24, and a Dukka Crusted Pork Belly Pizza, $24, and so generous in size that two could be well-fed with one and a side dish.
My wife couldn't part without a sweet, her weakness, so went all in on the Home-made Honeycomb Cheesecake, $11. A generous serve for the price and absolutely amazing according to her, even though other spoons were presented for us to sample it, only to sit idly by as it was scoffed down with glee and without a glimpse at anyone else.
So, how to end this? Walking into the Ashgrove Golf Course is just as I imagined, however, never being there before. Old, stodgy, stale, historic trophy cases, aged golf clubs, sepia photos of past members, mostly dead, the early playing days, etc. But what I didn't imagine was the incredible food being created and plated by Chef Davis and his team at such an unimaginable location and almost in my backyard.
So, please, go there. Whether you eat seafood, or don't, animal protein or not, there's something delicious awaiting you in one of the most unique cooking atmospheres contained in the rarified air of a great suburban restaurant, disguised as an "it's probably okay" choice for the uninitateded . Surprise!
(PS - Chef Davis tells us the demand for Sand Crab Lasagne is off-the-charts so call and book to reserve it. He's also selling it as takeaway portions to have at home if that interests. Enquire via his website www.zegatos.com)
