This place should do more business. They have an excellent lunch deal and the food is worth the trek across the CBD if you don't work near Flagstaff Gardens.
At 12:30 on Friday we were the first ones in for lunch. Even when we left, the place wasn't more than 1/4 full. Being the in-house restaurant of the Radisson Hotel, HQ's probably doesn't need to pull custom off the street to survive, but it deserves better.
We chose the $29 three-course lunch special. For starters, Dave had the Bruschetta with Goats Cheese (nicely done, but then again bruschetta's not difficult), and I had the Ham Hock and Split Pea Broth with Rosemary Oil and Moroccan Green Chilli Paste. This is not your ordinary Campbell's pea and ham soup. Long descriptions can sometimes overwhelm the food, but this was the best "pea and ham" soup I've ever had. Period. And I wish I had some of that Moroccan Green Chilli Paste in my pantry.
Our choices for mains were limited a bit by the lunch special (the standard menu has about twice as many offerings). Dave chose the Lamb Loin with (deep breath...) roast pumpkin, spinach, cumin salt, lemon hummus, and sumac crumbs. Cooked medium, it was still tender and juicy and had a velvety melt-in-your-mouth texture. I was jealous, because whilst my Eggplant Tian with (deep breath...) tomato paste, basil, smoked Tallegio and capsicum coulis was excellent, it was still no match for the lamb. I want to say something poncy and flowery about the lamb but I'm restraining myself. You're welcome.
Worth noting was the basil leaf garnish on the bruschetta and the eggplant. Somehow they managed to make a wilted basil leaf turn crispy. Not burned or shriveled. Healthy green and crispy. And still paper-thin and full of flavour. I want a basket full.
Our wines came with the lunch special; the house red. I don't know what it was. It wasn't bad.
Dave ordered the Apple Crumble for dessert. I'm pretty sure the ice cream that came with it was toffee flavoured - we couldn't really tell, because it was subtle. And tasty. I tried the Halva ice cream, which came drizzled with rose syrup and mixed up in a parfait glass with pieces of Turkish delight, pistachios, and bits of halva. Topping the glass was a huge cloud of spun sugar. White, not pink like candy floss, but just as airy and sweet. I felt like a little kid and enjoyed every bite.
The decor in HQ's is clean and modern, an open-plan dining room with a central bar. Lots of wood tones to give the place a warm feeling. The restrooms, shared with the hotel lobby, were just as you'd expect in a big hotel - large, clean and well-maintained.
I just thought I'd state for the record that Dave was too full to finish his dessert. And even though that's amazing, I didn't give him a hard time about it.
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Dave's summary: "I couldn't fit the summary in."
Probability that we will return: 37 / 42
Note that the probability rating is affected by the fact that there are hundreds of places to eat around here.