“Like many hospitality venues, Rizla has put heart and soul into its ‘sorry but you can’t come and dine with us’ menu. It’s been innovative with its packages, too,” says dining reviewer WENDY JOHNSON

RIZLA in Braddon is on the go with its “iso menu” and while we were happy to drive to our dining destination for pick up, we wondered whether the food would withstand the test of delivery from the north side to the south side. 

It’s a challenge many food venues face while feeding us hungry Canberrans these days. Rizla hits the mark.

We started with smoked salmon on crunchy light rye, with plenty of salmon on each piece ($6 each). It stimulated the taste buds and geared us up for the sensational tuna tartare which we scooped up onto potato crisps ($18). The quality of the tuna was right up there and the combination of flavours beautiful.

The mains were equally delicious and the chicken breast ($25) was wonderfully moist, despite its journey from point A to point B. It was served on top of a generous amount of creamy polenta, with crunchy greens and a lovely burnt-sage butter.

The melt-in-the-mouth, slow-braised beef cheeks is a perfect recipe for takeaway ($28). The decadent, rich and inviting Paris mash was a real treat and we applauded the depth of flavour in the red wine jus.

For our daily dose of veg we ordered mixed greens ($12) and a super tasty charred corn salad, loaded with chilli, coriander and tangy lime butter ($12). Rather addictive…

For fun we ordered thin-cut Parmesan chips ($6) which were a bit tired on arrival, but not totally exhausted.

Like many hospitality venues, Rizla has put heart and soul into its “sorry but you can’t come and dine with us” menu. It’s been innovative with its packages, too. Think the “Happy Hour at Home grazing box” ($60), the “Deluxe Night In” ($125), the Light Lunch for Two” ($60) and kids’ meals which include fish and chips ($10) and chicken and chips ($8).

Rizla is famous for its wines and has great labels to choose from if you’d like to buy direct.

Pre-ordering was quick and easy although we wondered if we’d get lunch when we received an email saying the restaurant was closed and that our order had been received but not yet accepted. We were given a timeframe for confirmation which was somewhat reassuring. Sure enough, shortly after noon we received confirmation and so two of our small lunch group drove to do the big pick up.

These systems are all fair enough in these crazy COVID times. Patience and flexibility are required if we want the luxury of ordering in some pretty delicious food.

Order online and pick up at the restaurant (corner Lonsdale and Elouera Streets, Braddon). Opening times at drinkrizla.com.au