Food, Friends
and Fine Wine
AT ESTERS
For years my girlfriend Jharna and I have
been saying that we need to get together
for wine and cheese outside of our usual
lycra clad Yellow Arrow circuit on a week-
day morning. With the new wine bar
Esters opening up at The Chambers and
my partner and I (potentially) heading
down the parenthood route in the near
future we both figured the time was
essentially now or never. Plus let’s face it,
this exceptional Cairns winter weather is
the perfect excuse to go out for a drink or
two (hello immaculately straightened
hair!)
Arriving at the intimate wine bar on a
Wednesday afternoon we were greeted
by a smartly dressed waiter who showed
us to a table and plied us with menus and
tales of the fabulous wines on offer. As you
would expect he was well versed in the
many wines they had behind the
well-stocked bar at Esters. I’m no wine
connoisseur by any means but I know
what I like and what I don’t like so after a
short discussion and a couple of samples
I settled on a glass of Mclaren Vale Rosé
while my date chose a Pinot Noir from
France.
Next, we moved to the food menu. With a
focus on tapas-style plates and cheese
boards, the menu at Esters is designed
for sharing, which is exactly what we
planned on doing. Despite recommenda-
tions for the J.F.C (aka Japanese Fried
Chicken with Wasabi Mayonnaise and
Chilli Jam), it was cheese we had come
for. And copious amounts of it. The
‘Cheese Please’ plate for $34 with
Australian cheese, fruit, preserves and
lavosh had our names all over it.
Looking beyond the wine menu I was
nearly swayed into ordering a Gin Bowl
with Mt Uncle Botanic Gin, Fever Tree
Aromatic Tonic and Orange but as a
self-proclaimed Negroni aficionado, I
couldn’t go past trying Esters version with
Four Pillars specially crafted Spiced
Negroni Gin. The arrival of our cheese
plate quickly ensued, followed by a flurry
of envy-inducing Instagram snaps of the
picture perfect platter complete with
fresh raspberries, pickled carrot and
heirloom tomatoes. 45 gossip-filled
minutes later all that was left of our
illustrious cheese plate was the garnish.
Mind you if there was any of that delicious
preserve left I reckon I could have eaten
that too.
Wine and cheese at Esters soon rolled
into entrees and desserts at The Cham-
bers sister restaurant Soma but that’s an
article for another day. Classy and chic
with a killer drinks list, delectable cheese
plates and exceptional service from
knowledgeable staff, Esters at The
Chambers is the excuse you didn’t know
you needed to go out for drinks on
Wednesday. Or a Thursday. Or a Friday...
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