eightysix restaurant

We had an excellent date there. The tasting menu was very nice, with both classic items (beef tartare, cured kingfish) and some more 'pub chic' courses (cheeseburger sliders, roasted chicken with slaw). Sit at the kitchen bar for a view of the kitchen action and very quick service.

We went there for our 17th wedding anniversary. Food was ok not amazing. It seems everytime we come here something goes wrong with the service. Tonight they were extremely slow and to top it off they told us we had to move tables or leave before we had finished our food. I think this is the last time we come here.

Had a great experience. Food was amazing and service as well. Staff know their stuff and offered great recommendations.

One of my favourite fine-funky dining spots in Canberra - always delicious and creative flavours to be had. The staff are fantastic, accommodating and very knowledgable. We had the duck liver parfait on mini toasts, raw kingfish, steak tartare, pumpkin tortellini, duck ragu and banoffee pie. It was all absolutely delightful as always. Great place for special occasion dinners!

Dinner here is in 2 sessions. We booked for the second session at 8.15pm. We arrived on time, but like other diners who arrived for this session had to wait outside in the cold for a good 10 minutes while diners from the previous session where ushered out. We ordered quite quickly once seated, but waited another 30-40 minutes for the first course to arrive. Food did not come out in any sort of order. We had charred corn, Spicy cauliflower, kingfish with turmeric, and tortellini. It was all tasty but lukewarm, and portions are on the small side. We did not enjoy the overall experience and won’t be back or recommending it to anyone else.

Dining as a solo traveller can often be a disappointing experience, however this was not the case at eightysix north. It was more than just a restaurant it was a Canberra experience! Seated at the kitchen bar I had a front row seat to see the skilled chefs in action and they even took the time to make sure I was comfortable and even gave me travel tips to what to see in town. The food was divine and very high quality. I will be recommending eightysix north as THE PLACE to visit to all my colleagues when visiting interstate.

One of the best dining experiences in Canberra.
Tasty, interesting and comforting food in a cozy and bustling environment where you receive first class service and delicious cocktails

700000/10
The most delicious food experience I had for a very long time

Tried the set menu, good value for the amount of food you get
All dishes were mouthwatering
The service was world class

Good job Team 86

I know it’s early days but I’m calling it; best meal of 2022! My husband and I ordered the tasting menu and it was off the charts. Incredibly generous portions, exciting dishes, served by super lovely and accommodating waitstaff. Thank you 86 for a fab evening.

Some of the best food I've ever eaten. Coming from a couple that have traveled to around 70 countries between them

Perfect atmosphere. Staff were extremely friendly and catered to all needs willingly. The food was amazing as well I am excited for my next visit.

We had dinner here in late January 2022.

The food and drinks were good - especially liked the cheeseburger sliders and the caramel popcorn sundae.

The service was extremely good. Staff were there when needed, but not otherwise.

Recommended.

I have been to 86 for numerous times for the past five years.

I always come back for Pumpkin Tortellini, banoffee pie and Sicilian Hit cocktail. These are the must haves!

The hot dog was a great hit. The chocolate bavarian was so so. Today’s banoffee pie was more like grainy toffee pie (can’t really find or taste the banana)

Around $60pp without drinks and $75pp with drinks

Minus 1 star for the uncomfortable sitting situation and waiter stopped us bluntly mid ordering.
Me: - ‘Can we also get. (about to say the name of the dish) ’
Waiter *cuts me off*: ‘That is enough. You can order more later’
It was my first time ever experience this type of situation. Keep in mind that we did not ask for his opinion at all regarding how many dishes should be ordered. And we didn’t even order that much (4mains for 4 adults) but he made us feel quite embarrassed so we ended up ordering less: (. We would appreciate his concerns if we did ask for his opinion however we did not. So Yeah it was weird.

Note to the owner: please upgrade your table! It’s not okay to cram 4 adults into a tiny square 60x60cm table. One table can sit 2 people ideally. Thank you!

Note to chef: please slice the bananas a little thicker. Thank you very much!

Visited 26/06/21

We were really looking forward to trying eightysix as it comes highly recommended. But unfortunately it didn’t live up to the hype for us. We got the tasting menu. The hotdog was tasty (& surprisingly big for an entree) but it was barely warm, the broccolini was over-charred and cold. The other steak was good, but nothing wowed us. The service was great and flexibility with the tasting menu was appreciated but it’s probably not enough to go back.

Eightysix has some of the best food in Canberra. I recently popped in post-dinner for dessert and the classic banoffee pie was incredible as ever. The restaurant has strong modern Australian vibes and is fancy but friendly/causal at the same time. The food here is pricier in comparison to other Braddon restaurants but well worth it in my opinion.

Great food, loved the kale dish and the black chicken.

Staff were wonderful. Noise levels a bit high was hard to hear each other.

(4.5 stars)
Following Nick Spencer’s journey from Eden Road Wines, to his own eponymous label, Nick Spencer Wines, led me to Canberra earlier in the month. Joining a long table of oenophiles at Eighty Six Restaurant Braddon in Braddon, we worked our way though Nick’s soon-to-be-bottled new releases against a well-executed feast ($130/head).

Brook trout roe served on potato scallops with creme fraiche gave the juicy 2021 Petillant Naturel ($28) something to work off, though it’s hard to imagine a food that wouldn’t work with this natural style wine. Beef carpaccio with white anchovy aioli and watercress came with the quaffable 2021 Rose ($28). The wine is salmon pink and very dry, making it quite the summery quaffer, while the carpaccio was so delicious I just wanted more of it. Sensibly though the kitchen was helping us save space for cauliflower and Pyengana gratin with the flagship 2019 Tumbarumba Chardonnay ($40) : a cracking match with a standout wine.

Moving through barramundi and an even better lamb shoulder that pulled from the bones cleanly, my wine of the night was the 2019 Medium Dry Red ($35) from Gundagai. Made using Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Portuguese Touriga Nacional, this surprising medium bodied red would be a good compromise for a couple where one likes fighting reds and the other is a Pinot Noir drinker. Eighty Six excels in simple food, like a buerre bosc pear tarte tatin, which leaves the chef nowhere to hide without perfect execution. Luckily the kitchen had that well in hand…

Best food in Canberra in over 3 years of living in the ACT!
Shared a birthday dinner here with my partner and we ordered the Tasting Menu. Each dish was beautifully presented, unique, of a generous serving size and absolutely delicious.
Highlights included the Steak Tartare, Lamb Ragu (both pictured) and Banoffee Pie.

Hands down best restaurant in canberra. Food is always amazing and the owner and staff friendly.

Fantastic food, however administration is poor. 5 fundamental dinners requested. 3 turned out rapidly, other 2 dinners 20mins later. We were completing off pastries and coffe, and we got advised to leave, as there was another booking, and they required our table. Extremely poor administration in reality. Possibly if our dinners all turned out together, we would have left 1/2 prior, as opposed to being advised to leave. Won't be back there in a rush.