Brisbane

REVIEW This contemporary riverside venue sits on the first floor of a repurposed power station turned performance hub, and delivers much more than its nominal bar status might imply. Sure, there’s ample appeal for drinkers – the bar area floods with theatregoers at interval time and a clipped, aptly Italian-leaning wine list consistently engages. But […]

REVIEW Bacchus’s first trick was becoming a Brisbane hotel restaurant worth frequenting. Five years along, this multi-award winner has risen to far greater heights. While the luxurious design and chestnut colour palette from that late 2012 build might be showing the first signs of age, Bacchus is otherwise old-school in all the right ways. Service […]

REVIEW With an elevated position and cinematic Story Bridge views, Alchemy offers some of Brisbane’s best riverfront dining. A popular spot for business lunches with nearby Eagle Street’s corporate set, by night it morphs into special-occasion territory, with experienced, amiable staff running the floor. Interiors are sophisticated, decorated in earthy and copper tones, with timber […]

REVIEW The Euro is a revered and versatile stalwart of the Brisbane scene. An imaginative yet unintimidating menu and relatively sober fittings are boosted by friendly, efficient service. Buckwheat risotto is typical of the clever bistro-with-a-twist dishes on offer, presented with edamame and Kalamata olives in a watercress sauce. Precisely cooked Paroo kangaroo striploin arrives […]

REVIEW There’s romance aplenty in the Old-World grandeur of gilt-edged mirrors and stained-glass windows, and the genial Italian-accented waitstaff. Traditional Roman dishes are given a modern flourish, whether it’s lightly battered zucchini flowers yielding anchovy dotted mozzarella or saltimbocca alla Romana, elegant as it gets, the veal edged with fine prosciutto and scattered with fried […]

REVIEW Esquire describes its adventurous dégustation approach as a commitment between kitchen and diner. Certainly, a visit to this riverside rule-breaker requires faith. Until you sit in the modernist-inspired dining room, you won’t know if you’ll be served 12 or 25 items, or be paying $90 or $150 for the privilege. Cynics could find their […]

REVIEW The Apo is settling into a pleasant groove. This heritage-listed former apothecary is as striking as ever, ancient brick walls offset by cool cement floors, moody lighting and flashes of royal blue, but the service is now pinpoint sharp. That personable touch is needed when negotiating a share-plate menu that reads like Morse code, […]

REVIEW Malt offers a modern take on fine dining, with old-school charms like a piano player and soft lighting paired with timber tables and rustic décor. The three-storey building, once a 19th-century produce market, adds a sense of history to the dining experience. Begin with half a dozen oysters, served with a dash of apple […]

REVIEW There are half-bows to Korea – kimchi accompanies fried pork hock and stir-fried mushrooms are braised in a rich soy-based sauce – but Madame Wu mostly looks to China for inspiration. And, in the case of toasty, rice-crusted wagyu brisket, that’s no bad thing. The beef arrives scented with anise in parcels scattered with […]

REVIEW Longtime works its modern Thai brief with verve and vigour. The room is warehouse glam, nicely detailed, right down to the vintage tools strung along one brick wall, and the clusters of large globes hanging among vine tendrils from the ceiling. Among the bar snacks you’ll find a soft-shell crab bao and a fried […]

REVIEW Warning: visiting Julius may prove highly addictive. It’s not just the team’s crisp-based, wood-fired pizze, which always emerge from the wood-fired oven all puffy-edged and nicely charry. It’s also the flirty drinks list – the snappy yet smiling service – and the theatre of Italian dining in a space that skips clichés in favour […]

REVIEW The laneway location, roller-door entry, concrete floors and brick walls all scream hipster hangout – but there’s more than just cool kids at these tables. Service levels can be patchy, ranging from remote to attentive, but razor-sharp pricing and pitch-perfect provincial Chinese fare exert a powerful pull on tribes of all stripes. Note the […]

REVIEW Quirky Moga is the Japanese version of the neighbourhood bistro everyone wants to find at the end of their street. There’s a sushi conveyor in a wood-panelled backroom with posters of 1920s moga (modern girls), but the garden terrace, with paper lanterns and timber screens, is an even more congenial spot to raise a […]

REVIEW Pork cheek pressé, duck rillettes, duck ballotine and a chunky rustic pork terrine – all presented simply with buttery house brioche, croûtons, cornichons and fig chutney for an entrée. Add in a glass of Provençal rosé, say, or a bottle from Alsace-born chef Romain Bapst’s homeland (the French-leaning list fields a strong selection of […]