Brisbane’s cool new dining precinct inside a $100m building
A rooftop bar with city views, a bar and restaurant inside a WWII bunker and much more – come inside this glam new West End foodie hotspot.
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Brisbane hospitality guru Simon Barakat will help transform the newly renovated home of Queensland Ballet into a glamorous culinary precinct with a cafe-bistro, bars, rooftop terrace and function spaces.
The Thomas Dixon Centre along Montague Rd in Brisbane’s West End has recently reopened after an $100m makeover, and will be completed by a wealth of drinking and dining options.
Barakat, who has been behind the likes of Gino’s Italian, Il Verde and former nearby Ehden Bar & Kitchen, will run the venue’s stunning Kite Terrace rooftop space boasting city views, which will operate for functions and events, as well as foodie activations.
Serving 180-200 cocktail-style and 130 seated, it is set to be a hugely popular destination for weddings and parties.
Barakat will also operate the new Bunker Barre, which will slot into the building’s former World War II bunkers in the basement.
Dark, moody and glamorous with touches of brass, the Conrad Gargett-designed space will feature seating for roughly 80 to 100, with a private dining room at the back for functions and ballet VIP events.
It will be the venue’s signature restaurant and offer a modern Australian menu heavily influenced by the Middle East and the Mediterranean, matched by a strong drinks list of French champagne, top-notch wines from across Australia, France and Italy, and opulent cocktails.
On the other side of the building, Barakat will launch a bistro/cafe that he hopes will serve breakfast, lunch and possibly dinner or dinner and show packages, in a similar though more casual vein to the now defunct neighbouring Ehden, which shut to make way for a new Dan Murphy’s.
That means a menu of healthy, approachable brekkies such as granola, toasties and nourish bowls, and easy lunches running from calamari and oysters to spanakopita and moussaka, matched with a solid collection of wines, cocktails and coffee.
The cafe, featuring stunning exposed brick walls, arched windows and a pressed metal ceiling, will also be the perfect spot for parents to unwind while their children attend the building’s community studio.
Barakat hopes for the bistro and Bunker Barre to get under way by Christmas. The Kite Terrace and downstairs Champagne Terrace, off the lobby bar, are already open for bookings and functions.
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