High flyers to open new bar and restaurant BOS at old Otto site

A TV celebrity chef and two high-powered mates are set to open a flashy new restaurant, bar and function space with stunning views of the Brisbane River and Story Bridge.

What happens when a celebrity chef, a Brisbane hospitality veteran and a top lawyer join forces?

You get one of Queensland’s most anticipated bar and restaurant openings of the year.

Acclaimed TV chef Adrian Richardson(La Luna Bistro and Bouvier Bar & Grill, Melbourne), hospo guru Chris Higgins(ex-Mr and Mrs G, Cha Cha Char) and Enyo Lawyers managing director Liam McMahon will open mini culinary precinct BOS at 480 Queen St in Brisbane City, complete with a steak and seafood restaurant, alfresco bar and rooftop function space – all with stunning views of the river and Story Bridge.

Chris Higgins, Adrian Richardson and Liam McMahon show off the view from their new restaurant site along Queen St in Brisbane City. Picture: Zak Simmonds

The restaurant and bar will take over the former site of high-end Italian eatery Otto, which has since moved to South Bank, with major renovations being done to completely transform the tenancy.

“We wanted to do something big and beautiful in Brisbane and take advantage of the outside and Adrian has always wanted to come to Brisbane,” Mr McMahon said.

The restaurant will be glamorous yet approachable, specialising in steak, seafood and pasta at ­affordable prices, with a strong emphasis on great service.

“I’m really focused on delivering good food at a reasonable price,” Mr Richardson said.

“I think there are a lot of price increases going around and it’s blindingly expensive. We don’t want to go in at that high level. We want this to be the sort of place that you can come to once a week or once a fortnight.”

An artist’s impression of the entry to BOS, the restaurant, including high table dining and a dry-ageing meat cabinet.

For those who want a little something extra, however, the ­restaurant will have a showpiece dry-ageing meat cabinet, with diners able to reserve their own piece of beef and have it aged and ready for them whenever they like.

The drinks list will also cater to all tastes and price points, running up to elite bottles of Henschke Hill of Grace, a 15-year-old Lake Folly’s chardonnay, and high-end, ultra-rare bordeaux and burgundy, from the likes of Petrus.

“Liam also has access to a lot of off-site, private cellar selections, which is a lot of back vintages that uncles and dads and aunts have been putting together that’s sitting there and they can’t possibly drink it all so we suggested we could help them,” Mr Higgins said.

The river-gazing restaurant will seat 120, with additional casual high tables, plus a private dining room for at least 20, complete with exclusive balcony access. Meanwhile, the new outdoor bar area will be an adult’s playground, featuring up to 14 booths, a DJ and a long table that will double as a catwalk and dance floor.

“We’re hoping for it to feel like our back yard when we’re entertaining our friends,” said Mr Richardson, of TV’s Good Chef Bad Chef.

An artist’s impressions of some of the booths in the bar area at BOS.

Landlord Dexus will spend about $800,000 on wind mitigation, contracting wind engineers and installing 2m-high panels of glass to make the outdoor space suitable for all-year-round entertaining; while the existing garden beds have been removed to showcase more of that enviable vista.

Each booth will seat a minimum of six guests, with an exclusive private booth that can be secluded from the rest of the venue if desired. A separate bar menu and drinks list will be available here, with a strong focus on champagne and cocktails. Food could be anything from snacks such as Moreton Bay bug rolls to full meals such as steak or mussel frites.

An artist’s impression of the bar area at BOS.

The final piece of the puzzle will be a rooftop function space for roughly 200-seated, 400-standing.

It is currently a shared zone, but something the blokes hope to use for everything from weddings to corporate events, thanks to its remarkable river views.

“To me that’s an exciting part of it as well – the restaurant, the lounge bar and upstairs. It has the potential to be quite a big operation,” Mr Richardson said.

Official fit-out on the venues will begin within the next three weeks, with BOS aiming for an October opening.