Jubilee Hotel sets date for reopening after mega makeover

One of Brisbane’s biggest hotels is set to unveil its dramatic new look after a stunning renovation. SEE THE PHOTOS

Render of the new Jubilee Hotel in Fortitude Valley.

Brisbane’s popular Jubilee Hotel is set to reopen in just over a fortnight, after an incredible $200m makeover to the Fortitude Valley site on which it sits.

The 134-year-old pub has been part of the Jubilee Place redevelopment, which includes a 14-storey commercial tower with 18,166sq m of commercial office space cantilevered over the heritage-listed hotel.

The jaw-dropping renovation will mean “The Jube”, as it’s affectionately known, will be barely recognisable, with a stunning new, fully covered beer garden and courtyard, a plethora of function spaces, a kitchen with state-of-the-art equipment and its very own microbrewery, pumping freshly brewed beer straight to its taps.

“At the end of the day, we’re still just a pub, but we want to be the best pub in Brisbane,” Jubilee Hotel general manager Chris McNeill said.

While the original part of the building is heritage-protected, which means minimal changes could be done, the transformation is still remarkable with the public bar on the ground floor beautifully restored and wrapped in timber and brass detailing and backed by original exposed brick.

General manager Chris McNeill and head chef Jamie Mackinney in Frank’s Terrace at The Jubilee Hotel in Fortitude Valley.

It leads to a new private dining room for up to 22 people, called The Journo Room, in a nod to the myriad journalists who once frequented the place. Here guests will also find the venue’s signature reserve cellar with between 300 and 350 bottles of wine, including Australian greats such as Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace.

Upstairs in the original building will be a variety of function spaces and breakout rooms for everything from parties to training days and seminars.

But it’s out the back in the old beer garden where the real magic is to be discovered.

The Blight Rayner-designed space ­features seven architectural diagrids each housing private booths for eight guests.

A render of the new Jubilee Hotel in Fortitude Valley.

They will lead out to a raised dining ­platform with 20 tables, bringing the area’s total seating to about 100, with seating for a further 150 diners on the lower courtyard level surrounded by the kitchen and bar, with all areas completely protected from the elements.

But the best seats in the house will be in what will be known as Frank’s Terrace in honour of Jubilee owner and publican Tony Burnett’s father Frank, who previously worked for Castlemaine.

Overlooking the entire beer garden and new live music stage above the kitchen, The Terrace will be an indoor/outdoor function space for 65, or up to 100 if you add on a neighbouring deck area.

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“This design is so unique for Brisbane, I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like it,” McNeill said of the 1000-pax venue.

To complement the new look will be a fresh food and drink offering from chef Jamie Mackinney, which McNeill insists will be approachable to all.

Expect 10 or so share plates, such as saganaki and salt and pepper calamari, mains including the mandatory chicken parmies and crumbed schnitzels, authentic Italian pizzas cooked in an oscillating gas oven and up to 10 steaks with meat sourced mostly from Queensland and NSW. Dietaries will also be catered for with a range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes.

Meanwhile, the drinks list will highlight the microbrewery, with four house-brewed beers being pumped straight from the tanks to the taps. The venue’s 150 taps will also pour mainstream hop favourites, while there will be a wine for every budget from cheap and cheerful Aussie and European vinos to those from the reserve cellar.

The Jubilee Hotel will open November 11