Kitchen Confidential: Brisbane set to welcome new riverfront Italian restaurant
He’s succeeded with seafood now the man behind George’s Paragon in Brisbane hopes to triumph with a new restaurant — and cuisine — at the former site of Groove Train by the river.
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ITALIAN STALLION
He’s succeeded with seafood now the man behind George’s Paragon, Brisbane hopes to triumph with Italian.
This Thursday Michael Tassis will launch Massimo Restaurant & Bar at Brisbane’s Riverside Centre, just a spaghetti sling from George’s.
The contemporary 130-seat Italian takes over the old Groove Train site along the riverfront and has been transformed into a slice of the Mediterranean by Brisbane design firm Clui. Think soft greys, banquette seating, booths for groups of up to 10, impressive light installations and lots of greenery. Hanging fish and charcuterie cabinets will be a star feature, plus there’s a separate bar with additional seating for up to 30.
Tassis has hired Italian chefs Davide De Scisciolo and Alessandro Srissone to create an authentic but modern menu running from octopus carpaccio to the seafood-loaded broth cioppino with house made focaccia.
Pasta will also be made in house daily topped with everything from sandcrab and prawn to a beef and pork ragu; while a chargrill will turn out Italian sausages and Florentine steaks. Lunch specials will be available everyday, while an aperitivo arvo will run at the bar from 3pm-5pm daily with $6 house wine, beer or spirit options.
Talking drinks, an Italian-charged wine list will be in play, alongside hard-to-find Italian beers, plus an Italian-themed cocktail offering dominated by spritzes and negronis.
Massimo is set to open Thursday.
TAKE THE CAKE
Brisbane baking queen Jocelyn Hancock is on the move.
The city’s pastry doyenne is relocating her beloved Cake & Bake store she set up along Montague Rd in West End in late 2015 to 58 Commercial Rd, Newstead.
“We were toying with what to do with the site (in Newstead) and decided to move back to it,” says Hancock, who founded and later sold Jocelyn’s Provisions in Fortitude Valley.
“I’ll have a baker out the back and I’m taking over the kitchen and the shop out the front.”
The Newstead location is undergoing a makeover in preparation for the cake shop with window seating for six and tables out the front for guests to enjoy a sweet or savoury treat and a coffee using their signature blend.
To celebrate the move, new treats will be added to the menu including bread, a banana, caramelised date and pecan cake; a sour cream, rhubarb and plum cake, and vegetarian brioche pizzas. While old favourites such as their brownies, quiches and layered chocolate cake will remain.
The new store will also sell her Hancock & Farm range of preserves, jams, relishes and more, alongside fresh organic eggs and honey.
West End’s last day of trade will be Easter Saturday, with the Newstead store launching on April 26.
NEW EATERY NO BULL
El Matador will be waiving the red flag for lovers of Spanish fare when it opens Thursday in Brisbane’s CBD.
The 80-seater tapas bar and all-day dining venue is tucked down Burnett Lane with a central open kitchen surrounded by red booths, exposed brick walls and an intimate lounge area with scarlet banquettes.
The handiwork of restaurateur Leo Castelluccio, it boasts an enormous menu centred around their traditional Spanish Pira oven fuelled by Australian charcoal, ironbark and apple wood.
Highlights will include a Rangers Valley Black Angus tomahawk, a whole lamb shoulder and the $259 half confit suckling pig, which must be ordered 24 hours in advance.
Fresh seafood will be another specialty, with an ice bar laden with everything from whole rock lobsters and WA marron to caviar, oysters and Shark Bay scampi.
Traditional cured meats will be sliced to order, alongside Spanish cheeses, pinchos and tapas ranging from a three cheese tart with baby figs and honey to beef empanadas.
Meanwhile, the drinks list will feature a collection of popular wine labels alongside Spanish vino; local craft and international beers, artisan spirits and a tight offering of cocktails favouring spritzes and sangria.
Castelluccio is also working on a second Burnett Lane venture, a high end karaoke and cocktail bar opposite El Matador called The Waiting Room, due to open in a few months. Stay tuned for more.
GET HIM TO THE GREEK
He’s worked at some of the best restaurants in the world, now acclaimed Greek chef Dimitris Katrivesis will bring his unusual concept of Greek yum cha to Brisbane.
Katrivesis, whose resume includes stints at former world No. 1 restaurant El Bulli in Spain and the three Michelin-starred Ryugin in Tokyo, will host the first ever Greek yum cha at Nostimo restaurant in South Brisbane’s Greek Club, teaming up with chef-in-residence David Tsirekas.
Held on May 18 and 19, the experience will feature a Greek trolley loaded with meze plates instead of dim sum dishes. But the playful event will be just one of a week-long schedule for Katrivesis, who will be in Brisbane for the annual Paniyiri Festival at South Brisbane’s Musgrave Park the same weekend.
The acclaimed chef, known for his fusion of Japanese, Spanish, Peruvian and Greek fare, will also create daily lunch and dinner specials at Nostimo from May 14-17, host a degustation dinner on May 15, and take part in Paniyiri’s annual cooking demonstrations. For more details see paniyiri.com.au
MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY
Riverfront restaurant Proud Mary at Brisbane’s Powerhouse in New Farm has had a name change.
The eatery, owned by Sydney-based Trippas White Group, faced a trademarking issue with the name and has been forced to change it to Mary Mae’s.
Their New Orleans-influenced menu will remain, with a few new dishes.
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