Kitchen Confidential: Howard Smith Wharves restaurant lineup revealed

A HIGHLY anticipated Brisbane River redevelopment will feature an exciting new foodie precinct, with world-class restaurants, a craft brewery, a bakery and a coffee roastery all set to open by the end of 2018.

A GLAM, quintessentially Queensland, octagonal bar set over the Brisbane River beneath the Story Bridge with interiors by Anna Spiro. A fresh Greek restaurant by Sydney chef-restaurateur Jonathan Barthelmess. A Hong Kong Chinese-style eatery by serial Brisbane-based restaurateur and The Gresham co-owner Andrew Baturo. A Brisbane sibling for popular Sydney and Melbourne Izakaya, Toko by Matt Yazbek.

It sounds like a spoiled foodies’ Christmas wishlist – but these are just some of the tasty treats locked in for Brisbane diners at Howard Smith Wharves, due to open by the end of next year.

Work is under way on the project’s 5-star, 164-room Art Series Hotel and HSW director, Adam Flaskas says 100 per cent of the precinct components are now fully leased at the 3.4ha riverside site. There remain several spaces on the ground floor of the hotel.

“There will be around eight restaurants in total, pending the final break up. We’ll be doing some and others will be by third parties.”

In addition to eateries and bars, there will be a craft brewery, a bakery and a coffee roastery on site – and a functions and conventions space, which will be supplied directly by the artisan projects.

The Howard Smith Wharves will be a foodies’ paradise.

“In all of our event spaces the coffee will have been roasted on-site, the bread baked that day and the beer will run directly to the event spaces,” Flaskas says. “There will be farmers’ markets and a number of festivals, which will grow organically and be unique to Brisbane.”

Overwater Bar will be a project by HSW’s developers and will have a decked garden lounge with greenery and recliners, plus on-the-water views.

Andrew Baturo and wife Jaimee will bring to life restaurant and bar Stanley, a 180-seat venture with former Urbane, Brisbane head chef Kym Machin (Bare Bones Society, Jindalee) in the kitchen.

Barthelmess has already exported his Sydney project The Apollo to Ginza in Tokyo and says he fell in love with the wharves and possibilities offered by the space. He’s planning a Greek offering with a local twist and the venue will be designed by George Livissianis.

Toko Brisbane will offer a combined restaurant/bar and event space – including waterside outdoor dining, with the focus on a sophisticated yet relaxed offering.

“The first half of the precinct will open in around nine months,” Flaskas says. “The balance will be completed after that. Our view on the project is we’re building something for the long term and we’re taking the time to make it the best we can. We want the precinct to be here for the long term.”

NEWSTEAD READY TO DO THE HOKEY POKE

When Sam Demetriou first popped poke bowls on the menu of his family business, Fresh N

Sam Demetriou and Greg Kalligeros outside their new restaurant in Newstead, Cheeky Poke Bar. Picture: AAP Image/Josh Woning

Wild Fish Portside, in the Brisbane suburb of Hamilton, most diners has never even heard of the dish.

Now the Hawaiian treat of fish, rice and assorted salad garnishes has become a bona fide trend, worldwide.

“I fell in love with poke two or three years ago,” says the co-owner of Cheeky Poke Bar, a venue set to launch at Haven, Newstead late next week.

Since returning from a poke-eating trip to Hawaii at the start of this year, he’s been working on a concept designed to take poke bowls to the next level. “We want to make it into a nice dining experience using the freshest fish and vegies and putting a lot of love and care into it,” says Demetriou, who’s opening the 50-seater with brother-in-law Greg Kalligeros.

The grey-and-black fitout has been designed by Alexa Nice and features royal blue signature walls, Caesarstone benchtops, brass trim and American oak, with polished concrete underfoot.

“It’s a little bit raw and industrial but still quite luxe,” Demetriou says.

Service will be fast-casual style, with diners ordering at the salad bar and plates being ferried out to tables. But patrons will be encouraged to linger rather than eat and run. Dining options include both design-your-own and a range of signature poke bowls with chicken and tofu-based bowls in the mix. Briny selections range from scallop and king prawn to tuna and king fish and these can be served seared as well as raw.

The menu also includes several nutritious miso bone broths, nori or wonton tacos and a slew of dessert kakigori – Japanese-style fruit-flavoured shaved milk ice treats.

Drinks wise, there will be a house lager, kombucha on tap and locally sourced wines and beers.

RICK SHORES NEW VENTURE

The gritty Fortitude Valley location at 6 Warner St couldn’t be more different to Rick Shores’ dramatic ocean views on the Gold Coast – but diners can expect the same attention to detail and big-flavoured dishes when the Burleigh Heads team unveils its new Brisbane restaurant and bar in March. The as-yet-unnamed 515sq m venture will have Rick Shores’ chef Jake Pregnell heading the kitchen offering a modern, Cantonese-inspired, Chinese menu.

Co-owner Dave Flynn has joined Nick Woodward, Frank Li and Andrew Hohns on the project and says interiors at the hybrid indoor-outdoor, multi-tiered venue will be modern and minimalist – featuring a subtropical Queensland hotchpotch of design taking cues from early 20th century Shanghai-French Concession, modern Hong Kong and chinatown regions from around the world.

A dimly lit restaurant area will seat 80-100; a “beer palace” will be alfresco; while upstairs is a function space/private dining room seating 40-50. “The layout is still a bit liquid,” says Flynn. “The restaurant will be at the front at street level and will tier up to a mid-level where there will be an indoor bar. The outdoor (alleyway) space will have a bar snacks menu and will be more of a casual area.”

The menu will be just as versatile, catering for anything from quick bites to a long lunch, featuring dim sum, a yum cha menu and whole meats cooked using Chinese methods, with a swag of sides and salads to match. A drinks list will favour local, new-age producers, with plenty by-the-glass and some obscure Chinese beers.

The project sits next to the recently announced live-music venue site in the former Optus building and 6 Warner St’s developer Portal also plans to create a hotel at the site. The new Cantonese diner and bar will be the anchor tenant.

A dish from Vanitas at Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast.

VERSACE’S VANITAS GOES ITALIAN

Fancy having a breakfast at Palazzo Versace’s flagship diner Vanitas? The Main Beach fine diner has had a radical menu makeover and is now a fully-fledged Italian restaurant offering everything from linguine and risotto to a Sunday brekkie of prosciutto eggs bene.

Chef de cuisine is Andrew Musk and his team will make everything from limoncello to bread and pasta and some house-cured prosciutto. Meals will still be arrayed on flamboyant Versace plates and a white tablecloth remains but the ambience will be less formal and prices more accessible.

The changes are part of a hotel-wide strategy designed to make the palace more attractive to younger players – stay tuned for poolside DJ sets on Saturdays.

Negotiations are also in play with a third party to take over running the hotel’s waterfront Vie.