Longtime restaurant in Fortitude Valley announces closure

A Brisbane restaurant so popular that it’s booked out every night, with guests facing one-hour waits for tables, is closing its doors after just five years. But fans of its popular eatery concept may not have to look far for a replacement.

Longtime Restaurant in Fortitude Valley is closing after five years of operation.

ONE of Brisbane’s most popular Thai restaurants, Longtime, is closing its doors after five years.

The Fortitude Valley icon tucked off Ann St will be turned into an events space by owners Tyron Simon and Frank Li, with the restaurateurs to move the popular eatery concept to the new Calile Hotel precinct in the Valley’s James St.

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Renamed Same Same, the new restaurant will be the final big name drawcard in the slick new Ada Lane dining strip, which will also house Michelin-starred chef Alan Wise’s Beaux Rumble and SK Steakhouse and Oyster from The Courier-Mail Restaurant of the Year winner Simon Gloftis.

“We’ve always wanted a function space,” Mr Simon said. “At one stage we looked at doing something upstairs at Longtime but the commercials didn’t quite stack up.”

Same Same will open in early November as an 80-seat restaurant and bar designed by The Calile architects Richards and Spence.

Frank Li is behind some of Brisbane's best loved eateries such as Little Valley, Honto and Longtime. Picture: AAP image, John Gass

It will feature an open kitchen twice the size of Longtime’s, as well as a charcoal fire pit to create a series of new dishes built around flames. All the Thai eatery’s favourites, however, including their lobster curry and pad see ew will make the move to the new site down the road.

“I think this step is a good way to give everything a needed freshen up,” said Mr Li.

The new restaurant is smaller than the original, but will boast an upstairs bar with a 140-bottle wine list, Thai-style cocktails and beer.

“We’ll still be dark, we’ll still be fun. The restaurant will still be full of greenery and be lush and inviting,” Mr Simon said. “We want to be more controlled but we’re not giving up atmosphere. It’s about not losing touch with where we came from.”

Longtime’s popularity is well known in Brisbane dining circles, with the venue fully booked every night, and waits of up to an hour for a table.

As for the original Longtime site, it will remain exactly the same, but will be able to be customised for functions. It’s also due to open November.