Mobile restaurant Da Biuso to launch in Brisbane

A Brisbane family is set to create the country’s first fine dining restaurant on wheels, where customers can eat out on the move.

Australia’s first permanent dine-in restaurant on wheels is set to roll into Brisbane in the coming months, with the launch of Da Biuso.

The mobile fine diner is the work of hospitality veterans the Biuso family– mum Sarah, dad Biagio and son Joseph – with the trio converting an old bus into a restaurant that looks and feels like a glamorous European tram.

“The idea really came from Covid when we originally had seating limits on diners (at our restaurant) and we found that small numbers worked really well for us with Biagio’s style of food,” Sarah said. “The exciting part about it is we can go anywhere whenever we want.”

Biagio, Sarah and Joseph Biuso with their bus, which is being converted into a mobile restaurant. Picture: David Clark

The 12.5m bus is currently being pulled apart by Van Demons Vans in Brisbane’s Acacia Ridge and refitted as an “elegant and classy” European-inspired tram with upholstered seats, curtains and wood detailing in light, contemporary tones.

It will eventually seat up to 14 guests at a mix of tables for two and four people, or the whole vehicle can be hired for functions and events for up to 18 diners sitting at a long table.

Included in the bespoke space will be a 4.1m commercial kitchen, ready for chefs Biagio and Joseph to work their magic.

That magic will consist of set degustation menus that change seasonally with the produce, described by Biagio as “contemporary European with Sicilian influences”.

An artist’s impression of the new Da Biuso mobile restaurant.

That may mean dishes such as a pasta where the noodles are actually made from fish rather than flour, or Biagio’s well-loved pistachio cake that has become a favourite at the family’s other restaurants including the now-closed Marina Paradiso in Cairns and Casa Nostra in Fortitude Valley.

Sarah will take care of wine and non-alcoholic pairings for the multi-course menus, with vino from Italy, plus a strong range of classic cocktails like negronis and martinis, plus Italian digestifs and Italian beers.

The restaurant is planning to open for lunch and dinner five days a week, especially catering to the corporate crowds at lunch; while it can also be booked out entirely for parties, functions and weddings, with a separate catering menu that can run from the casual to the high end.

Despite the restaurant’s mobile nature meaning it can go anywhere, Sarah said it will begin stationed at Brisbane’s New Farm Park, with plans to relocate to Kangaroo Point Cliffs and Manly in the future on a rotating basis.

“Wherever we go we’ll have a beautiful view,” she said, revealing she had already booked a function at a farm in Maleny.

The family is hoping the eponymous Da Biuso will be open before December – just in time for the Christmas crowds.

ROSALIE GOURMET MARKET TURNS 25

It’s endured fire, floods and a pandemic, now Brisbane’s beloved Rosalie Gourmet Market will celebrate its 25th birthday this month.

The providore, deli and caterer in Rosalie, in Brisbane’s inner-southwest, has been spruiked to the late Queen and even named as one of the 50 greatest food stores in the world by Travel & Luxury Magazine.

Founded in 1997 by Norris and Marcia Lewis, it became a community hub for the area under their 19-year rein. In 2016, former financial services professional Rae Gough bought the business with absolutely no food or retail experience.

Rosalie Gourmet Market in Rosalie will this month celebrate its 25th birthday. Picture: Richard Walker

“It was a big change and it was jumping in head first and hoping for the best.” The best didn’t exactly follow for Gough, however, with the market destroyed by an electrical fire in 2019, before being forced to close its cafe in 2020 when the pandemic hit, and then suffering severe water damage in February’s devastating floods.

While it has been a bumpy ride for the owner, she said it had also been the best experience of her life.

“It’s been a baptism of fire, but I’ve loved every second of it,” she said.

In fact, she sees only good to have come from each obstacle, crediting Covid for enabling them to establish a terrific online store, as well as increase their catering range, which has boomed with people working from home to now make up 10-15 per cent of their business.

Owner Rae Gough at Rosalie Gourmet Market. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

It means their kitchen team has expanded from two to 12, with the operation now catering to events for six to 600 people, and developing a hugely popular line of in-house cakes, heat-and-eat meals and gourmet sandwiches catering to all dietary requirements. They have also expanded their hamper range, with orders for gourmet gift boxes coming in from all over the world. Meanwhile, she said the flood brought the community even closer together and led to even greater support for the business.

To celebrate 25 years, Rosalie Gourmet Market has commissioned Brisbane artist Matt Stewart to create a new artwork for the exterior wall that will be unveiled at its official birthday celebration on October 29 in store, featuring entertainment, live music and food tastings from some of the store’s most popular suppliers.