The best new Qld restaurants still to come in 2023
A feast of new restaurants is set to open in the coming months across Queensland. Here’s what you should be getting excited about.
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It’s no secret Queensland’s dining scene is booming, but some of the best is still yet to come.
Following on from a feast of high profile openings in 2023 including celeb chef Martin Boetz’s Short Grain in Fortitude Valley, the nearby $9m makeover of the GPO, and South Brisbane’s Bar Rosa from the local pizza kings behind Julius and Beccofino, foodies across the state have plenty more to get excited for.
Opening before the year’s end will be a swag of new eateries offering everything from premium steak to sensational Middle Eastern cuisine and top-notch French fare.
Here’s what to keep an eye out for:
RICH AND RARE
West End
Prolific Brisbane restaurateur Michael Tassis (Opa Bar + Mezze, Massimo, Yamas and Fosh) is behind this glam new steakhouse in West End’s West Village.
Opening on September 29, the venue will serve up 14 cuts of steak from some of Australia’s best producers, with only the specialty cut from each beef brand chosen.
The 120-seat venue created by Brisbane’s Clui Design will feature a luxe dry ageing meat room and cellar in the entry, two private dining rooms, a bar seating an extra 30 patrons, live lobster tanks and fresh oyster shucking.
MINI
Fortitude Valley
Taking over the spot previously home to Nice Thai by Kid Curry, this French-themed bistro will run as a pop-up from hospitality brothers Cameron and Jordan Votan.
Mini will seat 40 inside and another 30 outside in a new garden extension, serving up everything from beef tartare and chinois prawn dumplings to steak frites and chicken cordon bleu.
The food will be matched with a top-notch wine list including many exclusive and interesting drops imported from France. It will open on September 26 and operate until January next year.
PETITE
Fortitude Valley
Mini will be a preview of what will become the Votan’s fourth official venue, Petite.
Moving into the corner slot on Ann and East St in Fortitude Valley, Petite will be a casual and fun French wine bar and eatery, serving terrific snacks and even better wine.
Guests will be able to visit for a small bite and a drink before heading off, or get stuck in for a serious dinner. Petite is planned to open in January.
COMO
South Brisbane
The team formerly behind Il Posto in Paddington is opening this high-end, classic fine dining Italian on Melbourne St, South Brisbane. While details are pretty tight at the moment, it’s said be a truly glamorous affair with a focus on the finest ingredients and wine. It’s due to open in November.
ESTABLISHMENT 203
Fortitude Valley
A steak restaurant that breeds its own beef – that’s the promise from this upcoming up-market restaurant. Owned by cattle company Stanbroke, which produce some of the country’s best beef, Establishment 203 will be fronted by former television chef Ben O’Donoghue.
The restaurant will be built around a Mibrasa parrilla wood-fired station and broiler and an integrated induction suite that O’Donoghue promises will to deliver big bold flavours into the beef. Alongside steaks, the venue will also lean into the Stanbroke family’s Italian heritage and offer a range of pasta, antipasti and Italian desserts. There will also be a 30 seat bar for those after a less formal dining and drinking experience, serving the likes of antipasti and burgers.
GERARD’S
Fortitude Valley
This Fortitude Valley stalwart is set to reopen next month after a mega makeover, with a return to its traditional Middle Eastern roots and a bold new look inspired by the ruins of Babylon.
The James St restaurant from the Moubarak family will feature dramatic rammed earth red walls, two private dining rooms, new-look outdoor dining and seating for a total of 120 all designed by award-winning architect Jared Webb.
Meanwhile, the menu will be a share-style affair by new chef Jimmy Richardson featuring flavours from Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey and Syria in dishes such as calamari tartlets, a modern twist on babaganoush and the Lebanese stringy ice cream booza.
BAR ROCCO
Coorparoo
This new wine bar/eatery from talented chef Ashley-Maree Kent will move in next door to her hugely popular Italian restaurant Ramona Trattoria in Brisbane’s south.
Designed to cater to guests who can’t get a booking at Ramona, but also those looking for a less formal dining experience, it will feature hand-made, wood-fired pizzas and coal-grilled vegetables and proteins, alongside Italian and Australian wines and cocktails.
It is due to open later this month.
STIR DOWN
Fortitude Valley
Moving into Fortitude Valley’s colourful California Lane, this tiny 20-seat bar will specialise in cocktails that are stirred not shaken. Expect kooky concoctions such as a Tzatziki martini that tastes like the Greek dip and an Old Fashioned crowned with a doughnut from owner and mixologist Marc Grey. It will also have a small range of Mediterranean-leaning wines to match the fit-out. It’s due to open late next month.
BLOWFISH OCEAN GRILL + BAR
Broadbeach
From the acclaimed team behind award-winning steakhouse Moo Moo The Wine Bar + Grill, Steven and Autum Adams, is this new 150-seat seafood restaurant at The Oracle. The pair is keeping tight-lipped on the details, but it is set to feature an elaborate fit-out by interior design gurus Space Cubed including elements flown in from across the world.
It’s due to open on November 24.
WINSTON
Mapleton
Accomplished chef Cameron Matthews is set to bring back his popular fine dining pop-up restaurant Winston next month.
The temporary eatery, which last operated in Noosa, will take over Matthew’s current place of work, the Mapleton Public House, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
Running for five weeks across October and November, Winston will serve up an elevated menu using the finest of produce grown at award-winning Falls Farm, which is also owned by the team behind the pub.
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