Top restaurateur to open gourmet buffet on up-market James St

Celebrated restaurant owner Simon Gloftis is set to open his third Brisbane eatery along glam James St – an up-market buffet with a twist.

“This has to work. I will not let this fail,” a determined Simon Gloftis says of the opening of his third Brisbane ­restaurant next week.

Sunshine will launch opposite The Calile Hotel on Fortitude Valley’s up-market James St on April 20, a zucchini chip flick away from his hugely successful restaurants Hellenika and SK Steak & Oyster.

Delivering much of the ­Mediterranean style of cuisine Gloftis grew up eating, the ­casual, open-air venue will be entirely vegetarian, operating as an up-market buffet of sorts with all the food prepared by a brigade of up to 15 chefs, many of whom have worked at Hellenika.

Simon Gloftis at his new restaurant Sunshine in Fortitude Valley. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Diners will be able to choose from about 40 dishes, ranging from hot options such as stuffed tomatoes, braised beans and baked rice, to cold offerings, ­including salads and filled vine leaves, plus desserts and a yoghurt station featuring a special vegan yoghurt, which can be topped with the likes of honey and crushed local nuts.

There will also be a drinks well offering fresh juices, kombucha, a couple of house-made cocktails, and a terrific 30-strong wine list of all Australian, mostly organic and biodynamic drops curated by the restaurant group’s beverage director Alexandra McPherson.

“We wanted the wine list to be able to be recognised independently as a beautiful wine list. I said to Alex, ‘Don’t dumb this down’,” Gloftis said.

So how does this fancy buffet work? Inside the stunning, curve-roofed internal space, ­customers will start at one end of a U-shaped collection of glass cabinets, with a staff member filling your plate as you point to what you would like. Your plate is then weighed and you pay roughly $4 per 100g, regardless of what you order.

“If you have a stuffed tomato or a little salad and you just wanted a light lunch, it might cost you $8 or $9," Gloftis said.

“If you want to fill your plate up and go crazy … it might be $40. You’re literally paying for what you want,” he said.

Diners will then be able to takeaway, or dine in at the beautiful, outdoor, stone courtyard lined with sunshine yellow umbrellas and established olive trees.

There will be seating for about 70 guests, including in three stone curved booths, plus a few tables on the footpath so guests can soak in all of James St’s action.

“There’s two reasons I’m doing (this restaurant), one I want this to work and I want people to be able to have a place to go like this and two, it’s my passion project,” Gloftis said.