Want to know where to go for that special anniversary dinner? How about a Christmas catch up?
From bistros to bars, Italian to Asian, 2024 has been a bumper year for eatery openings across Brisbane and The Courier-Mail’s restaurant reviewers have been there to capture each one.
After dining and drinking at freshly launched venues across the Queensland capital, we’ve put together a list of the 20 best new places to eat out.
That means everything from an ultra glam steakhouse with river views, to cool new bars where the food surprisingly outshines the drinks.
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20 Doughcraft
181 Mary St, Brisbane City
This beloved pastry palace in the heart of the CBD transforms from a bakery by day to a casual Italian eatery by night, with all the charm and charisma of a neighbourhood trattoria. The ideal place for a casual after work feed with friends or even solo, Doughcraft serves up a menu of simple bites such as antipasto, pasta, pinsa and pared-back mains of perhaps, grilled prawns or fish of the day. A solid, Italian-leaning wine list completes the authentic picture. Just make sure to stick around for dessert where the morning pastry team let their skills shine, especially with the signature tiramisu served tableside.
19 Luc Lac
The Ghanem Group (Donna Chang, Byblos, Boom Room, etc) has done it again with this sophisticated fusion of Vietnamese and Thai influences. Pronounced Look Luck, the restaurant blends the cuisines of both countries, with a few influences from other Asian nations, in a generous menu that runs from snacks like escargot and pork spring rolls to wagyu skewers and a terrific rendition of pork bun cha to the signature dish of bo luc lac – a beef stir-fry fragrant with soy. The sophisticated wine list, with quality drops by the glass under Coravin, elevates the dining experience, as does the cocktail offering, with drinks bursting with passion and imagination such as a playful twist on the Vietnamese iced coffee known as the Hanoi Vice, which is finished at the table. But the true hero here is the fit-out, featuring a striking gold dragon watching over diners, cascading greenery and a spectacular bar, with its ornate carved timber front and backlit arch of spirits that leaves guests feeling like they’ve entered a tropical Southeast Asian resort.
18 Azteca
South American food gets a glow-up at this new Queen’s Wharf restaurant overlooking the Brisbane River. While the view over South Bank could be the star of the show, the dark and dramatic fit-out gives it a run for its money, with cosy, curved booths under a canopy of hanging plants and a striking teal, backlit bar that’s the ideal spot for a pre- or post-dinner drink from the top-notch cocktail list. Offering just as much fun and flair, while pushing boundaries, is the food menu with the likes of chicken liver parfait and truffle churros, bone marrow with braised kangaroo tail, and a Latin twist on Peking duck pancakes, with chunks of tender, dry-aged duck ready to be layered atop crisp arepas with spring onion, cucumber and blood plum sauce. With a DJ playing at the bar, this is a fun spot for the festive season and beyond.
17 Gum Bistro
Gum Bistro may be a neighbourhood eatery tucked into a homely, cottage tenancy at the quiet end of West End, but it bats far above its modest setting. The work of chef Lachlan Matheson and sommelier Phil Poussart, the venue is a symbol of the lads’ love for hospitality and their craft. It’s obvious in the list of local producers used, which graces the front of the menu, and throughout the drinks list, which celebrates lesser-known wineries and what’s cool and new, without going too far outside the box to scare diners. Competent staff insist the menu is designed to share, but the greedy type can easily treat it as a classic a la carte offering, moving from smaller plates like crudites and vongole with oyster mushrooms to main-size portions of Murray cod with oyster cream or pot pie. Gum Bistro feels like dining at a mate’s place, making it the perfect spot for couples or friends casually catching up.
16 monal dining
The local bistro we all need in our suburb, this unassuming eatery delivers bold flavours and serious bang for your buck. The fare is described very loosely as modern Australian, with nods to two of the owners’ Nepalese heritage, but it’s essentially an eclectic global mix, running from lamb empanadas and a dumpling hybrid of momo and gyoza, to blackened chicken with a mild yet aromatic green curry sauce. Portions are beyond generous, just like the service, which is familiar yet professional. With a solid wine list to match, Monal delivers a great night out.
15 Ach Wine Bar and Bistro
Opening just after New Year, this Middle Eastern-inspired bakery/wine bar/bistro resides in Northshore, Hamilton. The venue operates as a cafe bakery Tue-Fri from 7am with sandwiches, pastries and coffee and then kicks into bistro mode later in the week with lunches and dinners. Cooking is over a wood-fired hearth with a menu ranging through breads from braided challah to malawach (buttery, croissant-like flatbread), snacks such as grilled Merguez sausage and share plates that might include market fish with green tomato salsa and nasturtium. Wash it down with picks from a wine list that features Lebanese and Turkish options in its on-theme mix.
14 Central
A new Queen St restaurant from the owners of Gold Coast surfside icon Rick Shores and tropical South Side in Fish Lane is not what you’d expect. The underground locale is an ultra-modern space where diners can perch around the central kitchen and watch the chefs prepare modern, Hong Kong-inspired dishes such as dim sum – the king crab and prawn spring rolls are stunning – snacks like drunken chicken and pickled lotus root, barbecue including roast duck, char siu pork or crispy skin chicken, and share plates that could be lobster noodles, wagyu short ribs with red kampot pepper or steamed grouper, with a strong drinks list to match.
13 Sokyo
The signature venue of the new Brisbane Star casino, Sokyo is out to wow. The up-market Japanese restaurant may require a win on the pokies to afford some of the dishes – we’re talking about you, Stockyard 9+ Kiwami scotch fillet for $145 or the $89 seven-piece nigiri set – but at its core is quality produce prepared with high levels of skill and technique. With half of the restaurant in the foyer of The Star Grand, ask for a table towards the rear of the venue for a quieter, more intimate dinner, and kick things off with a bang with the spicy edamame, before venturing onto the likes of tuna crispy rice, Margra lamb loin cooked on the robata and precisely cut sashimi.
12 Bar Miette
From the owners of Supernormal, downstairs in the same building, this all-day, bar-cum-eatery combines European chic and the subtropics with views over the Story Bridge from its plant-fringed terrace. Miette stands out with a vibrant drinks list, smart service and an elevated snack and light meal offering from charcuterie to slow-cooked octopus or a milk bun stacked with thin slices of mortadella brushed with smoked maple syrup and interleaved with pistachio pieces. Toast takes an unexpectedly glamorous trip up-market, topped with mussel escabeche; tuna and smoked tomato butter; or sobrasada with chestnut honey. It’s all perfect fare for a summer afternoon while sipping a tropical old fashioned or a Miette martini.
11 Fatcow
After being displaced from its original site in the CBD when Eagle St Pier was demolished in 2022, Fatcow opened in new black and white-toned digs in James St mid-year. The beefy establishment owned by Michael Tassis, whose portfolio includes Rich and Rare at West End and Fosh at Portside, delivers all your classic grill items with a touch of luxury. Think foie gras, caviar or prawns beneath a doona of foamy crustacean bisque. Alternatively, it could be lobster or a wagyu burger, but it’s really all about the hefty line-up of steaks cooked expertly on the wood-fired grill – there are five black angus and 10 wagyu options.
10 August West End
This quirky newcomer in an 1888-built church in West End is from Brad Cooper, ex head chef at the suburb’s Bar Francine, and Matilda Riek who worked front of house there. The menu cannot be accused of following the masses: perhaps start with an ox tongue and green tomato fritter or confit ocean trout with kipfler potatoes and caviar sauce before moving on to share plates of foie-gras stuffed chicken crown or grilled alfonsino (red bream) on butter beans. Finish with blue cheese cheesecake with Pedro Ximenez jelly or chocolate rum and raisin parfait. The clipped drinks list stars classic cocktails and a page of Australian, French and Italian wines.
9 Black Hide
With river and South Bank views, loads of seafood dishes and 11 steak choices Black Hide Steak and Seafood by Gambaro is playing to its long-established strengths on the Terrace level of the new Star casino complex in the CBD. The attractive, 250-seater is beautifully fitted out with mint banquettes, olive trees down the centre, outdoor tables and a large bar area. Tuck into seafood from oysters and caviar to grilled scallops, lobster, prawns, fish or a cold seafood platter. The particularly carnivorous might start with the signature meatballs, steak tartare or short ribs before watching their Stanbroke beef – from a 200g eye fillet up to a 1.2kg tomahawk – cook on the charcoal grill in the open kitchen.
8 Longwang
Sandwiched between two CBD buildings in a former laneway, this specially constructed restaurant delivers bold personality. While downstairs offers a powerful, brutalist aesthetic, upstairs is quintessentially Queensland and the pick of the spaces, with a retractable roof and a forest of greenery playing into the welcoming biophilic design. In the kitchen is talented ex-Same Same chef Jason Margaritas, who delivers big flavours influenced by his travels across Asia. That means everything from XO prawn toast to pork belly and green mango salad to massaman beef curry and Korean fried chicken.
Well-versed staff warmly attend to guests, while a food-friendly drinks list, with an abundance of cocktails, ensures a good time is had.
7 Montrachet
Long-time customer favourites such a crab souffle and bouillabaisse are still on the menu at the freshly rebooted Montrachet in Bowen Hills. So too is the traditional French bistro decor of red leather upholstery, a mirror-backed bar and brass rails but not everything is as it was at the long-time French culinary outpost. Among the menu newbies are beef wellington, a roast pumpkin and mushroom pie and a dessert of passionfruit souffle with coconut sorbet and a “chilli explosion”. New chef/owner Clement Chauvin, who was born in Paris, grew up in Lyon and trained in Michelin-starred venues, opened the door to this third iteration of the restaurant on October 1, maintaining standards of service and quality French food.
6 Cru Bar
It’s been around for more than 20 years but after closing for months for a comprehensive makeover, Cru Bar emerged mid-year as if brand new. With walls moved, a tasting room, new furniture including emerald booths, a floor-to-ceiling wine wall and a significant kitchen upgrade, the venue now tips more towards restaurant than bar, although the drinks list is massive. Now there’s a tasting menu, and a large a la carte repertoire ranging from snacks such as sourdough crostini topped with Moreton Bay bug and rose marie sauce, entrees of smoked duck salad or pork rillettes with sand crab gribiche and main courses from steak frites to roasted onion risotto. Oh, and the service is top shelf.
5 Petite
Petite is the type of bistro/wine bar we all wished we lived above. Ideal for those nights you simply can’t be bothered cooking, the talented team led by owners and brothers Cameron and Jordan Votan will take care of your every need, recommending dishes off the simple, classic menu and wines from small, boutique growers to suit. Sit at the bar and treat yourself to a traditional chicken cordon bleu matched with a Burgundy chardonnay – one of 20 wines by the glass, or perhaps settle in for a steak frites with a perfectly paired syrah. While Petite may be great to enjoy on your own after a hard day’s work, it’s also a charming spot to bring friends, family or a date for a relaxed indulgence.
4 Stan’s Lounge
Stan’s might bill itself as a bar with elaborate $150 cocktails using decades-old spirits, but this dimly lit hideaway is actually a culinary wonderland. Tucked inside the former upstairs dining room of Stanley restaurant at Howard Smith Wharves, the buzzy lounge with a DJ booth pumping eclectic beats is catered by the same chef as the eatery downstairs, but this time kitchen king Louis Tikaram is letting his hair down creating dishes he wants to eat. From spring roll-like crab cigars to salmon caviar-topped prawn toast that will live rent free in your mind, Stan’s is the place to come for a drink but stay for the food.
3 Naldham House
The Brasserie in Naldham House, the white, heritage-listed 1864 building on the corner of Felix and Mary streets in the Brisbane CBD that once housed the Polo Club, opened with a splash mid-year with a traditional bistro menu. Tuck into the likes of oysters, beef tartare and chicken liver parfait, then perhaps steak frites au poivre, fish meuniere or a splendid beef cheek bourguignon pithivier, all backed by a hefty wine list with mainly European by-the-glass options. The decor by Anna Spiro is eye-catching with her signature blend of a mix of jewel-coloured fabrics, patterns and colours offsetting original features.
2 Emme
Guests are taken on a culinary adventure around the globe at this slick eatery which runs from casual cafe by day to moody and intimate diner by night. With all seats bordering a central kitchen, diners can watch their fare being cooked over fire in the stunning wood-burning grill. That might mean the Thai-leaning charcoal baby squid with pineapple and herbs, to Middle Eastern-influenced signature pitas which come with a variety of accompaniments from slow-cooked lamb to crab and red harissa. There’s even Australian native ingredients at play in favourites like the spiced wagyu chuck tail skewers. A solid wine list is well matched to the food, while cocktails offer an inventive and flavourful pairing, with warm and genuine service keeping everything operating smoothly.
1 Supernormal
The Brisbane sibling to Melbourne’s shining institution of the same name, Supernormal has had the city’s food scene talking since it launched a few months ago. While the name may be the same as its interstate sister, that’s largely where the similarities end with chef/owner Andrew McConnell wanting to create something uniquely Queensland. That means a stunning colonial-influenced fit-out with mirrors to capture the view of the river outside from every seat in the house, and a fresh menu inspired by the state’s enormous array of stunning produce. Think Stockyard beef with bullhorn pepper, steamed coral trout with aged soy, or a bean salad with tahini. What is in keeping with the Victorian original venue, however, is the exceptional service, with staff exuding McConnell’s signature brand of hospitality – charming, highly knowledgeable, deeply informed, yet approachable.
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