Reservation hell: The most in-demand Brisbane restaurants revealed
Queues out the door, a wait of weeks for a table – these are the Brisbane restaurants pulling in the crowds in 2020.
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Queues out the door, waiting lists for weeks, reservation hell – these are the Brisbane restaurants that have been drawing crowds in 2020. From fire-fuelled cuisine to sizzling steaks and inviting veg, these venues captured diners’ interest, getting people out of the house and back into dining chairs post lockdown.
MAYA
7 57 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
Created during the COVID-19 lockdown, this sleek and sophisticated eatery takes the place of glitzy rooftop bar Eleven. While owners Jason and Katie Coats planned for the glam new Mexican restaurant just to be a six-month pop-up, its overwhelming popularity has led to the pair keeping it for the indefinite future.
A hangout for the beautiful people of Brisbane, the cactus-dotted, coastal-themed rooftop pumps with a DJ on weekends, while a champagne and tequila-led drinks list ups the party vibe. Food is a share-style affair combining popular street fare such as tacos and quesadillas with plates of protein given a Mexican twist. Think short rib with chipotle and mezcal glaze and calamari with jalapeño and lime aioli. All this makes Maya the place to play with friends.
Maya-mexican.com.au
AGNES
22 Agnes St, Fortitude Valley
In a former warehouse in a nondescript street is an eatery that has had diners flocking since it opened in August. From its broad menu prepared with smoke and flame, perhaps start with crunchy radishes dipped in an onion sour cream or prawn doughnuts. Then move on to a crackling-crowned slab of moist, dry-aged heritage pork; aged duck or smoked lamb neck with flatbreads. The desserts, too, deserve serious attention with sumptuous creations such as strawberry mille-feuille and smoked sticky date pudding. Tables for two are booked out for three months but more tables for larger groups are available towards the end of January. The advice is to call or email as last-minute vacancies do arise. Otherwise try the atmospheric in-house bar or the rooftop terrace, they’re walk-in only, and the snacks menu is available to drinkers.
agnesrestaurant.com.au
BOOM BOOM ROOM
49 Elizabeth St, Brisbane
This COVID-inspired revamp of the old Boom Boom Room drinking den in Brisbane’s CBD, has been a winning formula for owners The Ghanem Group.
Transforming the former Middle Eastern influenced bar into a Japanese Izakaya brought what was missing to the space hidden beneath an old bank building – serious food.
With its ultra luxe fit-out of plush red chairs, high-backed, quilted booths and moody lighting, guests are encouraged to start with a sake or terrifically made Japanese-leaning cocktail, before working their way through the all-encompassing share-style menu, which runs from sushi and sashimi to yakitori and protein-filled plates. Let the highly knowledgeable staff guide your choices, which must include the Fraser Isle spanner crab udon with kombu-infused butter.
theboomboomroom.com.au
RESTAURANT DAN ARNOLD
959 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
Two years ago Dan Arnold returned to his home town after seven years in France (with experience as a two-Michelin star sous chef and 8th place in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or world final in 2017) to open his eponymous restaurant with wife Amelie. For Brisbane, it had an unusual set-menu-only. And then just when people had adjusted to the concept, COVID happened. Arnold briefly did takeaway, then partly-prepared heat-at-home menus and a Saturday bake sale of stunning French pastries and breads, cakes, tarts and jams, which introduced him to a new audience. Now demand is high for his $85 for three-course menu ($125 for five), which includes amuse-bouches, house-made breads (brioche, rye, sourdough), butters (smoked and citrus) and petit fours. At this level of cooking, it’s very good value.
restaurantdanarnold.com
ZA ZA TA
1000 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
Opening a vegetarian-only restaurant inside a hotel takes some serious falafels, but that’s what the team at Fortitude Valley’s Ovolo Hotel did.
Following a COVID hiatus, the team reopened their vibrantly appointed, Middle Eastern-themed restaurant, ditching meat and heroing all things veg and cheese. The risky move paid off with the Roy Ner menu a budget-friendly feasting delight. Think eggplant h’raime that sings with smoky notes, delightfully salty silverbeet and feta fingers, or breads that beg to be carb-loaded. A strong global wine list is well matched to the food, but the fun is in the well-made Middle Eastern cocktails and mocktails, like a Persian daiquiri or smoked persimmon negroni.
ovolohotels.com/ovolo/thevalley/eat
SAME SAME
Ada Lane, Fortitude Valley
The owners pulled big crowds at their former establishment Longtime near the Valley Mall and that’s still the case following their move to up-market James Street in a dining room that’s an architectural step up.
The spare and slick setting offers a neutral palette for the punch of the expansive menu of Thai dishes, which stays true to the restaurant’s DNA of a flavour-hunting, vibrant take on traditional favourites that seem just right for a subtropical city.
Same Same’s prawn larb taco has become a thing and roast pork belly with tamarind dressing, massaman curry of twice-cooked lamb shank and coconut and turmeric curry of Queensland king prawns have proved irresistible.
samesamerestaurant.com.au
THE BOATSHED
Regatta Hotel, 543 Coronation Drive, Toowong
Inside the iconic Regatta Hotel, this sprawling steakhouse is busier than Santa on Christmas Eve. Nautically themed with a modestly masculine leaning, the bustling restaurant turns out hundreds of premium grass and grain-fed steaks each night, from their signature OP rib on the bone to a monster 1.2kg Angus Tomahawk.
Specialising in dry aged beef, the kitchen team runs regular events to show off their work. While for those not into steak, the restaurant steers away from more traditional pub favourites in favour of mod Oz fare such as confit duck gnocchi, seafood linguine and chargrilled pork loin with nduja butter.
regattahotel.com.au
SK STEAK & OYSTER
The Calile Hotel, 48 James St, Fortitude Valley
At the base of the glamorous Calile Hotel, this swanky New York and LA-inspired grill restaurant is for those who want to feel a little fancy.
Sink into one of the plush, crescent-shaped booths along the window and peruse the seafood and steak dominated menu which includes everything from their signature seafood cocktails to seafood platters and a $260 1.3kg rib eye.
Well-drilled, white coat-clad staff can assist with wine pairings from the extravagant, champagne-heavy list that moves from the approachable to the revered and elite.
sk-so.com
JOY
7/690 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
Hidden down blink-and-you-miss-it Bakery Lane in Fortitude Valley, this unique fine dining concept has just 10 seats, with diners sharing a bar along the kitchen while watching their degustation dinner being prepared directly in front of them.
One of the hottest restaurants in Australia last year with a string of accolades, it’s popularity has continued in 2020 despite being closed for several months with COVID restrictions.
While things might be a little different this year, with owner Sarah now alone in the kitchen after splitting with husband, chef and business partner Tim during lockdown, the multi-course menu with an expanded drinks list still draws crowds. In fact, the restaurant is now booked out until March next year.
joyrestaurant.com.au
MODA TAPAS BRASA BAR
The Barracks, 61 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane
Consistently one of the most-booked restaurants in the state on reservation platform TheFork, Moda has been going gangbusters since COVID restrictions lifted.
After 20 years in the CBD, chef Javier Codina decamped to inner-west Petrie Terrace into a revamped heritage-listed building that began life in 1912 as stables at the police barracks. Tapas include Bundaberg jalapeños, black pudding pintxo and reef fish ceviche, and main course options might be Maleny buffalo tomahawk or heritage chicken cooked in the charcoal oven.
modarestaurant.com.au
Circuit breaker Ricki-Lee swears by when life gets tough
Between Australian Idol, hosting a radio show and her music career, Ricki-Lee Coulter’s life is exhausting. However, her life forever changed almost a year ago when she had surgery for the debilitating disease she grappled with for years.
My son went to the doctor with a cold. Months later, he was dead
Henry France - a strapping, sport-loving 18-year-old just weeks away from finishing Year 12 - went to the doctor with a cold that wouldn’t go away. He was 19 when he died, leaving a gaping hole in his family that will never heal.