Kitchen Confidential: SK Steak & Oyster joins The Calile precinct

The man behind one of Brisbane’s top restaurants has assembled an all-star cast for his second venue in the same high-class precinct.

Kelvin Andrews, Simon Gloftis and Theo Kampolis at their new restaurant SK Steak & Oyster in The Calile Hotel precinct. Picture: Mark Cranitch

IT’S not a steakhouse – that’s the message Simon Gloftiswants diners to know about his new ­restaurant SK Steak & Oyster.

Slotting into the glamorous Calile Hotel precinct along Wandoo St in Fortitude Valley, the venue will ­operate as a grill – serving grilled meat and seafood, salads and a signature soup of crab and truffle.

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“It’s a culmination of all my restaurants and all the food I’ve always done and things I couldn’t do and wanted to,” says Gloftis, who has partnered with chef Kelvin Andrews(ex-Nineteen at the Star) and Theo Kampolisfor the new venture.

“It’s elegant produce done in a classic way.”

Guests can expect Andrews to be turning out four types of fish daily, ­including a John Dory schnitzel, flounder on the bone, and Patagonian toothfish, alongside the likes of duck and a veal cutlet with Diane sauce.

A potato menu boasting 10 types of spud dishes, such as lobster mash, jacket potatoes, roasted kipflers and fries, will have carb lovers in raptures; while Gloftis says his favourite dish is a ­classic wedge salad with iceberg ­lettuce and a blue cheese dressing, with the restaurant’s fromage selection curated by dairy guru Will Studd.

An oyster shucking station will be a major drawcard, but Gloftis says he is committed to only using the best molluscs possible and if the quality isn’t there, they won’t be on the menu.

The steak fridge at the new SK Steak & Oyster in The Calile Hotel precinct. Picture: Mark Cranitch

Given its name, the restaurant will also serve steak, striking an exclusive deal with Queensland’s Stockyard Beef to serve four premium cuts: a sirloin or porterhouse, eye fillet, prime rib and T-bone with a choice of aged Angus, or wagyu with a MB4-5, MB6-7 or MB9+. The deal will enable SK to keep prices in check, with Gloftis determined to make the restaurant a place that can be visited multiple times a week without breaking the bank.

To match the food, a champagne-heavy global wine list has been created, stretching across all price points from affordable to extravagant.

Classic cocktails will be the order of the day, and there will also be local and imported beers.

Challenging the food to be the star of the show will be the fit-out.

Designed by The Calile’s architects Richards + Spence, the venue epitomises modern elegance, using grey stone, brass detail and pale timbers.

A front bar with a baby grand piano accommodates up to 40 guests, leading into the main dining room with plush booth seating along the windows and luxurious olive green leather chairs.

“It’s that comfortable, classic, clean nature of Richards + Spence,” says Gloftis.

“It’s a grill but not a New York-style grill, it’s more Palm Springs meets Brisbane – something that really suits Queensland.”

After selling his original restaurant Hellenika on the Gold Coast late last month, Gloftis says he’s excited to just focus his attention on SK and Hellenika at The Calile upstairs.

SK will open December 18.