New Woolloongabba venues help suburb become popular entertainment destination
See the flashy new cafes, bars and restaurants that have turned an inner-Brisbane suburb from an untapped resource to a rapidly growing entertainment hub.
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The streets of a suburb in Brisbane’s inner-south have quickly become packed as foodies and residents try out one of the city’s fastest growing entertainment precincts.
Previously only full for sporting events, Woolloongabba has now become an entertainment destination after a spate of new cafes, restaurants and bars opened their doors since the start of 2020.
From fancy wine bars to American-style restaurants and breweries, business owners have capitalised on the suburb’s booming residential development scene as Woolloongabba has gone from an untapped resource to one of the city’s fastest growing areas.
Here are some of the hottest new cafes, restaurants and bars in Woolloongabba:
BARRELS AND STILLS – 54 Logan Rd, Woolloongabba
A flashy new wine bar which opened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – Barrels and Stills has quickly become a favourite among Brisbane residents since launching in April last year.
A lifestyle store specialising in wine, beer, cider and spirits, Barrels and Stills also sells ceramics, soap, candles, books and a range of local produce such as eggs, milk, artisan bread and take home meals.
The owners, Mark Woodward and his business partner, have also built a bar upstairs and people can enjoy a nice glass of wine with a selection of cheese boards.
“Menu is limited but quality is our main focus with up-market toasted sandwiches, vegan cheese board, dumplings, cured meats and many more items,” he said.
After launching their bottle shop during the COVID pandemic, the owners opened the upstairs bar late last year and now host events on wine education, food and wine matching, master classes and guest chef appearances (every Thursday night).
“We would love people to stop by and have a look at what we have created in Woolloongabba, we believe there is nothing like this in Queensland,” Mr Woodward said.
LITTLE G – 64 Logan Rd, Woolloongabba
Woolloongabba’s only pizzeria – Little G — has quickly become one of the most popular new venues in the rising suburb.
A flashy little restaurant sitting underneath The Drapery, one of Woolloongabba’s latest luxury apartment complexes, Little G opened late last year following the closure of fine dining venue, Cornelia, which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a wide variety of pizzas from the fan favourites including margherita to others which feature truffled chicken sausage, old bay prawns and more as well as some tasty non-pizza dishes as well as a bar to enjoy a wine or another cold beverage – Little G has already made a name for itself just months after swinging the doors open.
THE MAC FROM WAY BACK – 31 Logan Rd, Woolloongabba
Creamy American style mac ‘n’ cheese, smashed burgers and unique deep dish pizzas – one of Woolloongabba’s newest restaurants is something Brisbane may have never seen before.
Opening on Logan Rd in October last year, the Mac From Way Back was one of the latest eateries to join the suburb’s hospitality resurgence following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched by owners Dane Coote and partner Quinty Tissen, the couple previously operated the business as a food truck for more than two years.
With a colourful menu which features everything from Nashville-style fried chicken, pizza, burgers, all different types of fries accompanied with a dessert menu to finish a meal off, the Mac From Way Back offers consumers something different in the precinct that is mostly fine dining.
Mr Coote said they needed to move into a permanent location after they could not cope with demand while operating the food truck.
“There’s nothing really like this in the area so that combined with the type of area as far as the amount of residential apartments nearby and also The Gabba being right there, we thought it was a perfect location,” he said.
“Obviously the mac ‘n’ cheese, that’s number one and no one really does it in Brisbane.
“But our special deep dish pizzas I think will be huge and also our smash burgers. We’re the first ones to really do that in Brisbane as well I believe.”
EASY TIMES BREWING – 20 Logan Rd, Woolloongabba
The road to pouring their first cold beer wasn’t one but it’s been well worth it for one of the latest venues to join Brisbane’s rapidly rising brewery scene.
Mr Ferguson, a UK native, said Easy Times takes its inspiration from two sources: his nationality and he and Antia’s careers.
“We wanted to recreate the feel of a corner British pub,” he said.
“A welcoming, laid-back environment where you can forget all your troubles.
“We’re all about self-care and inclusivity – there won’t be any rowdy, crazy people in our pub.”
The brewery side of the business didn’t open until late-November, and Mr Ferguson teamed up with Helios and Slipstream brewing companies to produce a hazy IPA and Helles (pale) lager.
The venue also features a bottle shop, which stocks Easy Times beers as well as independent craft beers – no multinationals there as well as an in-house kitchen, run by northside-favourites Proof BBQ & Booze.
MEEK SOCIAL – 148 Logan Rd, Woolloongabba
Meek Social has been a big addition for arguably Woolloongabba’s biggest residential and retail development in the South City Square.
The restaurant, which had a soft opening before the COVID pandemic hit, has risen to new heights since restrictions eased in the second half of last year as foodies hit the vibrant new venue for a meal as well as a taste of some of their popular beverages, ranging from craft beers to colourful cocktails.
With a menu boasting everything from steaks to gourmet burgers, seafood, chicken wings and more as well as cocktails including espresso martinis, a vanilla passion mohito and many others exclusive to Meek Social – the venue has helped the suburb’s rising reputation in the hospitality industry.
Residents cannot only enjoy the new restaurant and bar later in the day from 4pm to late but can also start their day at Meek Social, which opens from 7am to noon.
KCs CHICKEN – 2/888 Stanley St E, Woolloongabba
Fried chicken with a difference – that’s what KCs Chicken has brought to Woolloongabba.
The new restaurant, a quality fried chicken project by Kimchi Cheese Smile which opened its doors late last year following the COVID-19 pandemic, is the second chicken venue to open in the suburb in recent months.
With a mouth-watering menu, which includes flavours such as secret soy or Korean sweet chilli, KCs Chicken can be seen packed full of customers every night from Wednesday to Sunday.
But not only does the restaurant feature Korean flavoured chicken wings as well as boneless chicken – foodies can also enjoy the venue’s different chicken burgers on the menu as well as craft beer, cocktails, spirits and milkshakes.
YUMS! BURGERS, WINGS, FRIES & SHAKES– Shop 5/159E Logan Rd, Woolloongabba
A new restaurant that is every chicken lover’s dream has arrived and they’re here to fill a gap in Brisbane’s growing food scene.
Yums! Burgers, Wings, Fries and Shakes is an American-style chicken based restaurant, which opened its doors on their first location at Woolloongabba on November 14, adding to a long list of new businesses moving into the rising inner-city Brisbane suburb in recent months.
Having drawn inspiration from an array of different fast casual restaurants around the world, the creators of Yums! have big plans in Queensland with the aim of taking their menu to five other locations around the state by 2022.
“Yums! is an American styled chicken based restaurant that will be serving up a variety of quality tasty chicken burgers and flavourful wings with also an assorted list of thick shakes and of course crispy sweet potato fries all at very good value,” Yums! director and store manager, Alison Reid, said.
“Seeing that the Brisbane food scene was quite up there with the best in the world but had little to no varieties or a lot of chicken or good chicken burger joints one could go to – we decided it’s best we did something about that.”
Ms Reid said she thought the popular suburb was the perfect place to open their first location.
She also said their goal was to establish their restaurant as the No. 1 destination for beautifully cooked and tasty chicken products in Australia.
FRANKIE’S SMOKEHOUSE - 719 Stanley St, Woolloongabba
Fans of American barbecue are flooding into a new smokehouse in Brisbane’s inner-south which is taking foodies by storm.
Frankie’s Smokehouse has quickly become a major hit after launching at 719 Stanley St, Woolloongabba the week leading up to the AFL Grand Final in October.
The new restaurant, which is the brainchild of Tristan Borgo along with his sister Tamika, is so popular among Brisbane residents that weekends at the new venue are booked out almost a month in advance.
Specialising in specialise traditional Texan-style smoking of just using salt and pepper to season meat with the low and slow approach to cooking, the menu at Frankie’s Smokehouse consists mostly of brisket, pulled pork with beef short ribs and pork ribs also available, along with a few extra sides.
Tamika said they were best known for their generous portions and tasty food.
“Our main aim through the restaurant is to create an environment that people love to come and have a good feed at, a couple of local beers, because we believe in supporting local,” she said.
“We also want people to share barbecue stories for those that are starting their journey in barbecue or sharing their cooks and what they did.”
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