When talk turns to Brisbane’s best burgers, Red Hook is often near the top of the list. Opening in 2014, it was perfectly timed to ride the wave of Australia’s then growing love affair with American-style burgers.

Red Hook is still an engine for Bonnie Shearston and Tom Sanceau’s Happy Fat restaurant group, which also runs Ruby, My Dear, and previously included venues such as Public, London Fields, Coppa Spuntino (currently on ice while Shearston and Sanceau find a new location) and Canvas Club (now owned by Dan Rodriguez), its New York-style menu of burgers, snacks and booze a staple for city slickers within walking distance of its Gresham Lane premises.

So it’s the first thing you wonder when considering Dumbo, Shearston and Sanceau’s sequel of sorts at Portside Wharf in Hamilton: why not call it Red Hook?

“We’ve always wanted to roll out Red Hook as a concept,” Shearston says. “But if we did burgers and beer here in 2024, people would rightly ask, ‘What’s special about you?’

“We didn’t want to be another burger chain. We want to have that individuality across all the sites. So we thought, ‘Why not do it more as a group, where each location has its own individuality, its own vibe, its own feel, its own focus?’”

Dumbo softly opened this week. The view from its bifold windows looks straight down the barrel between seafood restaurant Fosh and the adjacent Pinnacle Apartments towards the river, echoing the iconic (and these days Instagrammable) view down Washington Street towards the Manhattan Bridge in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighbourhood, which has leant the venue its name.

Inside, design firm Lamberts has given the 50-seat dining room (there’s another 45 seats outside) white brick walls, terracotta tiling, restrained feature lighting and a line of booths down one side of the venue. It’s a lighter, airier take on a ’90s New York diner, and its high ceilings and open nature make it a pleasant place to laze over lunch.

In short, it’s a different experience to the grungier Red Hook, and chef Casey Poland’s food reflects that.

Yes, you can still order the Brooklyn Cheeseburger, Grandmaster Flash (smashed beef patty, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and smokey mayo) and Shaolin Soul burger (fried chicken, miso mayonnaise, char siu sauce and lettuce). And street eats such as the NYC Dog (cheese kransky, mustard, ketchup, sauerkraut and pickles) and nachos with optional beef brisket and jalapenos are present and correct, along with chicken and cauliflower wings served one of four ways with either a blue cheese or cashew ranch and celery.

But Dumbo’s menu is more expansive and includes a fish sandwich (fried fish fillet, American cheese, house tartare and butter crunch lettuce on a potato bun), the Poppy Lox (smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onion, crisp-fried capers and fresh dill on a poppy seed bagel), and chicken and waffles (southern-fried chicken, buckwheat waffles, Korean hot honey and a buttermilk ranch dressing).

There’s also a trio of salads: a classic caesar (to which you can add chicken and bacon), a green goddess wedge (romaine lettuce with pickled onions, parmesan crisps, seeds and a green goddess dressing) and an Egyptian falafel plate with fresh greens, pickled vegetables, beetroot hummus, toum and pita.

“It’s a different demographic here,” Shearston says. “So we made sure the menu offers something for everyone. We have the street-food offerings, but a family can come in and have something a bit healthier – maybe a salad with wine. Or you can have champagne with fried chicken, which is a combination I’ve said before that I love.”

The venue is awaiting the approval of its liquor licence, but for drinks you can expect a concise list of signature cocktails, four beers on tap plus a bunch of craft drops by the bottle and can, and a tight old-and-new-world wine list that heroes champagne, prosecco and local sparklings (to go with the fried chicken, of course).

Dumbo is latest in a new wave of restaurants and bars attracted to Portside as part of the precinct’s $20 million refurbishment, which has already seen the arrival of Fosh, Rise Bakery, Bird’s Nest and Uncle Wang. More operators, such as Portside Social and Mademoiselle, are due to open this year.

“It’s a venue that feels casual enough that you wouldn’t feel you can’t come in here on your own or just in your gym kit, but you can also dress it up,” Shearston says. “So if people do want to have a little bit more of a fancy experience here, you can absolutely, and I think that was really important to us as well.”

Hours Mon-Wed 11.30am-9pm, Thu-Sat 11.30am-11pm, Sun 11.30am-4pm

37C Harbour Road, Hamilton, 0450 045 542

dumborestaurant.com.au