There’s been a bit of a wait for Brisbane’s bar scene to get its collective butt into gear.

This city’s restaurants have for years now punched above their weight, and our cafes continue to push in interesting new post-covid directions.

Our boozers, though, seemed stuck, unable to get beyond the idea of “fancy cocktail bar”.

That, though, has begun to change over the past 18 months.

And despite one major loss in 2024, we got a bunch of interesting new (and reworked) venues, from a late-night supper club and a wine bar in a garage in the CBD, to an innovative neighbourhood boozer in a surprising Fortitude Valley spot.

Here are the spots to seek out as we head into 2025.

Milquetoast, CBD

You’ll find Milquetoast hidden in a garage down the end of a laneway opposite the Hilton Hotel on Elizabeth Street.

Inside, it’s homely rather than fancy, owners George Curtis and James Horsfall scouring Facebook Marketplace for vintage timber tables and leather and velvet chairs and bar stools. A bar and open kitchen runs down one side of the venue.

It’s the vino that takes centre stage here. Horsfall has put together a 50-bottle list that covers both Australian and international drops and focuses on small producers, grower champagnes and limited allocations.

There’s also a cocktail list that focuses on higher end spirits, and a martini menu that each month showcases a different distillery.

Food taps into a revitalised interest in British food (Curtis is from England, as are Horsfall’s parents).

It changes regularly, but dishes so far have included devilled eggs with bacon and leek cream, a cured fish crumpet with curry aioli, Urban Valley mushrooms on toast, and Cumberland sausages with Puy lentils and gremolata.

The Alliance, Spring Hill

The changes at the relaunched Alliance might initially feel subtle, but then co-owner Peter Hollands says there was a lot of low-hanging fruit at this iconic 1864-built pub.

In the beautiful old front bar, he and co-owners Emma Hollands (Peter’s wife), Kat Makarov and Nick Winter (who between them are known for slick CBD bars Frog’s Hollow and Alice) have replaced the bar top and beer lines, covered the walls in Australiana – think old Foster’s, Fourex and Four’n Twenty pie posters – and thrown open the windows to better catch the sun as it tracks across the old Spring Hill workers’ cottages to the north-west, filling the venue with a lovely afternoon light.

On tap there are 10 beers that split the difference between big box drops such XXXX Gold, Toohey’s New and Guinness, and a rotating selection of craft brews.

Out back, the old bistro has also been reinvented as The Whisky Warren. It serves a menu of Australian game that changes depending on what he can get his hands on. You might order dishes such as kangaroo tartare served with onion and bean purée on toasted brioche; butterflied harissa-marinated whole quail with cauliflower purée, sautéed kale and crisp enoki; or a slow cooked rabbit stew with mushroom, potato and tomato.

The rest of the venue has been given over to a series of private dining rooms and function spaces. Upstairs, there’s the light-filled Leichhardt Room with capacity for 160 guests.

Downstairs, beneath the public bar, there’s the Actress and the Bishop Bar, with capacity for 45 people; and the 60-person Mirror Room. There’s also a 14-seat private dining room in the venue’s wine cellar.

Barry Parade Public House, Fortitude Valley

Daniel Gregory, Brennen Eaton and Lachlan Henry opened this sophisticated neighbourhood boozer on what many would consider a relatively unknown byway between the CBD and Fortitude Valley.

And Barry Parade Public House is drawing punters from the surrounding neighbourhood. They’re coming for a focused list of cocktails, small producer Australian wine, and local craft beer on tap and by the bottle and can, along with a Creole-influenced menu of bar snacks.

They’re also coming for the venue itself, which occupies a heritage-listed terrace building that dates back to 1928. It has to be one of the most elegant new bar builds in recent memory – a space defined by a high-set, handsome hardwood bar, timber wall panelling, pendant lights and eye-catching original terrazzo flooring.

For drinks, between them Gregory and Eaton have worked at The Gresham, Alba Bar & Deli, The Bowery, Black Pearl (Melbourne) and Eau de Vie (Sydney), so expect plenty of approachable innovation on the cocktail list.

You might order a Broken Spanish (Oloroso sherry, Flor de Cana seven-year-old rum, brown butter falernum, lime and pineapple), a Verona (Hine VSOP cognac, Campari, Burdekin virgin cane spirit and Punt e Mes vermouth), or a Rosy’s Fizz (Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz gin, bianco vermouth, Mancino Chinato vermouth, Aperol, acid blend, Heering cherry liqueur and crème de violette).

There’s also three rotating beer taps, and a wallet-friendly wine list with a generous number available by the glass.

Gregory and Eaton say to expect the food to evolve as the venue finds its feet, but the menu already features interesting bar snacks such as a fried prawn po’ boy, and a pulled duck and smoked sausage gumbo with mustard greens and sourdough.

B-SIDE, Howard Smith Wharves

Taking over Yoko’s upstairs dining room, B-SIDE harnesses a format the Howard Smith Wharves restaurant has used for previous one-off guest events, where a chef works behind the bar alongside a bartender and a DJ.

Food is a selection of small plates such as sliced-to-order sashimi, kizami wasabi octopus, tuna tataki, Wagyu katsu sliders, and prawn buns. Larger plates include a take on a classic Japanese potato salad, and two different ramen bowls.

For drinks, gun Sydney-based bartender Matt Whiley has crafted a short menu of highballs, a B-SIDE slushy, and a selection of matcha lattes, with drinks from the Yoko menu also available.

The music component has also been beefed up also, with the restaurant adding to its vinyl collection and DJs spinning seven nights a week, with a retro vinyl night on Mondays.

Stan’s Lounge, Howard Smith Wharves

Stanley, Howard Smith Wharves’ blockbuster Cantonese restaurant, has converted its upstairs dining area into Stan’s Lounge, a beautiful, low-lit lounge and cocktail bar.

Returning to take charge of Stan’s design was Samantha Leigh. The interiors draw inspiration from old-world Hong Kong, with the bar decked out in rich jewel tones with plenty of timber accents, antique mirrored wall panels and velvet curtains, banquettes and seating.

Taking pride of place is a DJ booth and vintage JBL sound system, with a carefully curated vinyl collection. Expect plenty of soul and funk, with DJs spinning most nights of the week.

For drinks, there’s a cocktail list that presents modern, Cantonese-inflected interpretations of the classics, with a signature martini menu that taps premium gins and vodkas along with special bitters and other extracts.

There are large collections of whisky and agave, and rare and precious bottles of spirits sourced from around the world. There’s also a short, punchy wine list that favours Australian drops.

For food, Stanley chef and partner Tikaram has written a snack menu in tune with the Cantonese food served downstairs. You can expect dishes such as golden fried prawn toast with sesame and truffled mayo, pan-fried pork and prawn dumplings with fermented chilli and white soy, and painted tropical cray san choy bao with water chestnuts and coriander.

Cru Bar, Fortitude Valley

The devil is in the detail at the reworked Cru Bar, which reopened towards the start of the year.

There’s still the sheer curtains, breezy courtyard, glass-topped high tables (now refurbed) and signature chandelier, but a partial expansion into the old Spoon Deli space (with restaurant Emme taking up the rest of that tenancy) has allowed for a much larger open kitchen, new tables along its flank opposite the Aesop store, and a series of lush velvet booths at the back of the venue. The onyx bar tops have been reworked, and there are terracotta-tile floors.

What hasn’t changed is the focus on wine, with the venue’s award-winning list now surpassing 2000 bottles. There’s also a by-the-glass selection that changes weekly, an imaginative cocktail menu, and Cru Cellar is present and correct.

The larger kitchen means chef Richard Ousby has expanded his food menu to include a set option. A la carte dishes include Mooloolaba prawns with garlic cream, sourdough and lemon, a smoked duck salad with mandarin, walnuts and broadleaf rocket, and chargrilled octopus with chorizo, salsa verde and lemon.

The Rose & Crown, South Brisbane

English-themed gastropub the Rose & Crown occupies heritage-listed Collins Place in South Brisbane, which since 1889 has, among other things, been a private residence, a police station and, during Expo 88, a spaghetti restaurant. Most recently, it was Little Big House, which closed in December 2023.

The Rose & Crown retains the bones of Little Big House, with its brick and timber fit-out, downstairs and upstairs bars, and latticed wraparound verandahs and outdoor areas with views across Grey Street.

But husband-and-wife owners Alex and Bella Derrick have given everything a very UK vibe, with a white and teal paint job, walls decorated with plates and old-school paintings, and heavy timber tables.

Each bar has 12 taps pouring a mix of European and Australian beers and ciders, including Magners and Guinness. There’s also a Euro-centric 40-bottle wine list, and a clutch of cocktails.

Food is just as important here, with the kitchen producing a menu that mixes British classics with more modern dishes.

There’s also a Sunday roast menu that features beef, chicken, and nut roast served with Yorkshire pudding, roasted vegetables and gravy.

Club Felix, CBD

Club Felix is located upstairs on the first floor of the newly reopened Naldham House – a 110-seat lounge bar pitched as a CBD supper club.

Here, it’s all about a champagne list available via Coravin and signature cocktail list, accompanied by a late-night food menu.

For cocktails, you might order a Brulee Flip (Martell VS Cognac, Madeira fortified wine, burnt sugar syrup, chocolate bitters and grated chocolate), Raspberry Tea Julep (black tea-infused Buffalo Trace bourbon, raspberry syrup, mint and Peychaud’s bitters) or a Newton’s Law (Ketel One vodka, Old Kempton apple liqueur, Granny Smith apple juice, citric and milk).

Food is a menu of shareable Euro-inspired comfort eats such as a jamon and Comte toastie, fried whiting sandwich fingers with herb mayo, potato pave fingers topped with caviar and crème fraîche, bacalao (salted cod and potato) croquettes, and caramel profiteroles.

Celebrated designer Anna Spiro has given the room an International Klein Blue colour scheme with large velvet banquettes and a restored original bar built from silky oak.