Brisbane’s best places to eat and drink

Blessed with an enviable 280 days of subtropical sunshine a year, Australia’s third-biggest city is no second-rate travel destination – particularly when it comes to dining well. Brisbane’s vibrant hospitality scene is constantly evolving, serving up everything from top-drawer cafes and dazzling omakase-inspired fine-diners, to hip hole-in-the-wall pizzerias, fun bistros and glam spins on street food. Plus everything else in between – including Australia’s first fine-dining bus. Dig in!

Pilloni

You can feel the big-hearted love in the dishes at Pilloni.Credit: Pilloni

Experience Italy’s second-biggest island in inner-city Brisbane
From your gratis starter of house Carasau crispbread with a dipper of bottarga-boosted curd, through to delectable signature chunks of crisp-skinned Schultz Farm suckling pig – you can feel the big-hearted, wood-fired love at Pilloni. The expat couple behind this elegant venue has created a restaurant that brings the spirit of Sardinia to Brisbane, but showcases Queensland’s top growers too. Expect Sardianian grape varieties such as granazza and nasco, and food specialties like culurgiones (pasta parcels stuffed with pecorino, potato and mint).
166 Hardgrave Road, West End. Phone: [phone]. pilloni.com.au

Strangers’ Restaurant

This old-school diner welcomes non-MPs when parliament isn’t sitting.Credit: Strangers’ Restaurant

Pomp, circumstance and plenty of silver in historic surrounds
The good news? You don’t need to become an MP to enjoy lunch, dinner or high tea in the storied surrounds of Queensland’s Parliament House. The bad? The glorious old-school dining room – all parquet flooring, panelling and hallmarked Christofle cutlery – accommodates ‘strangers’ only when parliament isn’t sitting. Still, it’s worth a little planning a visit here for top Queensland wines at keen prices and old-school dishes – perhaps precision-roasted Brisbane Valley quail with black barley and orange gel? Don’t forgo pre-dinner drinks in Lucinda Bar.
Queensland Parliament House, Cnr George and Alice Streets, Brisbane. Phone: [phone]. qldparliamentdining.com.au

Bar Francine

Top-notch vino in a sweet timber cottage.Credit: Bar Francine

Vintage charm with a big, bold Brisbane personality
Despite the name, Franny (as locals lovingly call her) is as much a buzzy bistro as she is a fun, natural-wine-oriented watering hole. At Brisbane’s first pescatarian bar, you might order onion fritti, a deft spin on the US steakhouse favourite, with mint jelly and piped creme fraiche. Or leeks vinaigrette, say, with stracciatella and hazelnuts; or perhaps monkfish, mussels and sauce Americaine. Can’t choose? Try the $49 feed-me menu. Housed in a sweet timber cottage, interiors are breezy and classic, and staff are engaged and knowledgeable.
29A Vulture Street, West End. Phone: [phone]. barfrancine.com

Exhibition Restaurant

This moodily-lit newcomer has some serious snacks.Credit: Exhibition Restaurant

Dazzling produce meets creative technique in a downtown basement
There are just 24 seats, so book early for this blowout omakase-inspired fine diner. You’ll open with eight or nine snacks – perhaps caviar-blobbed sashimi scampi sandwiched in Chinese-style doughnut buns, and bright-green abalone liver parfait on fried fingers of fluffy Japanese bread. Then, impeccable larger dishes: duck crown with beetroot and juniper sauce, wagyu yakiniku and more. Surroundings are hip, but there’s zero pretension: the art is all on the plate. It’s a not-to-miss show. If you can’t snag a booking, consider dropping by the wine bar, which also serves snacks.
109 Edward Street, Brisbane. No phone. exhibitionrestaurant.com

West Side Pizza

Real pizza cred in a pocket-sized venue
Little more than a hole-in-the-wall, this inner-city spot evokes old-school Neapolitan pizzerias and attracts queues other venues only dream of. Sip low-fi vino or a spritz while you wait and assess a gelato cabinet filled with inventive flavours like burnt sourdough and campfire marshmallow. Menu highlights include the classic, freckle-edged Napoli-style margherita; a seven-cheese pizza with fontina, pecorino, washed rind (and more); and the lobster calzone.
25 Vulture Street, West End. No phone. instagram.com/westsidepizzabrisbane

Yoko Dining

Izakaya-style fun with bonza water views
Brisbane’s quietly been upping its Japanese game, adding swanky Takashiya, seductive Sushi Room and Melbourne-import Komeyui (with Ippin Dining joining the fray in April). But for sparkling river views and Izakaya-style fun, Yoko at Howard Smith Wharves is the one to beat. Order a rum-spiked yuzu slushie or take a sake ‘flight’, then consider a well-crafted $75 set menu. Don’t miss a Nikkei ceviche kingfish crudo, dialed up with fruity Peruvian aji amarillo chilli and nori crackers.
2/5 Boundary Street, Brisbane. Phone: [phone]. yokodining.com.au

The Green

Moreish mezze in a sun-dappled courtyard.Credit: The Green

Beirut meets Fortitude Valley in leafy surrounds
Tucked off stylish James Street, The Green is well-named – especially if you steal a seat in the dappled sunlight of the undercover al fresco area, encircled by swags of verdant foliage. This is the perfect spot for breakfast catch-ups fuelled by a mezze feast (Turkish-spice lamb, eggs, pickles and more) or fiery shakshuka, with well-made coffee from Melbourne’s St Ali. Lunch follows similar Lebanese cues: think chargrilled prawns with rose harissa and dill, spit-roasted lamb shawarma, and baklava ice-cream sangers.
G1/27 James Street, Fortitude Valley. Phone: [phone]. thegreen.com.au

GOMA

Gallery-worthy gastronomy in an art-adjacent venue.Credit: GOMA

Art on a plate at the Gallery of Modern Art
Given the design, sensory appeal and sophistication of Brisbane’s magnificent Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), you’d expect a restaurant of equal calibre – and you’d be right. After you’ve seen the latest blockbuster show, order an indulgent chef’s menu ($80) to share on the breezy deck. Technically accomplished dishes – such as wild-caught kingfish in bonito butter, and plum-braised duck with a smoked-kombu emulsion – showcase local produce. Staff are enthusiastic and knowledgeable.
Ground Floor, Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place, South Brisbane. Phone: [phone]. qagoma.qld.gov.au

Same Same

It doesn’t get more Brisbane than flavour-packed modern Thai in designer digs.Credit: Tourism and Events Queensland

Snappy Thai share plates in glam surrounds, backed by an epic drinks list
A richly layered Penang-style curry of slow-cooked beef cheek brightened with tamarind; tender grilled squid with garlic shoots; a fiery stack of beef larb showered in toasted rice: this is the kind of Thai food you dream about. Same Same’s airy designer digs are fancy too – with a capital F. Add in well-drilled service and a cracking drinks menu (don’t miss that opening cocktail), and relax. You’ve found the city’s best Thai.
Shop AM3, Ada Lane, 46 James Street, Fortitude Valley. Phone: [phone]. samesamerestaurant.com.au

Sunshine

The canary-yellow umbrellas evoke the name of this restaurant – and Brisbane’s famously sunny weather.Credit: Sunshine

With classic Mediterranean-inspired flavours, this casual spot is a vegetarian’s dream
A cluster of chic yellow umbrellas signal your arrival at this stylish Mediterranean-inspired buffet. Expect around 30 vegetarian options – from lush moussaka and squares of spanakopita, to roast veg, braised green beans and potato salad – all priced per 100-gram serve. Dine at one of the shaded tables or take away. Staff will keep on serving until you’re happy. Check out the owners’ other restaurants – Greek go-to Hellenika, Sushi Room and upscale SK Steak & Oyster – across the street at The Calile.
39 James Street, Fortitude Valley. No phone. sunshine-eatery.com

Essa/The Nixon Room

New ’70s-inspired bar The Nixon Room adds glamour to modern restaurant Essa.Credit: Dean Swindell

New ’70s-inspired bar The Nixon Room adds glamour to Essa.
Moody chocolate tones, panelled walls, lots of splashy marble, dim lighting – welcome to ’70s-inspired bar The Nixon Room. The Watergate martini with its fauxlaroid coaster depicting Debbie Harry is delightfully on-theme, but don’t dally: the wood-fired brilliance of sibling restaurant Essa awaits. Expect starters like crudo snapper and char-edged kohlrabi discs bathed in macadamia milk marbled with lemon-myrtle oil, with house sourdough for mopping. Then move onto lamb saddle stuffed with lamb trimmings, served with gremolata, spinach and toasted pepitas.
181 Robertson Street, Fortitude Valley. thenixonroom.com essa.restaurant

Da Biuso

Da Biuso is a unique dining experience.Credit: Da Biuso

A well-upholstered bus journey worth taking
It feels like you’re dining in an upscale, retro 12-seater train carriage, but the Biuso family’s new restaurant – a cleverly renovated school bus – remains stationary while you enjoy an eight-course degustation and explore an Italian wine list dotted with Sicilian drops. Expect elaborate Italian-accented dishes: Western Australian scampi with prosecco sauce, Maremma duck-stuffed pasta fagottini in tomato water, yellowfin tuna with a macadamia crumb, and more. It’s a smooth trip.
Various locations across Brisbane. No phone. dabiuso.com.au