When it comes to restaurants in Brisbane city, Brisbane has many standouts. Persone serves exquisite Mediterranean cuisine from a cosy restaurant decorated with black leather booths, while Vici Italian fronts a trendy aesthetic and dishes up wood-fired pizzas, pasta and seafood.
At Same Same, Brisbane diners savor precise street Thai in sharp, neo-modernist surrounds. Try numbing mah kwan pepper-enhanced pork belly or sweet four-chilli-battered barramundi.
- Black Hide by Gambaro
Black Hide, the long-standing Brisbane steakhouse from Gambaro Group, pushed the boundaries of traditional steakhouse design to craft an emotive paddock-to-plate experience. Guests will find world-class Australian Wagyu and Angus steak cuts accompanied by seafood dishes including Gambaro Lobster and Moreton Bay Bugs. Dry aged meat is also available and is displayed within a retail-inspired cabinet at the restaurant’s entrance.
Executive Chef Thomas Mumford has curated a wine list that works perfectly with the restaurant’s premium menu offering. For dessert, the infamous strawberry brulee and lemon mousse with elderflower are a must-try. Black Hide is located in the Treasury building’s heritage wings.
- MAYA Mexican
Located close to Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel, MAYA Mexican is a decent choice to eat Mexican food. You can try nicely cooked Tacos al Pastor, taquitos and steaks here. For a drink you might order tasty horchata. According to the clients’ feedback, this place has a nice atmosphere. The staff is friendly.
This is a more upscale, modern, and sophisticated Mexican restaurant on the Upper East Side. The menu is fairly extensive, including fresh tuna tartare in guacamole and chili citrus mahi mahi enchiladas. They also have a solid wine list and excellent margaritas. The brunch is also great.
- Happy Boy
Authentic regional Chinese flavours make up the menu here, along with plenty of drink options. Portions are generous and prices are cheap, making this a solid option for budget dining. Located on the edge of Fortitude Valley, this concrete-heavy eatery is a buzzing place that offers great service.
Cameron and Jordan Votan stayed true to the spirit of Happy Boy when they relocated the Spring Hill restaurant to this slick Valley space in 2017. The minimal fit-out mirrors that of their Greenglass inner city wine bar, with six craft beers on tap and a smart wine list sourced by Spokenwine.
- Same Same
When Tyron Simon announced the closure of Longtime to transform it into a function space, Brisbane community foodies were heartbroken. But their mourning was short-lived when he revealed that the spot’s replacement, Same Same, was ready to take centre stage on Ada Lane next door to boutique hotel The Calile.
Aside from 20 fewer seats, Same Same is almost identical to Longtime. But this time, it’s more of a wine bar than a restaurant. The concise menu boasts standout dishes like sweet and creamy kho soi, slightly sour sai kork esan and rich panang curry. The upstairs green tiled bar LOS, with its nuanced 140-bottle strong wine list and 110 tequilas, is the perfect place to hang while you wait for your table downstairs.
- Detour
Located in Woolloongabba’s antique precinct, Detour is a stunning restaurant and bar with a world class boundary-pushing menu. Chef Damon Amos works his magic in full view of guests, preparing and plating dishes from the shared menu that splits into Omnivore and Herbivore options. Almost all of the dishes are gluten-free, and they feature local, unique-to-Australia ingredients such as emu and edible black ants that you won’t find anywhere else. The wine list is short and interesting, and service is professional and friendly.
This is the kind of sincere, personal place that gets harder and harder to open in New York or London due to hefty labor costs and ever-increasing rents.
- Montrachet
When Montrachet migrated to the classy King Street precinct it brought its trademark French sophistication along with that old-school Paddington charm. The menu focuses on dishes that are cooked to perfection – think escargots en cocotte, a seafood bouillabaisse and a perfectly-grilled eye fillet.
The family-run Ghanem Group brings a little Paris to Brisbane with this upscale brasserie and aperitivo bar. Parked by the lobby of Hotel X, it serves breakfast lunch and dinner as well as cocktails in a sleek modern fit-out. The wine list focuses on boutique Australian producers.
- Rothwell’s Bar & Grill
Dan Clark (of 1889 Enoteca and Addley Clark Fine Wines) had a vision for a classic restaurant that recalled the polished aesthetics, percipient service, and high-end culinary craftsmanship found in the likes of London’s The Savoy Grill or New York City’s Balthazar. Securing the space within heritage-listed Rothwell’s building on Edward Street and enlisting head chef Ben Russel, he has now brought that vision to life.
A 90-seat dining room and 40-seat foyer bar tempers European bistro refinement with contemporary urbanity. The menu – think local prawn cocktails, Moreton Bay bugs with cafe de Paris butter, and beef wellington, alongside classics such as nicoise salad and club sandwiches – is complemented by a curated wine list, including drops from the 2000-bottle cellar.
- Paw Paw Cafe
The sister venue to Green Papaya, Paw Paw Cafe is influenced by the Thai restaurant’s dcor with bamboo wallpaper and earthy tones. The menu is Western and Pan Asian inspired with an extensive breakfast and lunch list. For something different try the son-in-law eggs which is fried egg on fragrant rice with fresh herbs and Green Papaya’s famous tamarind sauce.
The venue is a popular choice for weekend brunch and casual coffee catch ups. The staff are friendly and attentive, especially when assisting with dietary restrictions.