Baker D. Chirico, Newstead: Finally, after what seemed like an age since it was first announced, Baker D. Chirico lifted the cloche on its striking Brisbane bakery at Long Island in early October, drawing in crowds eager to get a fix of the famed Melbourne-born bakery’s French, German and Italian-inspired goodies. Baker D. Chirico’s Newstead home is a stunner – an architecturally designed space (envisioned by Rodney Eggleston of March Studio) that feels more like a modern art gallery than a bakery. The venue’s glass-encased pastry display is filled with a kaleidoscopic range of sweet and savoury items. You’ll spy custard-filled bombolone and cream-filled maritozzi, pina colada danishes, slow-cooked beef ragu pies, rosemary croissants filled with manchego and prosciutto cotto, and rosetta bread rolls filled with porchetta. A range of Daniel Chirico’s famous breads – think light rye with caraway seeds, olive and rosemary breads, and braided loaves of challah – are also available. While Daniel is appreciative of the patience Brisbanites have shown Baker D. Chirico through its protracted gestation period, he believes that his unyielding desire to absolutely nail his products every time is what has already helped establish Baker D. Chirico as a new pillar of the local baking landscape.

Cerin Pasticceria, Woolloongabba: For the most part, Brisbane’s bakery scene takes a lot of inspiration from French patisseries. But what about Italy, a country with its own rich culture of desserts, breads and pastries? Cerin Pasticceria is the brainchild of Matteo Cerin and Giuseppe Caputo, two Italian expats who sought to showcase the bakery culture of their homeland with the chic Logan Road dispensary. It didn’t take long for carb cravers to catch on – Cerin regularly sells out its range, which includes small treats, cream-filled bombolone, flaky cornetti and slices of crispy focaccia, nearly every day since opening. If you haven’t tried, we suggest getting in early to fill up a box or two with bite-sized sweets like pasticcini, rhum baba, bignes and crostatina. Oh, and be sure to add a maritozzo – a brioche bun filled to bursting point with whipped cream – in for good measure.

Dijon, Tarragindi: Any new sandwich spot that name checks Hector’s, Nico’s and Hugo’s as influences is off to a great start, in our book. Those are some of the iconic Melbourne sanga joints that the team behind Dijon nods towards as inspirations for its menu, which – as you can probably guess – is anchored by a selection of toasties. But we’re not talking about any old toasties. Dijon’s range has been elevated to lofty mouth-watering heights through the use of premium ingredients and temperature-controlled Spidoglass glass ceramic contact grills. The gang is slinging toasted sambos filled with the likes of wagyu beef pastrami, herb mayo, sauerkraut, pickles and mustard pickles, and mortadella, vintage cheddar, provolone and gruyere with house-made tomato chutney. And then you’ve got the fresh sandwiches (including a classic salad sanga with chunky hummus, beetroot relish, grated carrot, lettuce and cucumber), a clutch of breakfast items and New York-style cookies. Dijon is keeping Brisbane’s sandwich renaissance chugging along, and we couldn’t be happier.

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DUMBO, Hamilton: Despite its diminutive size, Red Hook is a titan of the Brisbane burger scene. It’s a concept worthy of a successor but, according to co-owner Bonnie Shearston of hospo group Happy Fat, no space could replicate the grungy magic of Red Hook’s inner-city digs. DUMBO, the group’s new burger bar at Portside Wharf isn’t trying to be Red Hook – it’s more of a spiritual successor. Yes, some classic Red Hook menu items are there (including the Brooklyn Cheeseburger, Grandmaster Flash, Shaolin Soul and NYC Dog), but with extra room to work with, the team has seized the opportunity to do more. Much more. The DUMBO crew is leaning harder into New York street eats and other specialties, serving the likes of fried chicken with liège waffles, Dirty Water Dogs (an ode to the floppy franks served from New York’s street-side hot dog vendors), poppy seed bagels with smoked salmon, cream cheese and crispy capers, and a fish sando with American cheese. The crew has punched up the bar offering, too – 40 wines, four beers on tap (plus ten in the fridge) and fun cocktails (including a pickle margarita) flow, make DUMBO more than just a quick-bite pit stop.

The Hideout Specialty Coffee, Brisbane City: The City isn’t short of coffee spots, especially high-end ones that sling sublime specialty brews. But few go to the same lengths as The Hideout Specialty Coffee on Edward Street. Here, owner Eddie Cho is taking things up a notch compared to his original location on Adelaide Street, equipping his newest cafe with everything needed to handle high-volume action while also catering to the connoisseur crowd. Sure, if you’re looking for a speedy latte, The Hideout’s brews (made using beans from Melbourne-born roaster Zest Coffee) will do the trick. But if you want something more, the pour-over bar is dispensing coffee made using seriously high-quality beans (some boasting a Q rating score of 90+). And then, once you throw in The Hideout’s special signature drinks (like the purple cream cold brew), coffee soft-serve and menu of drool-worthy open-faced sandwiches, you’ll understand what we mean when we say The Hideout goes the extra distance.

Kimino, Ashgrove: More than 17 years after Minekazu Hirayama first fell head over heels in love with coffee, he’s opened his own cafe. Kimono, Miné’s sleek new coffee-slinging hideaway in Ashgrove, is a masterclass in tasteful minimalism. Here, the beautiful rawness of handmade craftsmanship is celebrated – small imperfections are regarded more as a strength than a flaw, something that has become a guiding mantra for Kimino’s aesthetic and operational ethos. Kimino’s coffee offering is anchored by a pour-over menu, with a dedicated brew bar equipped with everything needed to concoct delicate drops. Beans from Kyoto roaster Weekenders and local crew Cavalier Roasters are carefully brewed and served in hand-crafted ceramic cups. Meanwhile, house-made treats like caneles, financiers, raisin butter sandos and cookies are available alongside pastries and toasties.

The Officers Mess, New Farm: It’s not often that a World War 2-era gem gets transformed into a community-friendly dining hub, but that’s exactly what happened to the former US Navy base on Oxlade Drive in New Farm. The Officers Mess is part cafe, part bar, part bakery, part events space and, if long-term plans shake out, part restaurant. Leading the venue’s culinary offering is husband-and-wife duo Andrew and Amelie Gunn, a pair of top-flight chefs that have built The Officers Mess’ all-day menu and baked goods range using premium ingredients. Snag a table in the morning for French toast-style fruit loaf, crepes with Nutella and strawberry coulis, croque monsieurs and confit duck cassoulet, or hit up the pastry counter at Miche (The Officers Mess’ in-house bakery) for croissants, hazelnut and blueberry financiers, caneles, lemon cakes, baguettes and focaccia to go. From 11:00 am until late, the kitchen starts dispensing snacks like prawn rolls with lemon butter, fish tacos, baked camembert, chicken karaage with gochujang aioli, burgers and cheese plates. Meanwhile, the bar is dispensing coffee, tap and bottled beers, a tight list of wine and classic cocktails. With buildings like this a rare commodity in Brisbane, The Officers Mess is a brilliant use of a one-of-a-kind heritage-listed space.

Sarni, Ascot: How do you judge a good sandwich? There’s a myriad of important criteria you have to consider, from the quality of the bread and the filling, to things like sandwich heft, integrity, textural interplay and overall creativity. Making a sandwich might be easy, but making a great one takes a bit of care. Marty Coard, Noam Lissner, Mat Drummond and Hugo Hirst probably all have personal opinions on what makes a bonza sanga, but they’ve managed to funnel their tastes and ideas into a cracker of a sandwich shop in Sarni. At this Racecourse Road haunt, the crew is putting a chef-y spin on the sandwich formula, drawing from the larder of Marty, Noam and Mat’s marvellous Middle Eastern-inspired eatery Ach Wine Bar to create sambos that are elevated, but still approachable. We’re talking smoked-mortadella sandwiches with ‘nduja cream cheese, pistachio and pesto, a katsu curry sando with chicken schnitzel, Japanese curry sauce, fukujinzuke and pickles, and a lamb souvlaki sandwich with tzatziki, peppers, balsamic onions and rocket. Sarni is now also open at night for wines, beers and creative small plates, but it’s hard to look past the sandwiches, which might already be some of Brisbane’s best.

Snug, Coorparoo: Leaham Claydon and Jianne Jeoung’s cosy Coorparoo coffee and brunch spot might go down as one of the year’s buzziest (and busiest) openings. More than six months after opening, it takes a bit of good luck to get a seat at Snug during peak brunch and lunch hours. But if you manage to snag a stool then you’re in for a real good time. The two hot-shot chefs have applied their considerable skills to a tight menu of Korean-inspired eats – we’re talking scrambled egg drop sandwiches on toasted milk bread, glossy omurice topped with prawns and lemon tsuyu, and soft pretzels (rolled and baked daily). The coffee, which comes from ST ALi, is sublime, as are the hojicha lattes – a trending beverage that Snug is absolutely nailing. It’s the same story at night, with the team’s evening persona as a small plates wine bar also receiving rapturous acclaim. Yes, Snug might be constantly busy, but this is one spot absolutely worth waiting around a little bit to enjoy.

Two Yolks, South Brisbane: Jem Jacinto backs his product. He’s so confident in the quality of the burgers at Two Yolks that he installed a sign next to the entry of his retro-chic diner-style South Brisbane flagship that says ‘The best burgers in the world. Period.’ Sure, the owner of a business will be the first person to vouch for its quality, but it’s hard to deny the validity of the sign’s message. Jem and his team are walking the walk by elevating every aspect of the burger-eating experience by adherence to sustainable practices and use of high-end ingredients. For example, the breakfast burgers are made using Bangalow Sweet Pork, while the old-school smash burgers boast Cape Grim beef patties. Two Yolks might talk big, but it’s got the goods to back up the chat.

Highly commended: We could easily stretch this list by a considerable margin, such was the quality of spots that opened in Brisbane this year. We’d also like to give a shout out to Toby’s Estate in Newstead, Doughcraft and Wuta Brewers in The City, Buttery Boy, Piccolo by Him and Supernova in Fortitude Valley, Salisbury’s Supernumerary, Dilly Dally in Toowong, General Coffee in Spring Hill, Fraser’s in Newstead, Mourning Roast in Stones Corner, Kor Dak in West End, Ollie’s Espresso Bar in Nundah, Kevin in New Farm and Croix Croissant in Hillcrest.