Get the first look at Justin Lane’s sprawling new Fortitude Valley pizzeria, rooftop bar and vinyl lounge
There’s a fair bit of history attached to the corner of Alfred Street and Constance Street. Rewind back to 2012 and you’d be hard pressed to find a more active spot in Fortitude Valley’s entertainment precinct. Alfred & Constance – the multidimensional party spot that housed its own cafe, tiki bar and beer garden – was, for a time, the place to be. And even though the venue has sat quiet and under-utilised for a while now, many revellers continue to hold a soft spot for the joint. Johnny Hall, general manager of the Justin Lane group is another that has a deep reverence for A&C’s legacy.
“It was a really important venue – it was a big inspiration to a lot of venues and it was enormously important in Brisbane,” says Johnny. “Some of the best people I’ve ever worked with did time at Alfred & Constance.
”It bodes well, then, that the Justin Lane team was selected as the new custodian of the A&C site. In fact, it could be said that few operators are as uniquely qualified to take over a space like this one – its warren-like layout mirrors, in many ways, the design of Justin Lane’s pizzeria, pasta bar and rooftop in Burleigh Heads, which has amalgamated a number of separate spaces into its footprint over the years.
“I dare say that Justin Lane took a lot of lessons from Alfred & Constance, especially in terms of using those nooks and crannies and passageways,” Johnny reveals. “We took the heritage of this site really seriously – I wanted to do justice to the building.”
Last Friday July 26, Justin Lane Brisbane opened its doors to the public, showing off the fruits of a labour-intensive refurbishment process that has revitalised the site’s existing heritage elements and matched them with a suite of newly constructed amenities. The beginning of the process stretches back to before the Justin Lane team officially signed the lease, with the site’s landlords having already taken the initiative to bring the venue up to scratch before awarding it to a new tenant.
“I have to take off my hat to our amazing landlords,” says Johnny. “They had a master plan for that building before we met them and they really fixed a lot of the crazy headaches. They did a lot of the jumping through hoops and they designed an incredible venue that just absolutely speaks to who we are as operators.”
Once the crew received the keys to the venue, the Justin Lane team worked alongside Gold Coast-based Space Cubed Design Studio to apply a crisp neutral-toned aesthetic, which contrasts brightly with the venue’s gritty Fortitude Valley surroundings. While still retaining a few elements of the brand’s playful and carefree ethos (which is predicated on a mantra of ‘eat, drink and be messy’) Justin Lane Brisbane isn’t a mere carbon copy of its Burleigh sibling – a move Johnny describes as intentional.
“Burleigh has such a bohemian feel to the venue,” says Johnny. “It’s very much a beachside venue and a lot of the ethos and a lot of the things we identify as Justin Lane are inspired by that beachside living. We knew that that wasn’t going to fly here in the city – the standards are higher here and people expect a little bit more sophistication and a little bit more pizzazz.”
Justin Lane’s main entrance on Constance Street is hard to miss, with bright neon signs beaming into the night. Ascend up a short flight of steps from the street and you’ll be greeted by a small open-air beer garden furnished with a number of long tables, perfect for sun-soaked afternoon sips. Inside the venue proper is the ground-floor dining area, which is divided loosely into two sections – a more informal corner with booths, tables and high-tops, and a function room boasting long communal-style tables capable of seating large groups of diners.
Down here is where you’ll also find the main bar and kitchen, which pumps out a mix of Justin Lane signatures and some new menu items. “We definitely wanted to stay true to what we started with, so for the most part the menu is built on the bones of the original,” explains Johnny. “We’re working with our chef team up here to get one or two pieces on the menu that are exclusive to Brisbane, to give it its own flavour.”
Justin Lane’s food menu, fashioned by group executive chef Stephen Brand, favours simplicity and flavour above all. The menu kicks off with starters like fried eggplant chips with spicy arrabbiata sauce, mushroom arancini, pork-and-veal meatballs in Napoli sauce, and Byron Bay burrata with peach, basil and hot honey. Up next is a brand-new antipasti selection (which is not currently available at any of the team’s other venues), featuring the likes of wagyu bresaola, San Danielle prosciutto, wood oven-roasted peppers with stracciatella, anchovy crostini with pickled fennel, and king prawns with chilli and lemon.
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As anyone that frequents Justin Lane in Burleigh can attest, the venue’s kitchen hangs its hat primarily on two things – its sourdough-base pizzas and hand-made pastas. This is no different at Justin Lane Brisbane, which serves a ten-strong pizza range and six pasta dishes. Crowd pleasers like the classic margherita, capricciosa and pepperoni are available alongside more creative options – for example, the Justin’s BBQ Smokehouse pizza, which is topped with smoked brisket, house-made barbecue sauce, red onion, provolone, buffalo mozzarella, corn salsa and pickle yoghurt. On the pasta front, pork-and-veal bolognese with pappardelle, lamb ragu with gnocchi, spaghetti with prawns, chilli and goats cheese, and Justin’s famous pork belly carbonara are stand-out selections.
Ascend a flight of stairs past Justin Lane’s 12-person private-dining room and you’ll emerge at the venue’s new rooftop area. In a corner previously home to the Hemingway Room is what Johnny dubs the pasta bar – a second dining space with leather banquettes, vivid neons, black-and-white prints on the walls and its own balcony overlooking Constance Street. Where A&C’s White Lightning Tiki Bar used to sit is now a slick back-lit bar that services a newly constructed alfresco terrace that looks out towards the rest of The Valley. When the sun is out, guests will no doubt jostle for a spot at one of the rooftop’s umbrella-shaded tables – perhaps the best perch for enjoying Justin Lane’s range of cocktails (including fan favourites like the mango and coconut caprioska and passionfruit chilli Tommy’s margarita), beers and bolstered selection of wines.
This week, Justin Lane Brisbane will also unveil its secret 45-seat high-end cocktail bar and vinyl lounge, With Love, The Underground. This subterranean space is a passion project for Johnny, who is relishing the chance to add a new dimension to the greater Justin Lane offering.
“We explored a lot of the drinks that we don’t get to do a lot on the Gold Coast,” says Johnny. “We’ll have a riff on a dirty martini that uses sake instead of vermouth and there’ll be some MSG in there to make the most beautifully clean, but dirtiest martini you’ve ever seen. There’s also a pandan and coconut negroni, and some fun stuff with fire and smoke – just a lot of concepts that I’ve wanted to do for a really long time that I’m really excited about.”
Next door in the old Alfredo’s Pizzeria space sits Justin Lane’s own takeaway kitchen and coffee shop, which is still roughly five weeks away from launching. During the day, the site will dispense coffee and made-to-order Italian-style sandwiches, while at night it will pivot towards a tight menu of options for casual walk-ins and grab-and-go custom.
“Our takeaway trade in Burleigh has grown so much that it rivals the restaurant in terms of turnover,” Johnny reveals. “So this time around we had the opportunity to pick up the alternative site and do takeaway the way it’s meant to be done.”
Justin Lane’s arrival sees another once-popular Fortitude Valley institution gain an exciting new lease on life, following Artesian Hospitality Group’s overhaul of The GPO and Stanbroke’s launch of The 203 in the old Monastery space. Unlike these arrivals, Justin Lane Brisbane still retains an element of the party-loving atmosphere of its predecessor, paired perfectly with the brand’s established emphasis on convivial, comfort-driven dining.
“At the end of the day [restaurants] are places for people to come together and be in each other’s presence and to celebrate things,” says Johnny. “The white background and the white everything in Justin Lane has always to me, symbolised a blank canvas. On that canvas we paint with food, drink and service – it’s all about making people comfortable, because that’s the show.”
Justin Lane is now open to the public – head to The Directory for operating hours, menu details and booking info.