The recap: the best new Brisbane restaurants, bars and cafes this month
August, West End: What do you get when a chef known for making some of Brisbane’s most creative fare and a sip-savvy front-of-house star open a restaurant inside a one-of-a-kind character-filled building? You get August – one of the most anticipated additions to Brisbane’s dining scene this year. Head chef and co-owner Brad Cooper is delivering a quirky, fun-driven take on Euro-inspired fare, with some inspired stand-outs including mud crab omelette Arnold Bennett, foie gras-stuffed chicken crown with peas a la Francaise, Barnsley lamb chop with caponata, and grilled flounder with vongole, butter beans and saffron butter. August’s other co-owner Matilda Riek is overseeing the restaurant’s dining floor and bar, devising a beverage program that mixes unheralded Australian wines with French and Italian options, as well as a concise cocktail menu featuring Forêt Pastis and soda and Rinomato Aperitivo and soda, alongside negronis, martinis, old fashioneds and spritzes.
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, housemade treats like caneles, financiers, raisin butter sandos and cookies are available alongside pastries and toasties.
Barry Parade Public House, Fortitude Valley: For many bartenders and publicans, their mental image of a neighbourhood bar is the one depicted in Cheers – the place where everybody knows your name. As cliche as the reference point may seem – some 30-odd years since the sitcom went off the air – that feeling of familiarity is, undeniably, key to the success of any watering hole. Daniel Gregory, Brennen Eaton and Lachlan Henry know this, which is why they aren’t shy about mentioning Cheers when they talk about their aspirations for their newly opened Fortitude Valley haunt, Barry Parade Public House. This bar has everything you could want from a local – the beers are cold, the wine list is nuanced and considered, the cocktails are punchy and imaginative, and the food menu (here it boasts Creole influences) satisfies the peckish and the famished alike.
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Cafe Disco, West End: Tasfeen Hassan reckons hospitality is as punk rock as it gets. He’s referring to spunky small-scale venues. The owner-operated ones with heart, character and a community-centric outlook. The joints that are as much a personal expression as a business venture. It’s those DIY venues that Tasfeen reckons are the true jewels of any dining scene and the kind of joint he hopes to make with Cafe Disco in West End. In the Hardgrave Road space previously home to Yoke Kitchen and Luigi’s Italian, Tasfeen has created a representation of himself, of 38 years of existence – a combination of memories, experiences and tastes, all wrapped in a slick, Parts Department-designed package. Cafe Disco’s distinct day and night menus have been shaped by Tasfeen’s own Bangladeshi background, with family recipes forming a foundation that Tasfeen builds upon with experiences eating around the world. The resulting menu is a mix of traditional and reverse-engineered specialties – a purposeful clash of ideas delivered in fun and creative ways. During the day, Cafe Disco slings coffee from Passport Specialty Coffee. Then, at night, it’s all about skin-contact wines — the kind of gear that boasts the right amount of complexity and dynamic strength to match the food’s bold flavours.
The Junk Bar, New Farm: The Junk Bar has long held a special place in our hearts. The pioneering small bar and live-music haunt has been a bright spot in Ashgrove’s nightlife since it opened in 2010, so when word spread that the long-running venue was closing its doors ahead of a cross-city move, many were (understandably) wary. But, thankfully, The Junk Bar’s relocation has been a bona fide success. Now occupying a two-level spot on Brunswick Street in New Farm, The Junk Bar is shaping up to be a new linchpin for the suburb – serving cocktails and eats upstairs, and hosting intimate gigs from local up-and-comers and touring artists downstairs. All the while, The Junk Bar has retained its lived-in charm and community-oriented ethos, which will no doubt ensure the venue lives on for many years to come.
Many more restaurants, cafes and bars opened this month. You can have a browse through the latest foodie happenings by clicking here.