The recap: the best new Brisbane restaurants, bars and cafes this month
January has come and gone and we’ve well and truly shaken off the rust of the festive break. The first month of 2025 was surprisingly jam-packed, with a bunch of new openings giving folks plenty to enjoy as they found their footing to start the new year. We covered a mixed bag of dining spots, from charming Italian-inspired eateries and moody laneway yakitori spots, to waterfront pan-Asian restaurants and neon-lit nosheries slinging Malaysian street food. Oh, and we also found what might be Brisbane’s best lasagna. Here are our picks for the five best new openings of January …
OLLI Italiano, East Brisbane: The team behind terracotta-hued East Brisbane taco spot La Bodega doubled its presence on the corner of Lytton Road and Latrobe Street this month, turning a neighbouring tenancy into OLLI Italiano. Exuding a pared-back Italian charm, OLLI is pitched as a warm and inviting space for the community to come together to share good food, good drinks and good times. Early reports indicate that it has scored top marks on all three fronts. From antipasti including lemon-dressed crudo di pesci and plates of rich slow-cooked beef and pork ragu tagliatelle to a ten-strong list of Neapolitan-style pizzas, OLLI has guests sorted on the food front. Throw in a tight list of classic Italian cocktails and a selection of Italian and Australian wines, and you’ve really got something going on. Most importantly, perhaps, is the vibe. There’s an undeniable appeal to OLLI Italiano that makes it a near-irresistible choice for impromptu apertivo hour visits, intimate date nights or raucous group dinners.
Hideki, Brisbane City: Okay, we’re bending the rules with this one. Yes, Hideki opened to the public at the tail end of 2024, but it really started to hit its stride in January. This striking restaurant and bar, hidden away on Burnett Lane in the spot formerly home to Alba Bar & Deli, is tastefully moody, with a dark interior palette offset by a vivid grid-like light display behind the bar. This isn’t a venue that places style over substance – co-owners Joe Chagoury and Wasim Ghanem have ensured that Hideki’s menu of Japanese-inspired raw plates, larger snacks, yakitori skewers and mains are on point when it comes to flavour. Highlight dishes include wagyu tataki, popcorn prawns, wagyu meatball skewers and miso-marinated toothfish. Don’t sleep on the drinks, either – Aaron Clark, beverage director of Ghanem Group, has consulted on the cocktail list, so you know it’s full of absolute belters.
Wang Chung, Manly: The growth of Manly’s food scene in recent years can be, in part, credited to the work of The Consortium QLD – the hospitality group behind flame-powered marvel, The Arsonist. This month, the crew decided to give one of its long-running concepts, Tide on the Jetty, a makeover and a rebrand, transforming it into chic pan-Asian restaurant Wang Chung. In the kitchen, executive chef Mathew Fulford and head chef Chris Bernhagen are making magic, crafting inventive and ferociously flavoursome eats using primo local produce. Don’t believe us? Sit down and try Wang Chung’s rendang-spiced beef tartare, crispy lobster sandos, Stockyard wagyu-brisket red curry and Kung Pao cauliflower with tempura shiitake. If that isn’t enough, group general manager Mihhail Zavertajev’s beverage list has lots of great gear for wetting whistles – including a wasabi margarita that’s already in the running for one of our favourite cocktails of 2025.
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Lemak Kitchen & Bar, Woolloongabba: The name Lemak is one that would be familiar to many Brisbane foodies, especially those with a penchant for Malaysian-style street food. After a few years building up a loyal following at his takeaway-oriented dispensaries, Lemak owner Thang snagged some fresh digs in Woolloongabba (the spot formerly home to Sorellina). Here, he’s opened Lemak Kitchen & Bar – a neon-lit restaurant that is expanding the brand’s focus beyond just Malaysian eats. The menu has been bolstered significantly with Singaporean, Thai and Indonesian-inspired morsels, as well as a greater range of seafood-based dishes. Lemak signatures like nasi lemak, crispy fried chicken sandwiches and char kway teow are now available alongside roti canai with Moreton Bay bug salad, wat tan hor served with jumbo prawns, succulent satay skewers and beef rendang curry puffs.
Corbetta’s Kitchen, Morningside: Could Corbetta’s Kitchen be the home of Brisbane’s best lasagna? It’s worth a discussion. Jacopo Corbetta – a Michelin-trained chef whose resume includes a five-year stint as head chef at Bondi institution Icebergs – is the brains behind this dispensary, which is slinging a top-tier range of ready-to-cook items and made-to-order lunch options from a production facility in the back streets of Morningside. While Jacopo’s lasagne alla bolognese (a glorious multi-level mix of beef, pork, tomato, red wine and Grana Padano) is the undoubted star of the take-home menu, other stand-out dishes include spinach and ricotta cannelloni, polpette al pomodoro and parmigiana di melanzane. Looking for a lunch bite? Jacopo’s house-made pork sausage rolls and slabs of margherita focaccia pizza are absolutely worth a detour to try. Trust us.
Many more restaurants, cafes and bars opened this month. You can have a browse through the latest foodie happenings by clicking here.