Back on course – progressive diner Detour is hosting a three-month pop-up in The Valley
As 2024 started to wind down, Brisbane diners were devastated by the news that long-running Woolloongabba restaurant Detour would be closing its doors just before Christmas. But before fans of the forward-thinking institution could mourn, the Detour team revealed that it wasn’t saying goodbye forever. Detour will soon be reborn, taking over the old Kid Curry space on East Street for a three-month pop-up residency. Expect the restaurant’s famed conscientious and inclusive fare, as well as a glimpse at some of the dishes on the cards for when Detour opens its new permanent home later this year.
For Damon Amos, Detour was always about inclusion. The chef’s Woolloongabba restaurant was widely praised for its dedication to catering to the needs of every diner and every restriction, be it gluten intolerance or plant-based diets. With a similarly sharp focus on sustainability, Detour’s style of conscientious cooking made it an institution in the eyes of many – a beacon of progressive dining and an essential linchpin of Brisbane’s hospitality landscape.
And then, on Saturday December 21, Detour closed to the dismay of many.
But, as it happened, Damon never planned on closing Detour for good. As regulars and first-time visitors flocked to Detour to dine before it shuttered its Logan Road locale, Damon and his team were already in the early stages of a relocation process. To hear Damon tell it, the reasoning behind the move links back to that idea of inclusivity and accessibility.
“I’m a Melbourne boy and I didn’t really understand the whole northside versus southside thing – it just was hard to get people to that location sometimes,” says Damon. “Once you’re around for eight years, you’ve made it. You’re not going to close. Our business was sustainable, but we had some hurdles [in Woolloongabba]. So we decided that we’d try and find a different location and detour, so to speak.”
Later this year, Detour will reopen in a new permanent location. But before then, the restaurant will be popping up over in Fortitude Valley. Damon has linked up with Cameron and Jordan Votan of Happy Boy and Snack Man fame, temporarily taking over their vacant East Street space (previously home to Kid Curry and Mini) for a three-month residency, which kicks off on Friday February 14.
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“I love the energy around this area – I was always drawn to it,” Damon tells us. “It’s funny how often I come here when I’m not working. The team at Happy Boy are just really nice and professional, so I’m really happy to just come down here and see how we go.”
Based on early reports, it seems like Detour’s followers are similarly ecstatic about the pop-up’s location.
“Once we put our post up that we were doing it, people we’re like, ‘Oh, finally, we’ll be able to come’,” Damon adds, with a laugh.
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Detour’s pop-up restaurant will open for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday and for Saturday lunch. The kitchen will be turning out a five-course set menu with both omnivore and herbivore options available. The offering will be different each month, with Damon giving guests the opportunity to savour some of Detour’s greatest hits (including the famous KFD and gunpowder wagyu brisket) before giving diners a glimpse at what’s to come.
“We’ll be doing three different set menus – both omnivore and herbivore – three times,” Damon reveals. “The first menu will showcase what we did over in Woolloongabba, so people that didn’t get a chance to dine there can experience it now. And then moving forward we’ll just be doing more experimental stuff that we’re developing for the future.”
On the drinks front, oenophiles can expect a snapshot of Detour’s wine list, which will be condensed and streamlined for the pop-up.
“We had a pretty extensive Australian natty wine menu over in Woolloongabba and we will be doing something very similar in that vein, but it will be just wound back a little bit,” Damon says. “I think there’ll be four reds by the glass and five whites by the glass, an orange, a rose, some sparkling and that’s about it.”
While Damon is keeping mum on Detour’s post-pop-up chapter for now, the chef reaffirms his dedication to maintaining the restaurant’s progressive ethos and commitment to inclusivity, innovation and indulgence.
“We will still be focusing on the things that we were focusing on before, which includes sustainably sourced produce,” says Damon. “We’re still going to definitely be focusing on inclusive dining, it’s still going to be pretty casual and there’ll still be an Australian wine list.”
Eager to snag a table? Be sure to make a reservation soon – the first two weekends of the pop-up are already booked out. You can secure your spot via the Detour website.