The past few years have been a slog for the hospitality scene and no one knows this better than Malt Hospitality’s head honcho Nick Pinn.

The veteran operator behind Malt Dining and Malt Traders has endured his fair share of ups and downs. Late last year Malt Hospitality’s closed its long-running Albion restaurant Vaquero after eight years of trade, four of which was spent toughing it out through pandemics, floods and souring economic conditions. By the time Vaquero shuttered in December, Nick admits he was “on the bones of his arse” – scraping by, but with enthusiasm dwindling.

“We pushed through a pretty tough time, with what I believe was a great business and a good concept in Vaquero, but just not in an ideal location,” Nick reveals candidly. “Fortunately we had a supportive landlord, but it was probably a little bit of a low time for me, as far as how business was trading. I got into this game back in 2003 and never thought I’d be working this hard for this little money.”

While Nick would be forgiven for opting to to ease back on the throttle, with a crash hot kitchen team needing a new home and the flame of passion for hospitality still flickering within, Nick decided to have another crack. But this time, he decided the best way to do it was to strip things back. Malt Hospitality’s new concept Osso Bar Italia opened this week in the heart of Brisbane City. The word ‘osso’ (Italian for bone) resonated with the operator as a guiding principle – a cheeky play on his own bone-tiredness, but also a reference to the ‘basics first’ approach the crew is applying to classic and casual Italian cooking.

“Bones are part of that spine that keeps you going – the upright strength that keeps you firing through the tough times – but also forms a pretty big base for any good food,” explains Nick. “We’re making all our own pasta and making all our own stock bases. Chef Angelic [Lokeni, previously head chef at Vaquero and, before that, Bucci on James Street] has got a good foundation of Italian experience. We’re not trying to be high end. I love the casual nature of Italian food.”

Food & Drink

Osso Bar Italia

100 Edward Street, Brisbane City

More Info

Perched on a prime corner spot at the junction of Edward and Mary Street, Osso boasts an enviable position. Well poised to capture foot traffic that flows by in every direction, the bar and eatery immediately clears the hurdle that Vaquero often struggled to surmount. Working with Camilla Renzoni from Alkot Studio on Osso’s aesthetic design (with Echo Projects Co. handling the fit-out), Nick has honed in on a crisp and clean palette of green, timber and stone spread across the interior. The 85-seat venue boasts three distinct areas – the internal dining room with cushy banquettes, an alfresco terrace along the venue’s Mary Street axis and a laid-back space for drinks and snacks near Osso’s statement fixture, a Brutalist-inspired stone bar.

“My vision was to have the bar at the front,” says Nick. “I can’t stand walking into a restaurant where there bar is in the back and it just becomes a storage facility. We didn’t want [the venue] to feel cheesy. We want the space to be family friendly – we want to encourage people to bring pets as well and sit outside in the outdoor terrace area.”

Osso’s menu is a broad-reaching offering that hits a bunch of crowd-pleasing beats. Peckish punters can pop in for spuntini, including focaccia with smoked green olive cultured butter, beef carpaccio and salumi boards, or take things up a notch with a clutch of antipasti – think charred bell peppers with fior di latte, Byron Bay burrata with bresaola and black olive and truffle dressing, and kingfish crudo with honeydew and cucumber.

Italian cuisine’s twin pillars of pizza and pasta are also represented – you’ll spy pappardelle with Australian bay lobster, pumpkin, miso and ricotta tortellini swimming in brown butter, potato gnocchi with Queensland prawns, and a spicy Italian salami pizza topped with ‘nduja, fontina and broad-leaf rocket. Osso’s specialty, however, is its dishes made using the charcoal grill – a nod to Vaquero’s flame-licked fare. The pollo alla diavola (chicken with fragrant pilaf, Tuscan cabbage and brown gravy), local fish with black-lipped mussels and fregola, and the petite Black Onyx beef tender with rocket and blueberry jus are definitive stand-outs.

As the venue finds its footing, Osso’s outdoor terrace will no doubt evolve into a popular meeting point for the inner-city set, with Nick eager to capitalise with an easy-to-navigate beverage offering anchored by spritz-style cocktails and a tight selection of vino.

“We’re really trying to get the bar to be a fun place,” says Nick. “We’ll be focused on Italian wines and Italian varietals made in Australia as well. We’re supporting a lot of quite small suppliers and we have a decent glass list, but a fairly tight back bar offering as part of the model.”

Despite the weight of recent years, Nick seems energised about Osso’s future. Located in a part of The City experiencing massive growth (Osso is located a stone’s throw from Naldham House, Doughcraft, Stilts and Anyday Group’s forthcoming dining precinct), there’s an exciting amount of potential.

“I haven’t opened a venue that has this sort of foot traffic,” says Nick. “There’s some pretty big hitters coming in, so we’re just happy have a small piece. Being in this area enables us to trade beyond the usual 11:30 am to 3:00 pm and 6:00–10:00 pm – it means we can fill the gamut throughout the day.”

In a few months, Osso will expand its operating hours into the morning and will have food available all day. For now, you can find Osso Bar Italia’s operating hours and info in The Directory.