The Team Behind Red Hill’s New Modern European Restaurant Reads Like A Hall Of Fame

What happens when a Masterchef alum and celebrated chef get talking at the school pick up? Sofia, a modern European restaurant and wine bar coming to Red Hill that has the chops of a fine diner but an approach of a proper homely neighbourhood institution. 

Sofia is the handiwork of Alana Lowes and Jack Stuart. The former’s expansive portfolio includes two seasons of Masterchef, presenting on Channel 7’s Weekender TV, and stints in restaurant kitchens like Hamilton’s Ach Wine Bar while Stuart was previously head chef at Gauge and Melbourne’s Congress Wine, before opening Blume in Boonah and Venner in West End earlier this year. 

“Sofia really started with Jack and me talking at school pick-up about the kind of restaurant we wished we had in our own neighbourhood,” said Lowes. “We both love that very European idea of having a great restaurant around the corner, somewhere that can deliver seriously good food and wine without feeling formal or like it needs to be saved for a special occasion.”

That idea grew legs and came to life when they saw the site on Enoggera Terrace was available in Red Hill (they both live locally). It was a sign: Stuart started his career as an apprentice at Olivetto’s which you might remember lived in that very building about 15 years ago. And while the duo will be breathing new life into the space with a produce-driven menu and refined techniques, Sofia is also a nod to nostalgia in deep burgundies, terracotta and secondhand furniture.

“We didn't want Sofia to feel like a brand-new restaurant where everything arrived on the same truck,” said Lowes. “The building already has so much character and history, so rather than stripping that away, we’re leaning into it.”

Lowes and Stuart have assembled quite the dream team to join them. Leading the kitchen is Ryan Carlson, who was previously head chef at Agnes and The French Exit. Nin Lynch will serve as venue manager and sommelier, where she’ll draw on her training at Brisbane’s original Emporium Hotel under renowned Champagne education Bernadette O’Shea and hotelier Peter Savoff, as well as stints at the likes of Happy Boy, Exhibition, Winnifred’s and most recently Venner. 

Image credit: Ryan Carlson, Alana Lowes and Jack Stuart | Instagram

The menu isn’t really about sticking to a specific cuisine. “We want dishes you genuinely want to eat, beautiful ingredients, freshly rolled pasta and bread, things made in-house, plates that fill the table and food that feels deceptively simple,” said Lowes.

There’ll be plenty to discover but you can expect a couple of Stuart’s greatest hits like his pig’s head and green mustard sandwich from Congress and a version of his rainbow trout with green tomato beurre blanc from Blume. Lowes will also be weaving in some of her Masterchef icons, like the cucumber and mint kataifi ice cream sandwich. 

Just make sure you save room for dessert, as the team will be tackling Aussie classics through a chef’s lens like golden syrup dumplings and a spin on a choc-top in a nod to Red Hill Cinemas across the road.  “Sofia is very much about memory and nostalgia, but never in a way that feels retro for retro’s sake,” said Lowes. 

With a fully tiled bar downstairs, drinks will be key to Sofia’s offering. Specifically, wine with a real focus on female winemakers and producers throughout the extensive yet approachable list. Classic cocktails will receive the Sofia treatment in subtle twists, and by-products from the kitchen will inform sodas rather than non-alcoholic options feeling like an afterthought. 

And finally, who is Sofia? 

“Sofia isn’t actually one person,” said Lowes. “She’s a collection of the women, memories and rituals we grew up around. The mums, nonnas, babas, aunties, neighbours and friends who taught us that food is about hospitality and generosity, and that the kitchen or dining table is inevitably where everyone ends up.”

“She’s the person who feeds you, pours another glass and keeps you at the table far longer than you intended. That sense of warmth and nostalgia and just bloody delicious food and wine is really the heart of Sofia.”

Sofia is slated to open later this year. For more of Brisbane’s best new restaurants, head here.