Directory

Aussies have long loved Indian food, so it’s no surprise that when Zach Dexter travelled to Mohali in the country’s north, he became enraptured with the flavours of the city. Just one bite of the leavened flatbread dish known as kulcha was all it took to get Zach hooked. He knew he had to share these flavours with his friends back in Oz by bringing the taste of this crispy and delicious traditional Indian street food onto home soil. 

Blockhouse Eat + Drink is a Nundah favourite, bringing a whole lot of deliciousness to the north side suburb. By day, Blockhouse is the breakfast and brunching spot of your dreams, with a menu of inventive dishes like avocado on toast with miso butter and popcorn chicken. Yep, don't expect the same old bacon and eggs here. You can wake up as late as you like to too, because the AM menu runs until 2.30pm. Best of all, you can currently sip on 90 minutes worth of bottomless mimoses for just $25pp, with $5 going straight to the Nundah Community Centre to make someone's Christmas—how good is that? Lock in a brunch date and give Blockhouse a buzz to book a table for a boozy breakfast session.

Joining the stunning Ada Lane precinct in Fortitude Valley alongside The Calile Hotel, Edwards And Co's second Brisbane salon (you'll find the first inside W Brisbane) is founder Jaye Edwards' eighth Australia-wide. A quick browse of their Instagram page will tell you why the salon brand has developed enough of a cult following to expand so far, with a feed full of masterfully created sun-kissed highlights complimenting glossy loose waves. Is it the ultimate summer do? We say yes.

If the name Bao Bar doesn’t give you some kind of inclination as to what’s served here, then just imagine a fluffy cloud and fill it with crispy fried chicken, soft shell crab and beef ribs—basically heaven on a plate. After a brief pop-up at Hikari in Teneriffe earlier this year, Bao Bar finally has a venue to call their very own, opening a permanent spot on Edmonstone Street. If you managed to hit them up during their pop-up though, you’ll be happy to know that all the bao you know and love are on the menu here for good, with a few more to try and even a few extra sides and a short drinks list to pair them with. 

Call all your vegan friends, because we've got the news you've been craving—an all plant-based pizza and burger joint has landed in West End. Nonna's Nightmare, so called because their plant-based pizzas would give an Italian nonna nightmares, has opened for takeaway, with dining in to come when lockdown restrictions ease.

Taking over an old warehouse that’s been stripped back to bare bones and refitted, Agnes Restaurant is a moody, sophisticated venue that combines sleek black furnishings and hanging pendant lights with exposed brick and polished concrete. The centrepiece of the venue is the open kitchen and its glowing fires, where everything on the menu is cooked over coal, fire and smoke. 

West End's Mama Taco is an homage to authentic Mexican cuisine with contemporary touches—and an Instagrammable pastel pink aesthetic to boot. Featuring several wooden booths and high bar tables, adorned with hand-painted Mexican tiles, the cosy space is overlooked by a dreamy photo of the Baja Desert from above the bar, which may or may not make you even thirstier for the mezcal lining the shelves below.

Conveniently located across the road from the stunning New Farm Park, Joedy’s Cafe has one of the best seats in the house when it comes to New Farm cafes. The mastermind behind the cafe, Joedy Kyle, has his heart set on providing the community with as much locally sourced produce as possible for the body and soul to enjoy. Their all-day menu offers options for everyone, including Nanna's savoury mince, chilli scrambled eggs with smoked octopus and the seriously Instagrammable purple ube waffles with black sesame ice cream. 

Let’s be honest, nothing beats ordering every single kind of dumpling or steamed bun on a menu (they’re small so you’re allowed to), filling your very own dipping saucer with all the soya, vinegar and chilli oil you can handle, and stuffing your face. This is welcomed and encouraged at Mei Wei Dumplings, The Star Gold Coast's hawker-style Cantonese spot which is opening its its second location at Treasury Brisbane on Thursday 12 March. 

The Valley is home to several good Japanese eateries, all with impressive drinks menus, but the 14-seater Shishou Sake Bar & Eats is where to head if whisky and wine are sounding overdone, and you're ready to turn to top notch saké instead. Though small, the vibrant, mural adorned venue (painted by Drapl) is the perfect spot to nibble on izakaya style share plates, sip Japanese-inspired cocktails (or a wine, if you must) and watch the Valley goers stroll by.

Serious about skin care? Pelci is the place for you. Formerly known as The Philocalist, this brand takes a holistic approach to everything skin and beauty, tailoring each treatment to the needs of the client. Even the clinic itself was designed with rejuvenation in mind, incorporating brass accents, greenery and plush furnishings to bring authenticity and warmth to the space. 

Founded in 2013, dunkle authentic is the brainchild of Molly Dunkle, a longtime advocate for embracing natural beauty and self-care. With the help of her father, an environmental chemist, Molly spent her teendom whipping up batches of her own lip balms and make up, eventually following a career as a make up artist. Now, Molly has opened her first studio on California Lane, where she hand makes a range of feel-good makeup and skincare.

Already a Brisbane city favourite, Phat Elephant has opened a second venue at UPSTAIRS by Toombul, meaning that you no longer have to head for the CBD to get your fix. All about unadulterated, unfussy, authentic Thai cuisine, you can expect to find all of the Thai dishes that you know and love on the menu, and a variety of lesser known dishes for the more adventurous.

Vintage shopping in Paddington and in need of a pick-me-up? Stop by Sweethearts Cupcakes, where you'll find cabinets full to bursting with an array of cupcakes in decadent flavours. 

Part butcher, part grocer, part grill, part cafe, Amin's Butcher and Grill is a modern, friendly butcher where you can not only buy high quality meats to take home, but also get your chosen protein cooked up right next door to eat on the spot. 

This casual 12-seater fine dining spot is the place to feast on lengthy degustations heroing local produce in deliciously creative ways. Tranforming what used to be Freja's Cafe into an intimate outdoor venue with plenty of natural wood finishes, Scandi furnishings and greenery to provide cosy Nordic cottage vibes, you'll be taken on a journey of discovery from the moment you step through the door.

Want to be spurred on by booming music and an inspirational instructor while you get the workout of your life? InspireCycle & Box in Teneriffe is Brisbane's most sweat-inducing spin and boxing studio, and one session here will have you addicted.

If you go loco for ribs, you’re in for a real treat. West End fave Big Roddy is about to be your go-to for perfectly tender, sticky, juicy and gorgeously glazed ribs. 

Sitting in prime position on Brunswick Street Mall next to Fortitude Music Hall, The Sound Garden is Fortitude Valley's epic new bar and restaurant that will take your next Valley night out to the next level—literally. Taking over two massive floors with space for 700 punters, the split level venue even has a verandah overlooking the Brunswick Street Mall, perfect for a bit of late night people watching on a Saturday night. 

Whether it be a bark-day, a paw-ty or you just want a good schnack, you can have it all at Collies And Co., where good food and great coffee comes paired with sharing the love of everyone's four-legged friends. Found in Samford Village, this family-run, dog-friendly cafe not only welcomes pooches of all shapes, sizes and colours with open arms, they raise their own Border Collie puppies in a carefully controlled environment on site, and care for dogs and puppies in need in conjunction with Animal Rescue Qld. And to help those puppies prepare for their future homes, the cafe team host daily puppy socialisation sessions (bookings are required) for all the furry cuddling you can imagine. 

What do taxidermy, bluegrass music, soul food, and pole dancing have in common? Lefty's Old Time Music Hall, partner, that's what. You won't actually find any pole dancing there any more, but most people—okay, some people— will best know the Lefty's building at the top of Caxton Street as the former location of the Velvet Cigar, a house of disesteem where, by all accounts, certain roguish fops could observe young ladies dancing exotically on a stage. 

Bardon’s Rainworth General Store has a new lease on life with the arrival of Goodfolk Cafe into its storied walls. Keeping all the charm of the old building with plenty of exposed timber and greenery, the new cafe has brought even more character to the space—and that’s before you start perusing the menu.

A new local from the crew behind Deedot (one of our all-time favourites, might we add), Groundhog Social has brought colourful pastel interiors and wickedly good breakfast feeds to seaside Manly. Much like at Deedot, you’ll struggle to choose just one dish from the lengthy menu, with eats like breakfast gnocchi with rich braised beef, bubble and squeak with bacon and poached eggs, raspberry chia bowls and waffles with mixed berries and whipped cream.

If all you really feel like most mornings is a coffee and a good toastie, Cups On Melbourne might just be your new local. A fresh spot from the team behind Cups And Wells in Salisbury, this cafe might be small, but it’s got plenty to offer, including specialty coffee from Industry Beans, drool-worthy baked goods and signature jaffles, and outdoor seating from where you can relax and watch the world float by.

It's in their name so you know there is slim chance of getting out of one of Puzzled's escape rooms without giving the head a good scratch. With a group of between two and six players, you can try and get to the bottom of a missing professor in ‘Mirrored’, escape being the subjects of a devious experiment in ‘Monkey Run’, or find the cure in ‘Dr Irov’s Laboratory’. For larger groups, Puzzled even offer a special Battle Mode that will split the group and pit two teams against each other with opportunities to directly thwart each others’ mission. This option is ideal for up to 12 players so jot this one down for the Christmas party.

If you love wings, you're going to want to check out West End's newest wing joint, Naked Wings. Not just because their tender on the inside, crispy on the outside wings are lip-smackingly good, or because you can pair them with an impressive array of sides, but also because they come in no less than 15 FLAVOURS. 

Brought to you by the owner of Phat Boy Brisbane, Phat Elephant, Chai Thai, Asian Republic and Chapter IV, Chook is a brand new all you can eat wing buffet in Hendra.

If you're after a comfort-inducing feed in the city, but only have time to hit the food court, David's Noodle & Hotpot in The Myer Centre should be your first point of call. Here, you can dig into a Sichuan hotpot, or malatang, a spicy, both-based feed stacked with noodles, meats, tofu and vegetables. 

No matter what fitness level you're starting from, how old you are or what shape or size you are in, Olympia Transformations will help you develop a love of exercise. Priding themselves on their motivational and supportive environment, Olympia’s personal trainers are not just there for your 45-minute sweat session–they’re there for you 24/7 to make sure you are staying on track, keeping you accountable for conquering your goals. They believe that everyone’s bodies are different. Want to bulk up? Shred down? Get fit? They will tailor a structured exercise program and nutrition plan for each and every member.

Rogue is the brainchild of owner and chef Daniel Myers together with partner Rach Myers, and serves up Modern Australian cuisine in a relaxed, inviting environment, giving diners the opportunity to eat great food, without having to dine fine. After a 2020 makeover (longtime fans will know Rogue has been around for a while), the venue is looking better than ever, with a luxe all black interior and enclosed front patio providing a intimate escape from the industrial strip on Austin Street outside. 

Taking over the heritage building on Constance Street that once housed The Mill, Oche is a high tech darts bar that originated in Norway but has now come to Australia. Their electronic gamification of traditional dartboards mean you don’t need to keep track of your points with an old school chalkboard—it’s all scored for you automatically, with dozens of games to choose from for a massive night of fun.

As the self-proclaimed best karaoke in Brisbane, Cloud 8 is kicking your Sing Star routine up a notch. With no less than 14 rooms, all of them themed differently, you can karaoke in private with  up to 40 of your closest friends, though there are rooms for anwhere from 8–25 if you're not quite up to singing in front of that many people.

Located on California Lane, Froth on Brunswick is your new favourite laneway cafe, filled with illustrious vegetarian and vegan-friendly eats alongside smooth specialty coffee—perfect for your next long brunch sesh. With minimalist interiors and a boho chic outdoor area, there's plentiful seating for you and your crew no matter the weather.

If you’re in the mood for Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours in a warm and relaxed setting, Ehden is our recommendation. With a menu that’s designed to share, this chilled West End spot specialises in bar snacks but also dishes up an a la carte menu that caters to everyone—even the fussy foodies. 

Located within The Calile, you’ll find Brisbane’s most premium semi-private personal training fitness studio at Forme Fitness. With a balanced, personalised approach to fitness, your health and wellness goals will be taken to the next level. Skip the cookie-cutter approach—their experienced personal trainers are committed to developing fitness and wellness plans tailored to your individual needs. 

Longtime may have dished up their last curry, but the crew are back with a destination for drool-worthy Thai feeds. Landing in Ada Lane next to The Calile, Same Same is essentially Longtime supplanted into a sleek new venue. Combining atmosphere by the bucket load with your favourite modern Thai dishes, Same Same captures the flavours we know and love, but with serious attitude. Our picks? The soft shell crab baos, roasted pork belly pad see ew and THAT twice cooked lamb shank massaman curry.

Head through the old refrigerator door that marks the entrance to Suzie Wong's and you’ll find a long, narrow bar adorned in vintage paraphernalia, from very un-politically correct retro advertising posters to surfboards and even a giant swordfish. It’s all overlooked by the live music stage, where rockabilly, blues and surf rock bands take the stage on weeknights, making way for more commercial tunes on weekends.

Prepare yourselves northsiders—a brand new shipping container foodie precinct has landed in Deception Bay, and it’s one that you’re going to want to hit soon. Combining four different food trucks and roaming eats purveyors, StrEAT Easy Diner & Bar is your one stop shop for whatever street food you’ve got a hanger for, as well as plenty of crafty drinks. 

Run by award-winnning chef Mel Alafaci, Vanilla Zulu is a budding chef's one-stop shop for learning everything there is to know about cooking. With a focus on creating fresh, fast and simply delicious meals, you'll leave Vanilla Zulu raring to get back into the kitchen. 

Kaizen Experience, shortened to KX, is Japanese for “change for the better” and therefore makes the KX Pilates movement a philosophy that focuses on small and ongoing improvement in our lives. KX’s new Red Hill studio is an ultra airy space and along with incredibly friendly and vibrant instructors, it truly sets you up for a great workout experience.

Formerly an online store delivering deliciously sweet canelés and cakes around Brisbane, Bella & Tortie now has a bricks and mortar location in the Grange, where you'll find an array of delectable baked goods so enticing you won't be able to choose just one. 

Hitting Brisbane's north side just in time for a long, hot summer, Allora is scooping up sweet artisan gelato from a stunning minimalist cafe in Newmarket Village. Using nothing but real ingredients such as fresh fruit, raw organic sugar and plenty of flavour, Allora's gelato is all housemade in their offsite factory every day, with owner Adam's Italian heritage and years of experience creating organic ice cream ensuring nothing but the tastiest, most wholesome gelato is scooped up in the cafe.

After a devastating fire which gutted this iconic Italian spot in 2019, the New Farm Deli & Cafe is back, with a new modern look but the same delicious array of cured meats, pastas, cheeses, baked goods and Italian sandwiches they've been serving to Merthyr Village locals since 1977. 

North siders, your weeknight dinners just got a whole lot tastier, with Il Verde sibling Il Gancio landing at UPSTAIRS by Toombul and bringing the King Street venue's famous cheese wheel pasta with them. 

Hot off the wheels of their journey across Australia slinging coffee out of their coffee bar caravan, Dutch and Bekky Brill have found a permanent slice of paradise right here in Brisbane. On the bustling hub that is the corner of Alfred and Constance Streets, their cosy new cafe Paradise is serving up delicious espresso, cold brew and pour over varieties from specialty coffee roasters Padre Coffee.

If you never got acquainted with the pie baking crew from Pie Town when they were a pop-up store at Wandering Cooks, then you've never felt the joy of biting into the flakiest, butteriest, most perfect pie crusts in all of Brisbane. It's time to rectify that. Thanks to a permanent new cafe in West End, you can now sample their pies all day, every day, which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how much self control you've got. 

Located on Oxford Street in Bulimba, Artisan Skin Clinics is the ultimate relaxation retreat with skilled and medically-trained therapists working magic on your skin. 

Calling all barbecue lovers, because after years of sell out pop-ups and event appeareances, the meaty legends that are Barbecue Mafia have finally opened a permanent location. Dine with the low 'n' slow royalty at their new restaurant in Coorparoo, inside the Coorparoo Kings AFL Club, which you'll find serving up drool-worthy goodness seven days a week. Tuck into the likes of melt-in-you-mouth brisket, pecan fed pulled pork, lamb and turkey, paired with plenty of sides like the Mafia secret southern slaw, shoestring fries, pickled onions, Texas toast, dinner rolls and of course, their very own range of sauces—the Mobster BBQ Sauce is one to try. 

SoBa Social is our go-to outdoor café venue situated in leafy West End, and it's ready to take your morning brunch experience to a whole other level. SoBa's mantra is 'chilled and fulfilled, and it achieves just that—sip on smooth coffee and treat yourself to a meal sourced from local ingredients or snack on one of their baked fresh daily goods. And make sure you get your hands on one of their bonkers milkshakes topped with cocoa pops. 

If you can never decide between sweet or savoury for breakfast, Little Dreamer might be just the spot for you. This Calamvale cafe has grown a cult following thanks to its epic two-level breakfasts (yes, TWO levels), featuring a board piled high with all your big breakfast faves on the bottom (think eggs, bacon, hash browns and more) and a plate of sweet waffles on top. The only catch is that you have to share. 

Picture this: Dozens of interconnected trampolines, an epic parkour course, climbing walls, ninja course, indoor ski slope and a dodgeball court. Does it look like something from your childhood dreams? We’re going to guess the answer is yes.

If sipping on colourful cocktails and relaxing with your  crew of an afternoon is right up your alley, then you should definitely head to Brisbane's new social bar, Meek Social House. Located in edgy 'burb Woolloongabba, this Californian-inspired bar will have you and your mates feeling insta-worthy with its blue timber bar and wicker furnishings, complete with a neon sign that reminds us that 'being kind is dope AF'.

Nodo is spreading the delicious love around Brisbane with a brand new store in South Brisbane, opening mid-November. Renowned for their baked gluten free doughnuts that make treating yourself guilt free, Nodo has become a Brisbane institution over the past few years, with three locations around town—soon to be four. 

Perched above the laneways of Everton Plaza, this summery rooftop bar wouldn’t be out of place on the Amalfi Coast. With tangerine and white striped umbrellas, pops of bougainvillea and a menu full of sunset-worthy spritzes, all that’s missing is the ocean views—but when that European holiday feeling is just a quick Uber trip away, who even needs a beach? 

When Scottish craft beer trailblazer BrewDog announced they were opening a tap room and brewery, DogTap, in Brisbane, beer lovers were frothing. Boasting 28 taps, DogTap Brisbane is pouring all the famed BrewDog headliners, including their Punk IPA, as well as an epic line-up of local guest beers from the likes of Range Brewing, Currumbin Valley Brewing, Balter and many more. Fantastic beer aside, you can also fuel up on BrewDog’s legendary classic menu of burgers, dogs, salads and buffalo wings, as well as a bunch of small and large plates designed just for Brisbane including Korean-style chicken wings, crispy pork cheeks, baby squid calamari and barramundi fritters.

Opening on Friday 25 October at Zero Constance Street in Fortitude Valley (if you can't find it, you'll never know...), this secretive bar is the place to hide away in a dark leather booth for a night sipping gin cocktails and nibbling on tapas, while the world outside passes you right on by. With a fitout inspired by the speakeasies of London's prohibition days, you'll find the bar filled with chesterfield armchairs, cozy booths and walls lined with bookshelves, along with seats at the bar to watch your barkeeper shake up the perfect cocktail. 

Get ready to sip cocktails in a tinsel wonderland at Brisbane’s most Instagramable new bar and event space, The Tinsel Bar. This immersive tinsel paradise is serving up childhood nostalgia with a side of cocktails—for those of us who wanted to grow up too fast but now wish they were a kid again. The colourful venue is a collaboration between the brains behind Hello Please and Maeve Wine, Maris Cook, and the tinsel queen herself, Rachel Burke—who you might recongise as the creator of the dazzling tinsel jackets that have adorned the shoulders of Kesha. It’s fair to say, she knows how to do tinsel. 

Fortitude Valley just gained a shiny new store whose luxurious nonchalance looks right at home on James Street. The Elka Collective decor breathes high-end simplicity: the layered textures, creamy beige and white accessories, wood accents, and pops of green all work together to create a relaxed but luxurious atmosphere. 

The team behind Brisbane’s breakfast institution, Billykart, have brought us a brand new venue, one dedicated to the humble burger. After seeing Billykart's burger menu develop a cult following, owner Ben Roberts and chef Ben O’Donoghue decided to take things to the next level, taking over a location just up the road from their West End spot and turning it into Bender's Bar.

Sweet tooths of the northside, rejoice! Your favourite decadent dessert bar, Cowch is making its grand entrance at Chermside. This long-time fixture of South Bank has recently snagged some prime real estate for its newest location at Westfield Chermside, meaning you no longer have to trek your way into the CBD to gorge on Nutella waffle sandwiches, dessert pizzas, ice creams, churros, super shakes and much more.