If you’re feeling like you’ve eaten your way through your home city and you’re after something completely different, we've teamed up with Visit Brisbane to bring you Brisbane's best—and we assure you, Brissy's dining scene is pumping.
If you proudly claim the food connoisseur title, here are nine reasons to pull up to Brisbane.
Takashiya's 19-Course Omakase
Yes, you read that right. A whole 19-course omakase awaits you at Southbank's Takashiya. ICYMI—omakase is a Japanese phrase used when ordering food in restaurants meaning 'I'll leave it up to you'. Here, you'll find yourself in an intimate 12-seat dining room catered to by Chef Takashi. With over 40 years of experience crafting nigiri and many other Japanese delicacies in front of diners under his belt, you know you're in for a treat.
Wood-fired Eats At Agnes Woodfire Restaurant
In a revamped warehouse in the Valley, you'll find Agnes Restaurant. Everything here is all about smoke and fire—mainly, how it can be harnessed to create out-of-this-world dishes without electricity or gas. The venue is moody yet sleek, with exposed brick, hanging pendant lights and even an olive-tree-dotted rooftop terrace. The venue's centrepiece is the open kitchen and its glowing fires, where everything on the menu is prepared over coal, fire and smoke. The ever-changing menu utilises the best goods of the season to serve up incomparably delicious bites—think wood-roasted duck, yellowfin tuna and a dreamy wagyu sirloin. Book here.
Baked Goods At Agnes Bakery
The baby of Agnes Woodfire Restaurant, Agnes Bakery in Fortitude Valley is Brisbane's answer to your mid-morning pastry craving. Score everything from the perfect bagel to the weekly specials that include bangers like berry jam and cream doughnuts and lemon, caramel and thyme meringue tarts— the perfect coffee accompaniment. Found on a bright and breezy valley corner, Agnes makes for the perfect people-watching spot and is only a short distance away from New Farm Park for ultra-lax weekend vibes. Check them out on Instagram here—cue the drool.
Decadent French Cuisine At Montrachet
When it comes to decadence, the French do it best—and Montrachet in Bowen Hills is the perfect example. The staple recommendation of both local foodies and hospo pros, this award-winning French restaurant cuisine is renowned for being cream-of-the-crop lavish. Whatever you choose from the seasonal menu, we recommend treating your tastebuds to their acclaimed beverage selection service—you won't regret it. Book here.
Asian Feasting At Hôntô
Find the secret hidden entrance to Hôntô in Fortitude Valley and be rewarded with an unforgettable moodily-lit dining experience. Hôntô serves up Asian delights best shared, including theHôntô drumstick with tuna, avocado, and prawn doughnut with red shiso and kimchi mayo. The menu also brags more substantial dishes like the chicken isobe-age with green yuzu chilli paste and charred lime, pork and vegetable dumplings with balsamic ponzu and burnt chilli sesame oil. Whatever you find on your table, it's well worth the initial game of hide and seek. Bookings are essential, so be sure to nab your spot here.
Fresh Seafood On A Fishing Trawler At The Prawnster
There is no dining experience like visiting The Prawnster in Brisbane. Climb aboard an actual prawn trawler in Kangaroo Point to cop some of the best freshly caught seafood in the city. The dine-in menu heroes seafood exclusively, boasting prawns of various sizes and varieties, oysters, Moreton Bay Bugs, salmon and mud crabs—when they're in season. There's an extensive wine and beer list but no sides on offer, although they encourage you to bring your own if preferred.
Dine In A Gallery At GOMA Restaurant
On South Bank, within one of Australia's most visited, ambitious and dynamic galleries, is an equally impressive restaurant—GOMA Restaurant. After perusing floors-on-floors of artwork, park up beside sprawling windows overlooking the river and indulge in contemporary dishes sure to impress. Our top pick is the duck leg braised in barbecued plum hoisin with crispy wonton and smoked kombu emulsion. Book here.
Restaurant Dan Arnold’s Unreal Degustation
If you can't look past a degustation, be sure to add Dan Arnold to your itinerary. Chef Dan Arnold and the team offer three set menus highlighting local Australian produce, with ideas and inspirations from around the world. Bookings for the experience are essential, reserve your table here.
Vegetarian Middle Eastern at ZA ZA TA
Vegetarian diners aren't forgotten or an afterthought at ZA ZA TA. Here you'll experience a soulful blend of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine that brings a distinctly modern twist to centuries-old flavours, designed to be shared and savoured amongst friends. Standouts on the menu include the addictive halloumi donuts, shish barak pumpkin dumplings and frozen chocolate parfait. Want to dial up the romance while away? ZA ZA TA's suite dessert isn't just a sweet finisher to your meal—it also comes with a room key (if available) to a suite at Ovolo The Valley upstairs, you don't even need to book.
Ready to take your tastebuds on the road? Head to Visit Brisbane and get booking your next getaway.
Editor's note: this article was produced in partnership with Visit Brisbane. Thank you for supporting the partners who make Urban List possible. To read our editorial policy, click here.
Image credit: ZA ZA TA via Instagram, Takashiya via Instagram, Agnes Woodfired Restaurant via Instagram, Agnes Bakery via Instagram, Hôntô via Instagram, The Prawnster via Instagram, Restaurant Dan Arnold via Instagram