The year in review: Brisbane’s best new restaurants of 2024

Attimi by Dario Manca, Paddington: Opening a restaurant of his own has long been a dream for Dario Manca. This year, he finally did it. The Italian-born chef (previously head chef of Rosmarino) opened Attimi in the old NOTA space in Paddington, a 28-seat fine-dining restaurant that takes guests on a region-hopping tour of Dario’s motherland via two degustation menus. There’s nothing standard about the fare that hits the table at Attimi. It’s recognisably Italian, sure, but Dario has gone to great lengths to present familiar flavours in new, unexpected and fun forms. Attimi’s whirlwind culinary tour makes stops in Sardinia (rosemary carasau with smoked stracciatella, anchovies and pickled tomatoes), Calabria (savoury cannoli with beef tartare, cornichons, stracciatella and bagna cauda mayo), Sicily (the ‘Ultimate Arancino’ with Carnaroli rice, porcini mushrooms, Trifolati and truffle mayo) and Veneto (Mooloolaba king prawns and mascarpone cappelletti, bisque sauce, buffalo stracciatella and basil oil), with plans to explore more parts of the country in the future. All of this is backed by a wine list nudging close to 85 bottles, with Italian wines strongly represented alongside select drops from Australia and France.

August, West End: What do you get when a chef known for making some of Brisbane’s most creative fare and a sip-savvy front-of-house star open a restaurant inside a one-of-a-kind character-filled building? You get August, one of the most anticipated additions to Brisbane’s dining scene this year. Head chef and co-owner Brad Cooper is delivering a quirky, fun-driven take on Euro-inspired fare, with some inspired stand-outs including mud crab omelette Arnold Bennett, foie gras-stuffed chicken crown with peas a la Francaise, Barnsley lamb chop with caponata, and grilled flounder with vongole, butter beans and saffron butter. August’s other co-owner Matilda Riek is overseeing the restaurant’s dining floor and bar, devising a beverage program that mixes unheralded Australian wines with French and Italian options, as well as a concise cocktail menu featuring Forêt Pastis and soda and Rinomato Aperitivo and soda, alongside negronis, martinis, old fashioneds and spritzes.

Central, Brisbane City: Though it was three years in the making, Central took us all by surprise. Just about everyone – except for those involved behind the scenes – were caught off guard by the subterranean Hong Kong-inspired dumpling bar when it opened on Queen Street in October. Central’s brutalist interiors, envisioned and built by Jared Webb of J.AR Office and Lowry Group, masterfully melds its home’s 150-year-old heritage elements with an austere palette of materials and colours, with the open-plan kitchen serving as the restaurant’s buzzing nexus. Though it might not feel like it immediately, the kitchen – ringed on three sides by counter seating – is reminiscent of a dai pai dong, Hong Kong’s famous open-air food stalls. Here, executive chef and co-owner Benny Lam puts forth a menu inspired by the high-octane dining scene of Hong Kong’s Central district in the 90s – a time when the city began infusing Western-style cooking with its own signature flavour. Central is framed as a part dumpling bar and part restaurant, so dim sum is a major focus of Benny’s menu. Classic prawn har gow can be enjoyed alongside Peking duck potstickers, crispy golden wu gok and a savoury take on the traditionally sweet pineapple bun, before share plates of Cantonese chu hou-style wagyu tartare and youtiao (deep-fried dough strips) topped with smoked foie gras fill the table. Then it’s on to the mains – think steamed Queensland grouper, rock lobster with e-fu noodles, triple-cooked Stockyard wagyu short ribs with red kampot pepper, and classic roast duck with lychee wood smoke and lilly pilly plum sauce. All of this is bolstered by a beverage program featuring 250 wines (including hard-to-source Chinese varieties) and a range of fun, fruity and boozy cocktails that nods to Brisbane’s own subtropical environment and Hong Kong’s classic hotel bars of the 80s and 90s.

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ēmmē, Fortitude Valley: It’s always a treat when a restaurant strikes a balance between aesthetics and substance. ēmmē, James Street’s fetching fire-powered all-day eatery, is not only nice to look at – with its polished marble counter tops, rough stone feature wall, geometric acoustic panelling and the sheer, yellow-hued curtains – but it’s dishing out some of the best fare on the strip. Head chef Thomas Lian Tze (previously of Greca) and sous chef Finn Burgess (formerly of ESSA) are turning out a menu that masterfully mixes Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences. Breakfast dishes like French toast with date caramel, whipped yoghurt and seasonal fruit, and stand-out options from the lunch and dinner menu like the native dukkah-dusted barbecue broccoli with labneh, and barbecue chicken with grilled shishito peppers are served in an unpretentious manner. At ēmmē, imperfection is championed, flavour is celebrated and impromptu visits are encouraged.

Gum Bistro, West End: Phil Poussart and Lachlan Matheson are experienced enough in hospitality to know what works on a plate and in a glass. But more importantly, they know it takes a lot more than that to create a return-worthy restaurant. With their West End eatery Gum Bistro, the somm-chef tandem has struck a fine balance between all of the essential details. Taking over the charming character-filled site previously home to Pasta Club, the duo is focusing on big flavours, small details, pitch-perfect needle drops and disarmingly chummy service. This combo was, as you could have guessed, well received by locals. Gum’s warm interior is frequently abuzz with guests divvying up the likes of duck-liver parfait with native tamarind jelly, sweetcorn agnolotti with crema di parmigiana, cabbage-wrapped cobia with zucchini and creme fraiche, and Margra lamb rump with sweetbread, beans and radicchio. The menu is constructed with produce from some of Queensland’s best suppliers, including Suncoast Fresh, The Falls Farm, Urban Valley Mushrooms, Marrow Meats and Rocky Point Aquaculture. Meanwhile, Phil has seized the opportunity to fashion a beverage list boasting some real diversity, mixing regionality and price point to impressive results.

Monal Dining, Newstead: When 2024 is all said and done, one of the year’s biggest trends will be the amount of talented young chefs breaking out on their own. Yogesh Budathoki (a former sous chef at Hôntô) is one of those young guns who, along with his cousin Roman Bhandari, is carving out a piece of Newstead’s red-hot restaurant scene with Monal Dining. The 55-seater isn’t a bar and not quite a restaurant – it’s a nifty midpoint between the two, able to accommodate a myriad of diners. Alongside fellow gun chef Jake Smith, Yogesh is turning out an offering encompassing snacky serves of wagyu intercostal skewers with smoked labneh and Mooloolaba king prawns doused in XO Butter, plus larger plates of lemon-molasses-glazed Elgin Valley chicken with curry sauce and braised lamb shoulder with tomato and fermented-bean sauce. In a year where flexible dining is at the top of the priority list for many punters, Monal Dining has delivered on cost-effective versatility.

Naldham House, Brisbane City: With precious few heritage-listed buildings remaining in Brisbane, becoming the custodian of one of these cherished spaces comes with a certain amount of pressure. For the DAP & Co. team, which operates Walter’s and The Gresham, working within heritage surroundings is somewhat of a calling card. This made the group a top candidate to take over Naldham House – a grand old building that has sat empty on the corner of Mary and Felix Streets for nearly a decade, and now forms the first stage of Dexus’ Waterfront Brisbane development. This year DAP & Co. team officially unveiled the first two concepts calling Naldham House home. On the ground floor sits Naldham House Brasserie & Terrace, a beautifully appointed restaurant inspired by grand hotel lobbies. Boasting a maximal, kaleidoscopic colour scheme by acclaimed interior designer Anna Spiro and a menu of Euro-leaning brasserie fare from executive chef Douglas Keyte (formerly head chef at Grill Americano), the restaurant is already one of the most visually striking dining rooms in Brisbane. One level up sits Club Felix, a luxuriously plush late-night haunt saturated in Yves Klein Blue that serves classic cocktails (think Sidecars and French 75s), French wines, champagne and snacks until the wee hours. Naldham House has been a long time coming. Even under intense scrutiny, the DAP & Co. team has managed to deliver something incredible. There’s more to come, too – a premium concept taking shape on the building’s top floor is set to open next year.

Petite, Fortitude Valley: Petite, Cameron and Jordan Votan’s striking new addition to their East Street dining empire, isn’t a wine bar or a bistro. One could call it a hybrid, but it’s also something distinct and singular. Like the Votan’s other venues Happy Boy and Snack Man, Petite defies easy categorisation – the only definitive characteristic is that it is French-inspired. Here, head chef Aubrey Courtel oversees a free-wheeling menu of 20 dishes designed to be ordered in waves, with the likes of steak tartare with gherkins, confit yolk and pomme gaufrette, and potato pave enjoyed alongside pan-fried gnocchi with comte cream, confit duck with potato mash, and grilled wagyu bavette with cafe de Paris butter. As one would expect from a venue that purposefully blurs the line between bistro and wine bar, vino shares top billing alongside Petite’s fare. An entire half of the one-page menu is dedicated to a list of 20 wines available by the glass – each drop selected as the ideal pairing for the dish it sits directly opposite, but the options immediately above and below are also favourable matches.

Sokyo, Brisbane City: The official unveiling of The Star Brisbane at Queen’s Wharf on Thursday August 29 was, undoubtedly, one of biggest stories of 2024. Amidst all the buzz surrounding the launch of The Star Grand, the breathtaking Sky Deck and the ribbon cutting of the Neville Bonner Bridge was the almost-understated debut of Sokyo, The Star Brisbane’s flagship restaurant. The sibling of Sokyo Sydney and Kiyomi on the Gold Coast, Sokyo delivers a similarly considered take on Japanese cuisine, with traditional touches accented by theatrical flair and modern innovation. Deftly orchestrating the culinary offering is executive chef Alex Yu, who was previously head chef at Yugen Melbourne and, before that, long-time sous chef at Sokyo Sydney, where he earned the moniker of ‘sashimi florist’. Here, the detail-oriented chef is blending ritual and art, drawing upon Queensland’s bounty of incredible produce for the menu, which boasts a mix of Sokyo signatures and a number of Alex’s own creations. Signatures like the spicy tuna (served on a bed of crispy rice), the miso-glazed toothfish with Japanese salsa and pickled cucumber, Wollemi duck breast with Brussels Sprout, goma dare and furikake are stand-out, but the real gem of the menu is Alex’s delicately arranged sashimi platters. Backed by a beverage menu filled with high-end sake, wine and cocktails – as well as a slickly pared-back interior – Sokyo has been gunning for a spot amongst the upper echelon of Brisbane’s restaurant scene from the jump.

Supernormal, Brisbane City: While Brisbane diners have been waiting approximately two years for Supernormal to open its doors, for Andrew McConnell and Jo McGann, the process of opening a Queensland expansion of their beloved Asian-fusion eatery was eight years in the making. As Supernormal’s digs at 443 Queen Street approached completion, anticipation reached fever pitch. The team teased us with the arrival of Supernormal’s stunning Euro-inspired sibling Bar Miette in June, which hinted that Supernormal wasn’t far behind. “It has to be close now”, we all collectively speculated. And then it opened – and people, the wait was worth it. Supernormal Brisbane’s ultra-chic interiors (envisioned by Vince Alafaci and Caroline Choker of ACME) reflect Brisbane’s subtropical landscape, climate and lifestyle, with its dappled carpet, vibrant green peppered terrazzo floors, a carved timber bar and hand-sculpted emerald marble maître’ d’ station offset by organic materials and hues. Light streams through the floor-to-ceiling windows during the day, and by night diners can gaze outward, watching the lights of the city and Story Bridge bounce and speckle on the river. The food, like the fit-out, is also top-notch. Executive chef Jason Barratt (formerly of Paper Daisy) is using the finest Queensland produce to fashion dishes like scallops roasted in kelp butter, clay-pot sticky pork rib with ginger and prawn dumplings, sour-and-salty crispy lamb with Yuxiang vinegar, and the restaurant’s signature New England lobster roll and the salt-cured, spiced and twice-cooked crispy duck. Alongside a clutch of killer cocktails, close to 400 bottles grace Supernormal’s wine list, selected for their quality and versatility, and favouring family-owned producers. Though the weight of years of expectations was profound, Supernormal Brisbane very much lives up to the hype.

Highly commended: 2024 produced enough worthy restaurants to fill your dining calendar well into 2025. Other worthy contenders include Ach Wine Bar & Bistro and Mademoiselle in Hamilton, Azteca, Lúc Lắc, Dark Shepherd, Black Hide Steak & Seafood and Longwang in The City, Mr Duncans, Warisan and The Eucalyptus Room in Fortitude Valley, Chalong in Chapel Hill.