Who is Aunty? Inside Tassis Group’s head-turning new Fortitude Valley restaurant
There’s a new buzz on Wandoo Street with the opening of Aunty in Fortitude Valley. From the team behind Fatcow and Longwang, the venue explores modern Asian flavours through wok and woodfire cooking, and pairs its fare with elevated design and a lively, welcoming atmosphere. Here’s what to expect inside …
Who is Aunty?
Over the past week, the internet has been abuzz with the arrival of Fortitude Valley’s newest restaurant, Aunty, from Tassis Group.
Footage of the venue’s back-lit bar, a sliding mirrored door giving way to a richly appointed interior, and succulent slices of roasted duck accompanied by steaming dumpling baskets has been filling feeds since the venue opened on Thursday, February 5. While that offers a suitably tantalising glimpse of what Aunty is, it doesn’t quite solve the riddle of who Aunty is – or how her essence underpins everything Tassis Group is doing at its Wandoo Street newcomer.
“She’s the fun aunt, the cool aunt – she knows her food, she likes to go shopping on James Street, she’s modern and a bit outgoing,” explains Tassis Group head honcho Michael Tassis, who says the restaurant taps into a sense of familial warmth and generosity.
It tracks, then, that this silhouette of a vivacious, free-spirited matriarch is the tone-setting inspiration behind Aunty. Located in the former City Winery site on Wandoo Street, the venue leans into its namesake’s mondaine persona, with the Tassis team crafting a brand identity befitting of its proximity to James Street’s glitzy epicentre.
Aunty also marks the restaurant group’s continued exploration into Asian cuisine, following the well-received opening of inner-city restaurant Longwang in 2024. Paired with the crew’s high-end steakhouse Fatcow on James Street, Aunty forms a neat culinary counterpoint within close reach.
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“Most of my venues have at least one or two other venues nearby,” says Michael, thinking back to when he first snagged the plum space. “I was looking around the area and I just thought, ‘What’s missing?’ We went with modern Asian – a little bit of a Cantonese flavour, but more focus on wok and woodfire cooking.”
Overseeing the culinary offering is head chef Salvatore de Ponte (previously the sous chef at Fatcow), who has been tasked with curating a menu Michael says is broadly modern Asian in scope. While respect and tradition sit at the heart of the restaurant’s kitchen operations, Aunty’s fare boasts a liberal sprinkling of cheeky rebellion.
“Some of the flavours are traditional, but done a little bit differently,” says Michael. “It’s all about very clean plating, so it’s a bit more refined and everything is done with care.”
Designed for sharing, the menu sprawls in various tempting directions. Snacks like lobster rolls with XO dressing and pressed wagyu skewers can lead into entrees like wagyu beef tartare with smoked duck yolk and charred lamb ribs with coriander and anchovy dressing.
If a dim sum dinner is the play, you’ve got options – think prawn spring rolls with chilli lime aioli, char siu pork puffs, chicken xiao long bao and Moreton Bay bug siu mai with smoked bottarga.
Like with most Tassis venues, live seafood stars alongside quality proteins. Whole mud crab coated in house chilli sauce and grilled lobster swimming in lemongrass garlic butter are joined by grilled dishes like char siu pork neck with charred-pineapple salsa, fermented chilli chicken, roasted duck breast served two ways and a 650-g Black Onyx Rangers Valley T-bone.
Rounding out the offering are wok dishes, like Aunty’s signature dan dan ragu with mafaldine, chilli crab Shanghai noodles and wagyu stir-fried beef.
On the drinks front, group beverage manager Ben Rolfe has assembled a 250-strong wine list filled with drops perfect for matching Asian flavours – think plenty of crisp whites and French champagnes. A tidy cocktail list also takes cues from the kitchen, with ten signatures incorporating a range of ingredients to complement the fare.
Alongside longtime collaborators Clui Design and Allo Creative, Tassis Group has delivered a design and brand identity that Michael summarises as personality-forward, minimalistic and elegant.
“When we looked at the layout, there were a lot of things we could have done with it,” explains Michael. “Clui Design and I have worked together quite tightly on this one from an operations point of view – I think we really took the space to another level, which it hadn’t seen before.”
The venue can be loosely broken up into three parts. There’s the bar at the front, which can’t help but draw attention thanks to its illuminated bar back and sea-green ceiling light fixtures. Then there’s the 100-seat dining room, which cleverly uses risers and booths to create a series of intimate nooks, while jewel-green banquettes and marble finishes add a touch of luxury. Finally, a 24-seat private-dining space is shielded behind heavy curtains, lending a sense of intimacy to any special occasion.
Much like the figure Aunty is named after, the restaurant is stylish without trying too hard and generous without being overbearing. As Michael suggests, once you’re inside, it’s hard not to feel it – the warmth, the vitality and the sense that everyone, quite simply, is having a really good time.
“It’s vibrant,” explains Michael. “You can really see it and feel it in the room – everyone is just having a lot of fun in there.”
Aunty is now open to the public – head to The Directory for operating hours, booking details and menu info.