Seasonality, smoke and style: High Road Bar & Grill puts Queensland on a plate
The Mulberry Group has made its Queensland debut with High Road Bar & Grill, a South Brisbane restaurant putting local produce in the spotlight. Expect woodfire cooking, familiar favourites with a few clever twists, and a drinks list championing Australian and European drops. It’s a Melbourne hospitality heavyweight’s take on what makes Queensland dining special.
How does a Melbourne-born hospitality juggernaut endear itself to the populace of a brand-new city?
For The Mulberry Group, the crew behind lauded venues like Hazel, Dessous, Liminal and Lilac Wine, the answer is simple – at its first Queensland venue, High Road Bar & Grill, the group is placing Queensland produce at the centre of everything.
“Much of what we’ve done in Melbourne in the past has been really around championing local produce, local farmers and local suppliers,” says founder Nathan Toleman. He’s right – a quick look at the About pages of The Mulberry Group’s venues and you’ll spy words like ‘produce’, ‘seasonality’ and ‘provenance’ appearing in quick succession.
At High Road, the group is relishing the chance to indulge in Queensland’s abundance of, well, everything.
Located at the base of Novotel Brisbane South Bank on Cordelia Street, the restaurant and bar weaves elements of Australian nostalgia throughout its menu, employing woodfire cooking as a key tool to bring out the best of what’s in season.
Helming the kitchen is head chef Gareth Woolcock, who has been tasked with creating a menu that elevates familiar fare through flame and technique. According to Gareth, High Road’s Queensland-centric approach was baked in from inception, with The Mulberry Group’s produce-driven ethos one of the things that appealed to him about the job.
“Their vision for what High Road was going to be really aligned with the food that I’m passionate about and that I like cooking,” says Gareth. “It was about provenance, it was about good quality produce and serving it in a really relatable way that people are familiar with, but elevating it to something that maybe they haven’t tried before.”
In the lead-up to opening, Gareth stocked High Road’s larder with help from a suite of local suppliers, many of whom he’s worked with for more than a decade.
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“Simon George & Sons started out as a very small operation and now they’re one of the biggest fruit and veg suppliers in Queensland,” says Gareth. “I’ve worked closely with one of the reps, Kieran, for about ten years – he’s been really helpful in sourcing the best stuff on the market.
“The guys from Prime Cut Meats can really give you a back story on where their beef has come from and where that beef was raised, giving you a real insight into the background of their food rather than just saying, ‘Hey, this is a great product.’”
High Road’s debut menu kicks off with starters like house-made yoghurt flatbread, potato scallops with creme fraiche, black caviar and finger lime, chargrilled Chinchilla tiger prawns, and charcuterie platters featuring LP’s smoked mortadella, squid ink salami and wagyu bresaola.
Of special mention is the Mooloolaba prawn roll with umami mayo – an item Gareth believes epitomises High Road’s approach.
“It’s a really great example of what High Road is about,” says Gareth. “It’s three or four things that are all super fresh, and even though it’s only a few components, every ingredient was considered.”
Up next is the grill section, headlined by High Road’s signature wagyu burger, 270-g Oria pork cutlet, Humpty Doo barramundi fillet with charred broccoli pesto, charred Queensland blue pumpkin, and woodfired free-range half chicken with labneh. A four-strong selection of steaks includes a Black Angus flank, wagyu rump, eye fillet and Black Angus sirloin.
For dessert, there’s Burnt Basque cheesecake, vanilla bean ice-cream with whisky and brown sugar caramel, and chocolate mousse with seasonal berries. A dedicated bar menu features the burger and most starters, as well as snacks like flame-grilled semi curado chorizo and karaage chicken with togarashi mayo.
High Road’s custom woodfire grill and oven lend a smokiness to the offering, with proteins and most vegetables enjoying a stint near the heat.
“We’re utilising those tools as much as we can to get flavour into the food,” says Gareth of the oven and grill. “The pumpkin side that we have on the menu goes over the chargrill, same with the carrots. The chicken dish that we have on the menu relies on that chargrill to get its flavour.”
Subscribe for updatesNaturally, High Road’s menu will evolve with the seasons. Gareth is already tossing around ideas for future dishes, hinting that the heartiness afforded by woodfire will really come in clutch during the cooler months.
“I think the seasonality of veg really excites me,” says Gareth. “I’m looking forward to incorporating some of the beautiful root veg that’s around in winter onto the grill and getting playful in that sense.”
The drinks program has been developed collaboratively by The Mulberry Group and the hotel team. Kayla Saito, award-winning bartender and The Mulberry Group’s beverage manager, has helped craft a menu that offers bold reinterpretations of classics, including signatures like the Lemon Myrtle Gimlet, Smoked Tomato Martini and Watermelon Paloma.
“Kayla has always had a really strong focus on using produce – essentially minimising waste and creating a lot of our own syrups and things,” Nathan tells us.
High Road’s wine list encompasses Australian producers and European drops. There’s a distinct focus on Queensland winemakers, with Granite Belt labels like Ballandean Estate and La Petite Mort featuring by the glass.
While the food will naturally draw attention, High Road’s moody interior design scheme, which draws inspiration from iconic Queenslanders, layers timber, tiles and carpet to create a feeling of warmth that translates from day to night. Little details, such as High Road’s custom tableware, embroidered cotton napkins and uniforms by Australian brand Cargo Crew, help add texture to the overall experience.
“We’ve got windows on two sides with Venetians where the light comes through, then there’s lots of beautiful dark timber and leather banquettes,” says Nathan. “There’s also some really beautiful powder-coated dark burgundy around the open kitchen, with the woodfired oven being the centre of the stage.”
At night, High Road becomes effortlessly seductive, with cosy booths, sleek banquettes and quieter lounge bar areas offering a variety of nooks to get comfy in.
“I think the best way that I could describe it is really cosy but really open at the same time – it’s actually one of the only venues I’ve seen that has struck that balance perfectly,” says Gareth. “It’s broken down into three different sections, but those sections feel separate but connected at the same time.”
“The atmosphere’s been great so far,” says Gareth. “The lighting’s perfect and the kitchen’s very much on display, so the customers can see everything that’s going on. Given it’s an open kitchen, we’ve had a lot of interaction with the guests actually coming up and sharing the feedback, which has been great.”
As far as first impressions go, The Mulberry Group has made a great one with High Road Bar & Grill. Though the group is the latest in a string of interstate collectives looking to find a place in Brisbane’s hospo scene, Nathan and his team are making a concerted effort to be an additive force, helping build the city’s culinary culture and become a part of the community.
“We just want to be able to complement and add to the already great dining scene that’s in Brisbane,” says Nathan. “We’re really excited to contribute to that in a way that draws a spotlight to the region and makes people consider Brisbane as a dining destination.”
High Road Bar & Grill is now open to the public. For operating hours, booking details and menu info, head to The Directory.
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