fortitude valley restaurants

Za Za Ta

Restaurant

A gorgeous restaurant and bar at the centre of Brisbane's Middle Eastern moment.

Baja

Restaurant

Refined share plates and mezcal on a classy corner of Brunswick Street.

Bisou Bisou

Restaurant

You'll find this new wave French brasserie on the ground-floor of the luxe Hotel X. Enter for French favourites and remixed classics. Plus, a cheese trolley, an oyster and caviar bar, and a 200-strong wine list.

Rosmarino

Restaurant

Housed inside an 1890's brick building in The Valley, this moody Italian diner and wine bar lists more than 150 sustainable drops from Sicily and beyond. House-baked breads, pastas and antipasti sidle refined mains with a traditional twist.

Happy Boy Fortitude Valley

Restaurant

Modern Chinese food and a killer wine list from brothers Cameron and Jordan Votan.

Joy

Restaurant

A celebrated young gun cooks (and does the dishes) in a tiny, 10-seat omakase-style fine diner down a poky laneway.

Essa

Restaurant

Via a long marble bar, this moody 60-seat restaurant puts guests up close and personal with its woodfire grill, used to cook an ever-changing menu that might include Black Angus short rib or pickled kohlrabi.

Bianca

Restaurant

This beautiful, fast-paced and very fun Italian restaurant is from the Same Same and Agnes crew. Expect house-made pasta, stacks of antipasti and soft-serve gelato, accompanied by a 350-bottle wine list – all in one of Brisbane's most beguiling dining rooms.

SK Steak & Oyster

Restaurant

SK is restaurateur Simon Gloftis’s second restaurant at The Calile Hotel, after Hellenika. But where Hellenika focuses on the delicate flavours of Greek cuisine, SK focuses on big and bold ingredients such as dry-aged beef and prestige seafood. The room is expansive and so is the wine list. If you’re after New York steakhouse glamour, this is where you’ll find it.

Hellenika

Restaurant

Widely regarded as one of the country’s best Greek restaurants.

Same Same

Restaurant

The successor to Longtime, one of Brisbane’s most celebrated Thai restaurants. As the name suggests, the site’s DNA hasn’t fundamentally changed – but the service is sharper, the space is more beautiful, and the food is more vibrant than ever.

Agnes

Restaurant

Four of Brisbane’s best restaurant brains are behind this theatrical diner, featuring a woodfire-driven menu and impressive 1500-bottle wine list.

Gerard’s Bistro

Restaurant

The Moubment Group’s best-regarded restaurant delivers innovative Middle Eastern cuisine in a texture-rich dining room.

Short Grain

Restaurant

Longrain’s Martin Boetz has returned to his hometown to open one of its most thrilling Thai dining experiences. He’s serving up punchy dishes like red curry with coconut braised duck, and fried whole fish with caramelised turmeric.

Sushi Room

Restaurant

Hit the the Calile Hotel’s 1960s neo-futurist diner for exquisite sushi and sashimi. But while it’s primed for special occasions, it isn’t here to hurt your wallet. Sip from an affordable list of sakes, Japanese whiskies and more than 150 international wines.

Biang Biang Fresh Noodle

Restaurant

Not just any old noodles. These cult biang biang noodles are the perfect combination of firm and chewy. They might come packed with pork mince (or cumin lamb), garlic, soy sauce and shallots. Enjoy them alongside pork wontons and spring rolls in this no-fuss noodle joint.

Ben’s Burgers

Restaurant

Simple burgers, done well.

Sunshine

Restaurant

Fill your plate, cafeteria-style, with any combo of up to 35 Mediterranean-style dishes (many of them vegan) including juicy stuffed tomatoes, spanakopita and orzo pasta. Dine in under a sea of yellow umbrellas, or take it away to enjoy at home.

The Lodge Bar and Dining

Restaurant

Kiwi menswear brand Rodd & Gunn have taken on an iconic, heritage-listed spot on James Street for their QLD debut. With a Michelin-starred chef on the tools, it’s serving blue-crab fettuccine, buttered bug rolls and meat-pie croquettes, paired with a 250-bottle wine list. There’s also a first-floor bar with views across the precinct.

Etna

Restaurant

Etna isn’t your typical neighbourhood pizzeria. Set within a heritage space, this cosy spot from the team behind Valley favourite Rosmarino takes cues from a couple of boundary-pushing Italian pizzerias. The result? Inventive toppings (duck, Hokkaido scallops) interspersed with the classics, backed up by a 120-strong wine list heavy on orange styles and pét-nat.

La Costa Restaurant

Restaurant

This fast-paced Italian diner from the Eterna and Salt Meats Cheese team serves pasta, pizza, and a clutch of classy main dishes in beautiful heritage-listed surrounds.

Restaurant Dan Arnold

Restaurant

Chef-owner Dan Arnold is no stranger to a Michelin-starred kitchen. At his eponymous Brisbane restaurant, he draws on his time working under some of Europe’s most lauded chefs – and the result is a modern expression of haute cuisine through Queensland produce.

Maya

Restaurant

While rooftop bar Eleven takes a break, we have this Mexican pop-up. There's ninety seats, a local-produce driven menu and a shedload of tequila, all set to those jaw-dropping views.

Iris

Restaurant

An immaculate rooftop bar and restaurant from the Donna Chang crew. Expect cocktails, sangria, a tight wine list and a broad menu of Mediterranean share plates served against a backdrop unlike anything else in the city.

Gemelli

Restaurant

Rustic Italian cooking reigns at this spacious, timber-clad restaurant. Visit for woodfired Napoli-style pizza; oxtail and pork shin ragu rigatoni; plus a lengthy list of Italian vino to match.