Brisbane’s Best New Restaurants 2014

Gordita

Gordita is a winning tribute to decades of collective experience. The menu’s rustic treats are a cut above. Add in a smart drinks list that cherry-picks hard-to-resist bottles from both the Old and New Worlds, and you’re ready to party.

Madame Wu

Chef Brendon Barker’s finely tuned flavours hit the mark consistently at Embassy XO in Sunshine Beach. His recent move to more upscale digs, overlooking the Brisbane River at Madame Wu, shows he’s lost none of his flair for conjuring crowd-pleasers.

Gerard’s Bar

A short saunter behind sibling Gerard’s Bistro, Gerard’s Bar has moody interiors that mix raw and polished concrete, but it’s the cram-it-in-your-mouth-and-order-another-one-quick cheeseburger that’s creating the buzz.

Happy Boy

Hidden down a back street in an old garage that used to be Little Tokyo, Happy Boy’s interiors favour stylish industrial chic, while its menu paves a tasty track through regional China.

Longtime

Longtime’s Ben Bertei knows his stuff and doesn’t mind mixing it up a little. Take, for example, his “Bangkok tacos” crammed with prawn larb, crisp shallot, garlic, baby gem and sriracha. We love you, Longtime.

Julius Pizzeria

Years before a wood-fired oven became the hot chef’s accessory du jour, there was this crazy-busy Beccofino joint pumping out pizza in Brisbane’s inner northeast. At its new sibling, Julius Pizzeria, a black-tiled Neapolitan oven takes centre-stage in an open kitchen. The pizze emerging from it are classics, with puffy, nicely chewy rims and thin supple bases.

85 Miskin

A speedy revamp blew away the fine-dining grandiosity once associated with this suburban Queenslander’s former incarnation as Brent’s, the Dining Experience. Now share plates are the focus, while the concepts remain adventurous and service is both attentive and knowledgeable.

The Catbird Seat Bistro

Husband and wife team James Guldberg and Erinn Jordan are squeezing their all into their first venture as operators, with a European-leaning menu that does the persuading.

Taro’s Ascot

Saying Taro Akimoto’s devotion to the art of ramen borders on obsessive is something of an understatement. At Taro’s Ascot, he eschews MSG and other shortcuts, makes his noodles in-house and uses only premium Bangalow pork for his tonkotsu broths.

The Palms

The Palms has a breezy holiday atmosphere at play. Beach house-style interiors are casually chic, with pops of acid yellow and blue bold enough to match the Med-influenced flavours on offer.