Queensland’s stock is on the rise. This year has already seen plenty of major openings, and the second half of the year is sure to be just as impressive.
Here are all the upcoming openings in Brisbane we’re excited about.
Photo: Fergus Hurst
Sofia, Red Hill
When two parents start chatting at school pick-up, that’s usually something that ends at small talk. For Jack Stuart (Blume and Venner) and Masterchef alum Alana Lowes, however, that chitchat led to Sofia. Sofia will take over the former Olivetto’s site. Head chef Ryan Carlson (ex-The French Exit, Agnes) will lead the kitchen, with Stuart and Lowes working across both front and back of house.
It’s early days, but the pair says the menu will have European influences, keeping the plating simple while showcasing plenty of technique. Expect freshly rolled pasta alongside two of Stuart’s signature dishes: a pig’s head and green mustard sandwich from his time at the now-closed Congress in Melbourne, and rainbow trout with green tomato beurre blanc, which has appeared on the menu at Blume.
Sofia is expected to open in October.
Photo: Fergus Hurst
Pici, New Farm
In 2016, Will Cowper moved from Sydney to lead the launch of Fink Group’s Otto Brisbane. After a decade as head chef there, he stepped away to open his own Italian restaurant, Pici, named after the hand-rolled Tuscan pasta. Pici will take over the former Gertie’s site on the corner of Brunswick and Barker streets, which closed earlier this year after 32 years of operation. Interior design duties have been handed to Alkot Studio, the team behind Pilloni, Bar Rocco and Emme.
The menu will be tight with snacks, a few entrees and around five pastas (including a pici, of course), as well as a clutch of mains cooked over a woodfired grill. Cowper wants locals to be able to come by multiple times a week, so intends to keep things cost-friendly.
Pici is expected to open in spring.
Photo: Courtesy of Nomad Brisbane / Ethan Smart
Nomad Brisbane, Fortitude Valley
When Gerard’s Bistro closed in July, owner Johnny Moubarak shared that a major interstate operator would move into the space. That operator is Edition Group, which will open a Brisbane outpost for Nomad, following locations in Sydney and Melbourne. Group CEO Rebecca Yazbek has been planning the move for a decade, but it came down to finding the right space.
Once Moubarak approached them about the Gerard’s space, things fell into place very quickly. Yazbek is working with Jared Webb of JAR Office, who also led Gerard’s 2023 renovation, on a new fit-out. The menu of bold flavours will include twists on Nomad classics, including its bestselling spatchcock dish, and a Queensland-ified take on Nomad’s halva and olive oil ice-cream sandwich.
Nomad Brisbane is expected to open in late spring.
Nitō, South Brisbane
Chefs Matt Kuhnemann, Ben McShane and venue manager Zoe O’Mahoney, the team behind Clarence, will open a 70-seat izakaya a few doors up from their Fish Lane restaurant.
Nitō, which means “two lights”, is a nod to London’s Two Lights where the trio first worked together. The Japanese-inspired menu is a nod to McShane’s time spent working at Kiyomi, Sokyo and London’s Michelin-starred Umu.
Things aren’t being kept overly traditional, but Japanese ingredients, grills and techniques dictate the restaurant’s overarching ethos. Expect raw dishes, snacks, larger proteins cooked over charcoal, and claypot rice. There will be highballs, Japanese wines, saké and champagne.
Nitō is expected to open in early November.
Additional reporting by Elliot Baker.