In the past decade Brisbane has transformed from a culinary backwater into a city full of inventive dining options. Top chefs have decamped to Brisbane's best eateries and are busy putting put a fresh subtropical spin on Modern Australian, pan-Asian, and Mediterranean cuisine.
Imaginative dishes capitalize on abundant regional produce: fine fresh seafood—notably the local delicacy, the Moreton Bay bug (a sweet-fleshed crustacean)—premium steak, Darling Downs lamb, cheeses, macadamia nuts, avocados, olives, and fruit, matched with fine regional wines.
Most of the city's hip cafés, bars, and smart fine dining establishments are clustered in the CBD, West End, Fortitude Valley, New Farm, Teneriffe, and Petrie Terrace; you'll also find some excellent eateries in the riverfront South Bank precinct, and a smattering around the suburbs, particularly Rosalie, Paddington, Milton, Ascot and Woolloongabba. For terrific fresh seafood, head for Brisbane's bayside suburbs, such as Manly, Redcliffe, and Sandgate.
Typically, dining ambience is relaxed, seating is alfresco, and well-mannered children are welcomed.
