Brisbane City workers pressed for time and inspiration this Valentine’s Day can swoop into the laneways and shopping arcades on Thursday or Friday lunchtime and be ready with a gift come cocktail hour on February 14. The country’s biggest TOPSHOP TOPMAN store, located in a three-level building on Albert Street, will sort you out with suits, denim and streetwear, or duck into Apartment or Ben Sherman for well-tailored men’s apparel. Make your music lover swoon over a new album, band tee or rare find hidden among the racks of Rocking Horse Records or stock up on grooming products for clean-cut fellas from Razor Boys or Jimmy Rod’s Barbershop.

If you’re reading this with one day before Cupid strikes with no place to go, fortunately you’re spoilt for choice in Brisbane City. When the sweet cravings strike, your partner better watch his back as super chef Philip Johnson dazzles you with a specially prepared dish of buttermilk panna cotta with poached strawberries, toasted pistachios and shortbread at e’cco bistro. Bookings are filling for night-time nibbles but why not surprise your suitor with a lunchbreak pick-up and midday noshing? Those in the mood for underwater delights can settle in for a sumptuous shared feast and strawberry daiquiris with kaffir leaf at Australia’s most awarded seafood restaurant, Jellyfish Restaurant. Or if all you want for Valentine’s Day is a darn good barbecue, secure your seat at meat haven Cha Cha Char for bites of cider-glazed pork belly, organic chicken terrine and strawberry shortcake. Bookings are filling fast, but you can still grab a late-night seat after a riverside stroll.